Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I make my statement, I'd like to send out a birthday wish to my son Darren John Pokiak who turned 19 yesterday.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the need for RCMP presence in Sachs Harbour again. I know this has been going on for a long and I'm still going to pursue it for the presence of RCMP in Sachs Harbour.
Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to travel with the Honourable Brendan Bell and his staff and also the RCMP to Sachs Harbour in late June of this year. At that time, Mr. Speaker, there was a public meeting where the Minister heard firsthand exactly what's going on in the small community, where there's no RCMP presence, in terms of alcohol and drug abuse, carelessness of firearms, and also family violence, which shouldn't be tolerated in any community, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, Sachs Harbour, again, is one of the 11 communities without an RCMP presence and I hope that the department can address all these problems down the road. Also, Mr. Speaker, the mayor informed at the meeting that Sachs Harbour did have two RCMP members years ago. A small isolated community like that, they should have RCMP presence.
Mr. Speaker, I understand because of the legislation there needs to be two RCMP members located in the communities. This makes it really difficult, Mr. Speaker, for the communities without an RCMP presence. Where is the safety of these people?
Mr. Speaker, during the public meeting Minister Bell promised -- and I say promised -- the mayor and public that by July 2007 there will be two RCMP members stationed in Sachs Harbour. Mr. Speaker, I'm willing to work with the Minister in that regard and I'm going to quote Minister Bells' comment in light of the transcripts on page 721 on Wednesday, October 18th, 2006, and I quote, "It's not about, at this point, coming up with more from this government for officers. The feds pay for the tab when it comes to capital. We are looking at capital for Sachs Harbour. We think we have a federal commitment there." Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to complete my statement.