Crime Prevention Funding Announcement Halifax North Memorial Public Library, Halifax

Speaking Notes for the
Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

July 31, 2007
As delivered

Thank you, Jim [Jim Ellsworth, Regional Manager, National Crime Prevention Centre] for the kind introduction, and thank you ladies and gentlemen for your warm welcome.

I always love coming to Halifax. Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia especially always has a special attraction for me. I actually lived in New Glasgow at the tender age of about four. One of my sons attended Dalhousie University for his law degree. He recently got a job here, fell in love and got married here. So we definitely have connections here in Halifax. One of my favourite things coming here is to be able to run through Point Pleasant Park either early in the morning or late at night, as the case may be.   

Ladies and gentlemen, the first responsibility of any government should be the safety and security of its citizens. That's why I am pleased to be here, to announce programs that aim to reduce crime, especially among youth.

We are making progress when it comes to dealing with crime and criminal justice issues.

As you're probably aware, on the enforcement side, our government announced in the 2006 Budget that we were going to be providing $161 million to start hiring 1000 more RCMP personnel. And we also announced a cost-shared program for 2,500 more municipal officers across the country. I'm in discussion right now with my colleagues, the solicitors general across the country, to figure out how that would be best distributed.

Chief Beazley [Frank Beazley, Chief of the Halifax Police] is here with other officers, and I always appreciate seeing members of our law enforcement and security agencies. They understand very well the importance of being on the job and having the resources to get that job done. That's why we continue to provide you with the tools are resources you need. In the hopes of further reducing crime, we have also proposed a number of legislative measures. We have a number of Bills before Parliament right now, and we're hoping to see progress.

As you know, it's more than just about enforcement. Just as we say there's the long arm of the law, there also has to be the open arms of the community. That's where the types of programs we're talking about today come into play. And that's where all of you come in.

I'm very pleased to announce that through our National Crime Prevention Program, seven programs throughout Atlantic Canada will be receiving funding today totalling $1.4 million. This will be directed largely at reducing crime, preventing crime and especially reaching out to youth at risk and families at risk.

The National Crime Prevention Program has gone through some changes over the last little while. We've brought its focus down to two words: “What works”.

What works is what we should be funding. And so there's been a repositioning over the last several months, to clearly establish our priorities.

In the Atlantic region - not that we want to, you know, compare you with any other regions - but the Atlantic region I could say is a leader in terms of working with that repositioning and identifying programs that meet these established criteria. I want to congratulate the people throughout the Atlantic region that have led the way in this.

And so, the Mulgrave Park Tenant Association's program will reach out to approximately 100 youth at risk and offer them healthy lifestyle choices and alternative choices. This is a very pragmatic program. It's operating on the street, and we believe that we're going to get results.

The Dartmouth Family Centre has a program directed towards female students at John McNeil School. We all know the devastating effects of things like bullying - what it does to a person's self-esteem and the negative effects that can flow from that. And so, that program will reach out to about 100 students to help stop bullying.

Another very sweeping program that we're funding with this $1.4 million is the Katlin Mi'kmaw Cultural Healing Centre. That particular program is receiving about $520,000. It will reach out to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities to help reduce substance abuse in youth, and deal with other behaviours that are symptoms of deeper causes.

And then, of course, right from this great building here, the Halifax Regional Library, the Youth Opposing Gang Activity (or YOGA) program will be receiving funding for its efforts. The program will be reaching out to youth, bringing them into the library and getting them involved with other activities - giving them better choices. It shows that there are alternatives to the negative choices youth can be confronted with on a daily basis.

Again, all these programs are locally designed, locally manifested, locally delivered. The federal government doesn't pretend to know how to do everything. That's not our approach. To identify what is needed locally, you're the best people for the job. You're the people on the street, you're the people in the communities and you know best how to meet those needs.

So I'm very pleased to make this announcement today and I want to congratulate you for these great initiatives. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your very important efforts.

Thank you.