Public Safety committee  We work with the RCMP, which has forensic services.

Public Safety committee  They provide services to all territories and all provinces other than Ontario and Quebec.

Public Safety committee  I'd like to point out that our laboratory, in Quebec, was founded in 1914, 95 years ago. It is the oldest laboratory in North America. The second one was created in Chicago in 1928. You ask whether police officers would want to deal with private companies for DNA analysis. It is

Public Safety committee  In Quebec, it is the Ministry of Public Safety.

Public Safety committee  Absolutely. We are an independent services unit. The media often refer to police labs, but we are an independent lab. Our offices are located in the Sûreté du Québec building, and that may be why there is some confusion. We are an independent service unit, and police forces are o

Public Safety committee  We are independent, but our mandate is to support the administration of justice. We do not work for either the Crown nor for the defence; we work for the court. We report on facts and present analyses before the courts, and the judge assesses the evidence. Crown prosecutors and d

Public Safety committee  You should put the question to the RCMP, which is not here this morning.

Public Safety committee  If we were to turn to the private sector, there would be costs. The private sector does not operate free of charge. So, the amounts which would have to...

Public Safety committee  Exactly.

Public Safety committee  In Quebec, there is the case of William Fyfe, a serial killer who admitted to eight or nine murders. The first time he was arrested it was on the basis of a fingerprint found on a door frame. However, all other evidence that arose afterwards to convict him was DNA evidence. For

Public Safety committee  To that point, I simply want to add this: when new people, new experts come to work with us, they don't automatically work on cases the week after their start date. That is not how things work. The people who come to work in our lab need a BA, a master's degree or a Ph.D. They n

Public Safety committee  I would like to start by thanking you for inviting us to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. I would like to introduce the people with me today—Frédérick Laberge, Director of Biology at the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecin