Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to speak about a justice issue that has been concerning me and it has to do with the lack of resources in policing and lack of resources for legal aid.
Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about the recent reporting in the media about the inadequate funding for the RCMP that may result in reduced services. I guess a reduction of policing services where it is necessary is always a concern, but I am more concerned about the fact that the RCMP has chosen to speak about the fact that they are not going to be able to enforce some of the responsibilities they have. I cannot think of any other notice to those who might want to engage in deviant behaviour or break the law, to get some comfort in knowing that they may have a better chance of not getting caught if the RCMP does not have enough resources to enforce the laws.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to give notice to the Minister of Justice that I will be interested in listening to what he has to say about what he has been doing to address this.
The second issue I would like to speak about is the lack of funding for legal aid. Mr. Speaker, I am aware that forever and ever, there never was enough money in legal aid. From what I understand and from the information that I have, it is getting worse and worse. The ones who suffer the most are usually the parents or single mothers who need legal assistance to get child support payments or custody applications put through the courts, Mr. Speaker.
I know that working on legal aid files is the lowest priority for most lawyers in town, and there is already a lack of family lawyers in town anyway. I think a lot of people who need help are not able to get the help to get the support payments and custody situations settled. It is really an unfair situation for those who are in need of legal aid and cannot get it because there is not enough money in the fund and there is not enough legal assistance available. I will also be pursing that with the Minister of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.