PM GIVES MOUNTIES MONEY

Investing close to $200 million into a Canadian icon will hopefully
help lower crime rates that have risen across our country, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper told cadets at the RCMP training academy.

"You don't need to be a criminologist to know that serious crime,
especially gun, gang and drug crime, is increasing in this country and
it is threatening the Canadian way of life," Harper said in his speech
Wednesday morning.

"It is going to take a strong RCMP working in partnership with strong
local police forces and backed by a federal government determined to
tackle crime to reverse this trend."

Harper reaffirmed his government's May 2 budget commitment of $161
million in new funding to train 600 more officers and hire 400 more
civilian support staff, including federal prosecutors. That will be
done over two years.

Expanding and refurbishing the RCMP training academy will cost another
$37 million. Projects include the mess hall, classrooms, dormitories,
and a new indoor firing range. Many of the facilities are more than 50
years old, said Harper.

"There has never been this much growth at Depot for almost 100 years,"
RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli said following Harper's speech.

Another 2,500 front-line local police officers are to be hired across
Canada, Harper said during his speech. His government is currently
working with provincial governments on that.

No date for the start of the construction has been set. The money is
being released by the Treasury, the plans have been drawn and the
projects will be tendered shortly, said Zaccardelli.

An "aggressive" recruiting campaign is also being undertaken by the
RCMP. Between replacing retiring officers and trying to grow forces,
recruiting for all police has become very important, leading some
departments to go abroad in search of officers, said Zaccardelli.
Around 8,500 people apply to the RCMP annually with only a "fraction"
being accepted.

"It's very competitive out there ... We can't just take it for granted
that people are going to come to us," said Zaccardelli. "We want to
make sure we get our share of great men and women to come and join
us."

In the future, the government plans to have 1,500 new officers
graduate each year from the training academy.

Slightly more than 1,000 officers graduated in 2005-06. Around 1,300
are expected to graduate in 2006-07. Another 1,800 are to follow the
next year and 1,700 in 2008-09.

New legislation introduced by the Conservatives was also mentioned by
the prime minister as another example of how his government is getting
tough on crime.

Mandatory prison sentences for serious gun crimes, restricting
conditional sentences, raising the age of consent to 16 and further
measures to reduce street racing were the legislative tools he described.

Harper's appearance at the RCMP training depot was part of a two-day
visit that included filming a cameo appearance on Corner Gas and a
Conservative barbecue at Sherwood Forest Country Club on Tuesday. It
is the first time he has been to Saskatchewan as prime minister.