Madam Speaker, there are a number of elements to be considered in addressing a request like this. As the Member knows, there are a number of small communities that are without the presence of RCMP officers. These communities are still waiting to hear when and if it will be possible to station RCMP officers in these communities.
The RCMP has been facing cutbacks and restraint for a number of years, at least through the last two governments. It is also a great financial strain on the RCMP to be caught in the middle of a billings dispute between the federal government and this government in relation to the $2 million bill outstanding for additional RCMP being called in to handle the Giant Mine strike. That, after a year and a half, has seen no response from the federal government.
The RCMP are presently looking at the policing needs and the challenges posed to them to police the north in the face of division, and the upcoming financial predicament of the Government of Canada. So they are undergoing a study to look at policing across the Northwest Territories. The study is ongoing. They hope to have it done by early spring. This study will be looking at what they see as the political demands, the real demands of communities and to meet the demands of large urban centres such as Iqaluit with its own unique problems and need for additional police resources.
The needs of Yellowknife, as a growing metropolis, are also demanding additional RCMP resources, or at least policing resources. The RCMP is also looking at what is becoming a real concern about the over taxing of their present resources: that is, is it safe for the RCMP members to be stationed alone and to work under the present conditions that they do, and are the allocations done to the best use possible?
There is no specific response to the Member at this time, except to say that it is a larger picture that we're working with and trying to address. At some time or other, the Members of this Legislature, in fact, may do well to get an in-person presentation from the commanding officer of the RCMP, since none of us enjoy a panoramic view of what it means to police the Northwest Territories, a jurisdiction of 1.5 million square miles with 76 communities in it. Thank you.
