Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, there have been recent troubling signs that bootlegging is a growing problem in Iqaluit. On a Friday night, a few weeks ago, 36 60-ounce bottles of liquor were seized by the RCMP and a person charged with bootlegging.

I am informed that much of the recent illegal liquor sales and the seizures involve American liquor, which has apparently been smuggled into Canada and from there to Iqaluit perhaps by sealift. The 60-ounce bottles were being sold for up to $160 and 40-ounce bottles for $100 or $125. Often, I am told, unfortunately it is persons on welfare who are making these purchases with social assistance funds.

Iqaluit is the first point of entry in Baffin for smuggled alcohol and illegal drugs, since it has direct connections with Montreal and Ottawa. Now there is a great concern that with drastically lower cigarette prices in Quebec, cigarette smuggling will be added to these other two criminal activities, bootlegging and drug trafficking.

It is also well known in Iqaluit, and has been a practice for years, that Montreal merchants are all too eager to illegally ship alcohol by air freight without import permits and without paying NWT taxes to persons in Iqaluit making food orders. Cigarette cartons may well be next.

There are obvious social policy concerns with the devastating health and social effects of all these forms of contraband. There is also a significant loss of revenue to our government in the form of foregone taxation on alcohol and cigarettes.

In researching this matter, I was quite surprised to learn that despite the well known and growing problem of illegal smuggling of alcohol and drugs through Iqaluit, there are no RCMP members in Iqaluit designated for enforcement of federal customs excise and narcotics laws. As I understand it, these so-called FES, federal enforcement section, members of the RCMP, are funded 100 per cent by Ottawa and they would give the Iqaluit RCMP much-needed ability to closely monitor air and sea traffic to the community to focus on contraband. Iqaluit RCMP area already too hard-pressed dealing with day-to-day emergencies, community relations, crimes and search and rescue to focus on these sometimes sophisticated operations.

Part of the federal government's recent response has been to increase allocations for anti smuggling enforcement in Quebec and Ontario. Later this session, I will be asking the Minister of Justice whether he will consider using his good offices to pitch for more RCMP resources in Iqaluit. Thank you.

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