Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the attention of the House to the lack of police services in the outlying communities of Sachs Harbour, Holman Island and Paulatuk.
Mr. Speaker, I will be quoting from a letter I received from Sachs Harbour, which I will table later. Mr. Speaker, Sachs Harbour is 300 miles north of Inuvik. At this time Inuvik is supplying police services to Sachs Harbour. At the best of times, it would take two to six hours for the RCMP to arrive in Sachs Harbour, weather permitting of course. According to the letter, we have been forced to live with the situation of no police presence in the community for more than two years now. Residents have brought to the council's attention their concern of lack of police services and presence in the community. Council has acted on this concern and recently had a local individual trained in Regina, who is currently employed with the community as a community constable by-law enforcement officer.
Residents still question the safety of our communities. The hamlet council feels with the community constables limited authority as the law enforcement officer, his services alone are not a justifiable solution to the ever increasing criminal activity, much of which is of a violent nature involving firearms. Mr. Speaker, I am sure the Members of this House will agree the residents of Sachs Harbour are entitled to the same level and standards of safety and police protection as any other citizen in Canada. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the honourable Minister of Justice questions, at the appropriate time on this subject. Thank you.