Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I was passing through Kelowna, a beautiful area, recently and discovered that the RCMP presence in the Kelowna airport and also the Victoria airport in my own riding, which has been there for 10 years in a security agreement for medium-sized airports across Canada, will end at the end of March this year.
I do not know how much community consultation took place or what security arrangements were made instead. Certainly Kelowna is an area where local law enforcement worries about a drug trade that goes through the Kelowna airport, heading to northern Alberta.
Would thePrime Minister inform the House what security measures would replace those that are now being removed through cost-cutting in our airports?
Candice Bergen: Mr. Speaker, the deployment of RCMP assets is an operational decision and certainly we do not involve ourselves politically in the day-to-day operations of the RCMP.
I do appreciate the question, though, because it gives me the opportunity to talk about the tools that we are giving front-line officers, including the RCMP, to do their jobs.
I would ask the member to support our initiatives, especially the one currently before the House, Bill C-42, which would enhance accountability, again, and give the RCMP and front-line officers the tools that they need.