Check against delivery
Thank you Chief Jack Ewatski for that kind introduction. I bring greetings from
Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness.
It is good to be here, and it is always good to talk with men and women who play an essential role in policing in Canada.
To be frank, to discuss something other then Justice Gomery's recently released
report, is a relief and a pleasure.
Partnerships are ultimately what allow police to be effective. Partnerships
enable better collaboration among all the portfolio agencies from emergency
preparedness, law enforcement and corrections, to border services and intelligence
activities. It's what our government wants to support, enabling police across
Canada to help keep Canadians safe.
This integrated, coordinated approach will be our roadmap and our guide whether we are dealing with organized crime, responding to natural disasters and other emergencies, or preventing terrorist attacks.
As the focus of this conference is on interoperability, I want to speak today about the Interoperability project at the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. I will also discuss some issues that I know are of continuing interest to you and your communities -- among them, gun violence, conditional sentencing and lawful access legislation. These are all issues where ongoing communication and collaboration amongst all sectors of public safety are vital.
The National Security Policy
So first, if I could just take you back for a moment to April 2004. That is when the Government of Canada issued for the first time a document entitled the National Security Policy. The National Security Policy serves as a guiding document, and underlines what the single most important role of government is: ensuring the safety and security of Canadians.
One of the main tenets of the National Security Policy is that seamless coordination among all players in the national emergency management and national security system is essential. No one organization or level of government can do it alone. We have to draw on the capabilities of all partners.
Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETS) are one way in which our national police force, with federal agencies such as CSIS, are working to support and share national security efforts with police forces here in Vancouver and elsewhere. And earlier this week in Toronto, the RCMP and CSIS held a productive conference with local police and key critical infrastructure partners.
Interoperability
Now, much has already been accomplished with respect to national and international cooperation and information sharing when it comes to police work and national security matters. But much important work remains to be done.
PSEPC's Interoperability Project is developing a national blueprint for improving how information is gathered, exchanged and used within the federal public safety and security sector. You will hear more about this initiative tomorrow in the context of the session on interoperability and information sharing.
Interoperability, put simply, is about ensuring that the right officials have the information they require, when they need it. This results in a coordinated approach to public safety and security that promotes information sharing while respecting principles of privacy, transparency and accountability.
As Thomas Friedman tells us in his recently published book entitled 'The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century' - "Shared standards are a huge flattener, because they both force and empower more people to communicate and innovate over much wider platforms." Also shows how we've come around full circle from the early explorers who argued successfully that the world was round!
PSPEC's Interoperability Project is mandated to deliver a long-term vision, strategic design and implementation plan for achieving the desired future state of interoperability. Important first steps are already being made in areas such as radio interoperability, which will assist first responders in emergency event situations.
We are also advancing the capacity for federal agencies to share classified information in a secure electronic environment, addressing a critical need to effectively and efficiently communicate with each other, all the while respecting those principles of privacy, transparency and accountability.
Another example within the larger interoperability project is the Real Time Identification Project. This five-year initiative will re-engineer the current manual processes for fingerprint records to allow the RCMP to provide rapid fingerprint and criminal record information to authorized users. This project will facilitate the successful deployment of LIVESCAN, the actual technology that supports electronic fingerprinting.
Interoperability is one of the many essential elements to protecting public safety, and ensuring that the different federal agencies are able to do their jobs effectively and in a coordinated manner.
Interoperability and the current threat environment
The new threat environment in which we find ourselves, where we must be prepared for anything from terrorist attacks to natural disasters, further underscores the need to increase information sharing initiatives and to continue to increase interoperability.
We are continuing to press forward with existing information sharing projects such as the National Integrated Inter-agency Information System. The goal is not only to help police share information, but also to increase the participation of federal agencies to every extent possible.
First responders can expect enhanced information sharing, improved coordination and ultimately better capabilities to protect the lives of Canadians. The idea is to make use of resources in an efficient, targeted and coordinated way. To this end, interoperability also supports the concept of intelligence-led policing, which, as you know, is all about gathering and using information garnered through community-based policing, and leveraging that information to help identify threats to public safety and security.
Gun Violence
It is in this same coordinated and integrated way that the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency have been increasing their capacity to deal with gun trafficking and border enforcement. They are both enhancing their efforts through investigations and by working with the United States authorities.
While gun crime in Toronto and Vancouver -- and in some other communities in Canada -- is not a new issue, we are still very concerned. Every death is one too many. Gun violence is unacceptable. It is not a simple issue, and there are no easy answers.
In recent weeks, we have seen authorities in Winnipeg and Saskatchewan announce new measures to deal with urban gang violence. The Ontario Government and Toronto Police Services have been stepping up their efforts to combat gun crime also.
Obviously, police and prosecutors have a primary role to play, but the federal
government is working actively to assist.
The Canada Border Services Agency is working to interdict guns at the border,
stopping more than a thousand a year. We are adding more agents to the front
lines, 270 more over the next five years in fact, with funding from the 2005
Budget. The CBSA is staffing 11 new intelligence staff to help coordinate strategic
assessments to work with the RCMP and police service in the regions. And one
of those positions will be in Vacouver.
Our firearms program is assisting too. Police officers and other public safety officials use the Canadian Firearms Registry Online service about 3000 times each day to respond to calls, investigate offences and prevent crime. Firearms program information is also helping to prosecute firearms crimes.
We have also invested over $10 million in the RCMP National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) to help police organizations gather evidence to successfully prosecute criminals involved in the illegal movement and use of firearms.
The RCMP also manages a valuable national ballistics information network to help trace ballistics from crime scenes across our country.
Our Minister of Justice, Irwin Cotler will be meeting with his counterparts in Whitehorse this coming week. I expect that urban violence and gun crime will be very much on their agenda also!
Conditional Sentencing Legislation
On another front, and with the purpose of further protecting Canadian citizens, the Government of Canada announced last month legislation to restrict the use of conditional sentences.
This new legislation further extends our child protection laws by removing conditional sentences as an option for offenders who sexually assault children. This better reflects the serious harm caused by their offences.
And the reforms prevent courts from using conditional sentences under several specific conditions, for example, in cases of organized crime-related offences.
At the urging of the Deputy Prime Minister and with the support of MP's, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice will begin a broad-based review of sentencing and conditional release in December this year, through a subcommittee to be established for this purpose.
Lawful access
Now, to address an issue that we have spoken about before. As many of you already know, we have been working on lawful access for some time. In fact, we have long advocated for updated legislation to ensure that the police can maintain their investigative capabilities in the face of rapidly evolving technologies.
We have consulted with stakeholders across Canada to develop an appropriate balance between public safety and industry competitiveness, while respecting Canadians' rights to privacy. Indeed we must remind Canadians and the media that this is not about altering the principle of lawful access, namely authorization through a warrant.
The Government of Canada recognizes that public safety is being compromised as new technologies continue to be deployed without interception capabilities. And without these capabilities, criminals continue to use technology to hide their activities from the law. It's time to move forward. I am pleased to tell you that proposed legislation is slated to be introduced the week of November 14th, assuming Parliament is still in session and we are not headed to a General Election!
With this proposed legislation, telephone and Internet service providers will be required to ensure that new equipment or technology is intercept capable.
You also told us that you need better access to subscriber information. The proposed legislation will address this matter as well while putting in place appropriate safeguards for the protection of individuals' privacy.
These tools will go a long way to combat criminals who hide behind technology. Your organization has been a key partner in the development of this work, and I hope we can work together in the effort to win approval of this initiative in Parliament.
Conclusion
These are just some of the steps that PSEPC and its partners are taking, but there remains more to be done. The government can take steps to review policies and amend laws, but ultimately the police on the front lines need the appropriate tools in place to protect and safeguard our communities. The coordinated efforts and actions of all levels of Government and law enforcement are what make all the difference.
The issues I have talked about today are just a few of the policing-related matters that the government and PSEPC are now working on. In all of this work, partnerships and collaboration among public safety and law enforcement officials, and with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and other police representatives will continue to be crucial.
We will continue to update you on our progress on the issues I've outlined and on other emerging issues, just as you continue to bring forward your concerns so that we can tackle them together in a coordinated and integrated manner.
I wish you all the best for the rest of your conference and in all your future activities.
Thank you