Finance committee  It would be a new funding program. What I would like to point out concerning deficit situations is that it's interesting to note that when we surveyed Ontarians a couple of years ago—at the time there were concerns about government shortfalls—81% of Ontarians said the one area that should not be cut is police services, and 58% were willing to pay more for the policing.

Finance committee  That commitment was across Canada, but certainly we would put forward that Ontario should get its fair share of new police officers based on Ontario's population as compared with the rest of the provinces. That money goes toward municipal and provincial levels.

Finance committee  It was a commitment made by the government during the election campaign. I also have to point out that when we did our public opinion polling, it was interesting to note, talking about—

Finance committee  It's difficult for me to give you an answer right across Canada and also in Ontario, with such a diverse population, but we think that 1,000 new officers coming into Ontario through the 2,500 new officer program would make a huge difference in terms of community safety. Certainly, as I mentioned earlier, with two successive governments in Ontario, we've been very fortunate to have all-party support in Ontario on community safety issues, and it really has made a big impact.

Finance committee  Thank you. My name is Bruce Miller and I am the Chief Administrator of the Police Association of Ontario. I was a police officer for over 20 years before accepting my current responsibilities. I apologize to the francophone members of the committee, because I will be making my presentation in English.