| Public
Safety Forum
February 18, 2004
A forum on Public Safety was held on February 18, 2004
at the Markham Civic Centre. Hosted by the Canadian
Federation of Intercultural Friendship (CFIF) and the
Police Liaison Committee, in co-ordination with the
York Regional Police, this is one of a series of forums
on police-community interaction that will be held in
the coming months.
After
the opening greetings, Dr. Ken Ng, President of C.F.I.F.
and Chairman of Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham
acknowledged the presence and support of many leaders
from the various communities including Chinese, Philippino,
Indian, Pakistan, Italian, African, Caribbean, and Middle
Eastern. Representation and co-operations from different
faiths such as Muslims, Jewish and Christians were appreciated.
Chief Armand LaBarge of York Regional Police then made
a presentation in which he related the many ways the
police has been interacting with the various sectors
of the community, by working in co-operation with different
ethnic associations, schools and business organizations.
Chief Superintendent Ben Soave of the RCMP then discoursed
on how RCMP worked with local and foreign governments
to ensure the safety of our country. Kamil Sadiq, Vice-President
and Chief Co-ordinator of CFIF also reported on the
progress of the C.F.I. F. Police Liaison Committee.
Following these presentations was a question period
when the audience directed their concerns on road safety,
racial prejudice and traffic problems to the panel.
With
the rising crime rate in some of the sections of the
community, both the local police force and the RCMP
stress that the education of the public and the co-operation
and participation of the community play an important
part in helping to reduce the crime rate. To make our
community a safer place to live in, everyone has the
responsibility to contribute what they can, whether
it be educating their young, reporting crime, or coming
forth as a witness. The interaction and mutual trust
between the police and the public is therefore vital
for a safe Canada.
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