38th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

(October 4, 2004 - )

Edited Hansard • Number 152

Thursday, November 17, 2005

ORAL QUESTIONS

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, on Monday the Minister of Public Safety answered my order paper question on RCMP shortages. She stated, “Currently, there are no unfulfilled requests for RCMP officers”. The minister then went on to contradict herself. Her own tables show a shortage of 1,059 RCMP officers across Canada. British Columbia is short 281, Ontario 139, Quebec 134, Alberta 85, and Nova Scotia 30.

The minister is denying the obvious. There are clearly RCMP shortages in every province. How can she still say there are no unfulfilled requests?

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Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is probably aware, provincial governments set the number of policing resources for their province. There is a process in place by which the provinces can apply for additional positions.

The Government of Canada, and I would ask the hon. member to take this under special advisement, has approved all requests for additional positions for contract jurisdictions. The RCMP will fulfill these requests in accordance with existing agreements.

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, that answer makes it quite obvious she is still denying the facts. Here are the facts. Three towns in my own riding have unfulfilled requests. Our RCMP sources say that currently, Saskatchewan has unfulfilled requests for seven constables, 23 corporals, 14 sergeants, two staff sergeants and one officer.

Who is right about these so-called unfulfilled requests? Is it the towns and the RCMP in Saskatchewan, or the minister who is denying them?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the Government of Canada has approved all requests from provincial governments for additional positions in contract jurisdictions.

In fact, the hon. member should perhaps ask the Attorney General of the province of Saskatchewan or the Solicitor General as to whether he has formally written to me to request those new positions. After coming from the FPT meeting of justice ministers and solicitors general last week, I asked my office whether I had any outstanding formal requests from provinces for additional contract positions. It is my understanding that I do not.

* * *

Yet, on Wednesday, November 16, 2005, the Minister gave evidence before the Sub-Committee on Public Safety and stated:

	(1) “I've received a formal written request from the Minister of Justice in Manitoba for an increase in complement…” and
	(2) “my colleague, Harvey Cenaiko, the Solicitor General in the Province of Alberta, after the Mayerthorpe tragedy, asked for a significant increase in complement.”

FULL TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/2005_new/31.htm