Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the safety equipment and training for renewable resource officers. Mr. Speaker, recently the renewable resource officers in the western NWT requested more training in the areas of enforcement, specifically, conflict resolution, investigative techniques and the safety equipment associated with the use of force. I support their request, Mr. Speaker. Primarily because when I was going to school in Saskatchewan, there were stories of officers in the remote areas. They came upon people who were poaching and whatnot and several times people were badly beaten and had to go to the hospital and that sort of thing. I support this. The reasons the officers are requesting this is because there is an increased number of acts and regulations they are expected to enforce and investigations and prosecutions have increased. Also, the conflicts associated with enforcement have increased, along with fines and jail terms which also have increased. This increases the potential for conflict. Usually, officers are alone when they conduct routine patrols in remote areas and they often encounter people they do not know. Many of those people have firearms. In the past a wildlife officer was familiar with the majority of people whom he or she met. Today, that is not true. You never know, the person whom they stop might be someone who is on Canada's most wanted list. I am glad to see that the Minister has recognized the potential for a problem and has instituted a health and safety committee. I urge the Minister to accept the recommendations from this committee to ensure that our renewable resource officers can do their job properly and safely. Thank you.
--Applause