Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Members from across the territories have expressed concerns about staffing levels in RCMP detachments. The people of Yellowknife are no different. They are concerned that more officers are needed to provide adequate protection. Mr. Speaker, the problem is that people across the north no longer feel safe, whether they live in Yellowknife or one of the smaller communities. We need to find some way to deal with this concern. I have spoken in this House about a police act which would help by allowing more community policing initiatives. The Minister of Justice has spoken about other initiatives which are being considered. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice needs to get the process moving quickly.

There has been some debate as to whether crime really is on the increase in Yellowknife, whether it is just that we hear more about crimes in the press, whether the RCMP are reporting more often about incidents they investigate, or crime rates really have increased and people are legitimately concerned. It seems more and more often that we all know someone whose house has been broken into recently or whose windows were shot out with a BB gun, or whose snowmobile was stolen or vandalized.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the concerns about crime in Yellowknife, and the widespread belief that much of it is drug related, a petition was recently circulated in Yellowknife. Later today, I will table this petition which has over 1,260 names on it. The petition asks that an additional six officers be allocated to "G" division to form a task force to tackle drug-related crimes specifically.

Mr. Speaker, as has been previously pointed out in this House, the staff complement at "G" division has not increased at all in over 15 years, in spite of the population they cover nearly doubling.

As well, there have been an increasing number of offences committed where firearms are used. Yellowknife Members have raised our concerns about staffing levels several times over the past few years. In fact, the Minister of Justice has agreed to Mr. Ballantyne's request to meet with the Yellowknife MLAs and the mayor to discuss the situation. Mr. Speaker, I think this petition with so many signatures, very clearly indicates the public's level of concern about crime. I urge the Minister of Justice to move quickly to deal with this concern. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause