Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recently had an opportunity to visit my constituents in Sachs Harbour from January 9th to 12th, 2006. I was able to do home visits with many residents and hold a constituency meeting. I would like to thank the people of Sachs Harbour for their hospitality during my visit.

Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that this will come as no surprise to you that the number one concern for the residents of Sachs Harbour is the lack of RCMP presence in the community. I have raised this issue in this House on a number of occasions and am beginning to wonder if we will ever address this concern. Are we going to wait, Mr. Speaker, until something drastic happens? I hope not. An RCMP presence in Sachs Harbour will give the residents the same level of comfort and protection that the majority of the NWT residents expect.

I understand, from my visit, that there was an incident that occurred over the Christmas holidays. When I left on January 12th, the RCMP was expected to arrive the next day. I do not think a resident of Yellowknife would accept a two-week waiting period before a complaint is investigated.

In a previous Member’s statement, the question was directed to the Minister of Justice regarding what the department is doing to address the RCMP presence. The Minister of Justice advised, very suddenly, that he had formed a committee to address the issues and policing in communities without a police presence. What are we doing with these discussions?

Mr. Speaker, what are we doing as a government? Are we going to study the issue and make no decisions until there is a tragedy? Would the people of Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Smith or Inuvik feel comfortable or safe without RCMP presence? I don’t think so, Mr. Speaker. Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper has promoted sovereignty in the Arctic. It will take years to mobilize the armed forces and build ice breakers. One option is to immediately send three RCMP officers to the community of Sachs Harbour to police the community and to guard the western approach of the Northwest Passage. Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Pokiak.

Calvin Pokiak

Nunakput

Thank you, Members. Mr. Speaker, the residents of Sachs Harbour are entitled to the same level of public protection that all the residents of Canada expect. Sometimes belonging to a society has a cost; a cost this government should be prepared to bear. At the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Minister of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause