My colleague from Toronto Centre talked about the police, and I think you tried to stay in the grey area. You are trying to avoid talking about defunding police and saying, “We don’t say ‘defunding police,’ but we say that we need to divert the resources,” and do this and do that. Again, I don’t know why we don’t come straight about that. This is downloaded from your site, “End police violence,” and on the first page—

My question for you is, with this bill trying to add more flexibility for chief officers to control and train, can you justify defunding police?

Thank you to my colleague for the question. Again, yes, I hear—we all hear, together—the talk about defunding police in different versions. Talking about the case in Ottawa—maybe that bill is not to address this specific incident or this specific type of incidents.

I just have to say something: There was always a police officer in every school. Who removed the police from every school? It was the Liberals, with support of the NDP. We had police inside the school to protect students, and you guys asked to remove them. Now we are asking for police to be proactive when they get a call and then move to act on the call. This is just for a reminder.

I want to thank my colleague from Hamilton Mountain for her remarks. I want to note a particular piece the member talked about: her own community in Hamilton and the need for more police officers in that community in Hamilton. I’ve shared with the member before that I’ve got family in Hamilton, some on the Hamilton Mountain—two wonderful nephews. I’ve got a niece in Stoney Creek. Personally, but also professionally, I think it’s important that we stand up for the residents of Hamilton and make sure that the community is as safe as possible.

Some members of this House have, in the past, talked about defunding the police or diverting resources away from police and into other places.

I just want to give the member a chance to clarify her position. Does she think we should be defunding the police or putting more police officers on our streets?