For the announcement of funding for police officers in Quebec

Remarks by the
Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

Québec City, Québec
19 March 2008
As Delivered

Thank you very much. It’s an honour for me to be here today in Quebec City. It is always a pleasure to visit this city and an honour to be with a group of people like you, who have the courage and dedication to protect our citizens every day and night.

Yours is a remarkable profession for which I have utmost respect. As you know, a priority of the federal government is the protection of our citizens and the safety of our communities. With these objectives in mind, over the past two years we have increased the resources available to our police, intelligence and border agencies. Such measures are necessary to provide the level of safety that Canadians deserve.
 
With that consideration, we have made many commitments. For example, we promised to recruit 1,000 additional RCMP personnel, and two years ago we put in place the funding to fulfill that promise. But we also acknowledged that there needs to be more funding for police in the provinces and territories, so we announced in Budget 2008 that $400 million will be dedicated nationally for that purpose.
 
Consequently, I have the pleasure of announcing today the funding of $92.3 million for the province of Quebec to recruit additional police officers. This will help protect citizens and result in a reduction in crime rates. We have set aside this amount so that the province has the means to start meeting its priorities.

This should come as good news to Minister Dupuis [Quebec Minister of Justice and Quebec Minister of Public Security]. He speaks openly for the province of Quebec on the need to recognize the expertise of the provinces, especially Quebec. That is why the funds are there for five years. The funds can be drawn immediately or periodically as required, depending on the needs of the provinces and municipalities. Mr. Dupuis, it gives me great pleasure to work with you in this respect.  I think that with your advice and the advice of others here, we are going to respond to the needs of the province of Quebec.

Thank you very much for meeting with me. I am confident that the province of Quebec will be successful in achieving a new level of safety and crime reduction in the near future. Thank you