I want to be very clear. The intention here is not to set up a conflict between smaller communities and Yellowknife. I think we all recognize the needs in all communities for adequate protection. I guess from an overall government point of view, it comes down to priorities. I personally believe that as far as nurses, teachers and police officers, they have to be a priority. I think every community has the right to those resources. It is a right in smaller communities and also a right in larger communities to feel some peace at night and to feel some degree of comfort when their children or wives go out, that they are going to be safe.
I don't think it should ever come down to a competition between different sized communities. It is more than that. It is a government acceptance of certain underlying priorities. I think the police have never had any trouble in coming up with criteria-based policing needs; needs driven by numbers and statistics. I'm sure you could get that tomorrow from the RCMP. The other factors the Minister is talking about are important and I agree they have to be brought into the equation. There are many different solutions out there, there are many different opportunities. But, in the meantime, what I want to impress upon the Minister is that the situation here in Yellowknife, I believe, is quite serious. I made a point of, last summer, having a look at what happens on the streets in front of the bars at 1: 00 in the morning when gangs of 1,500 people fight it out. It's like the old west right in the middle of the streets of Yellowknife. The police are obviously hesitant. Unless you have a goodly number of them, it's a very difficult situation for them. During the strike at Giant, just because of the way it taxed resources of the Yellowknife detachment, there were many other things they weren't able to do for a year and a half.
We've had, for the first time of my recollection, things like armed robberies. That was unheard of in Yellowknife up until the last couple of years. I think Members have talked about the number of B&Es we're getting now in Yellowknife, and the problems with kids. So the situation in Yellowknife -- and I hate to dramatize things and I don't want to overemphasize it, but I think it's approaching a danger point. I hope, perhaps, there might be some intermediate solutions to deal with the real problem as we wait for a long-term solution with the sort of studies and the consultation that the Minister is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.