I have no doubt that by the end of this conference, we will all have learned much more about this concept and how it can be applied to real-life situations. The future is also bringing new challenges from crime, not all of which can be solved by restorative justice approaches. The federal Government, my department and the RCMP are very concerned that Canada be ready to deal with existing and future crime challenges. Society is changing rapidly, and so is technology. But with the good comes the bad.
Criminals are quick to use technology to their own ends.
Organized crime especially has taken advantage of global economies and the growing ease of movement of goods and people. As a result, Canada and our police and security agencies face many challenges. International terrorism, illegal immigration, organized crime, economic crime, cyber crime and border security are some of the big issues that threaten public safety and demand our attention. The RCMP shoulders much of the burden of these particular challenges. We are fortunate, however, that the RCMP is a unique body in the world of policing, where it is at the same time the national, provincial and municipal police force.