To the Editor:

In reply to Harold Kemp’s letter to the editor in last week’s Thompson Citizen, I’d like to offer the following comments. In terms of the public safety study contract, I was approached by the City of Thompson over the summer of 2009 to verify my availability.

Although speculation on my part, I was probably approached because I was an RCMP member for 26 years, posted twice to Thompson and I am somewhat versed in our public safety challenges. As a matter of “necessary” business process, I subsequently submitted a written proposal to the City of Thompson.

The proposal, pricing options, time frames and deliverables were fully discussed by mayor and council. This was not a closed-door matter. The contract and costs were detailed in an open and televised council meeting. Mr. Kemp, if you feel I was paid too much, fair ball. You referred to my “gravy cheque” and to that I’d reply, “Gravy costs what gravy must!”

In response to Mr. Kemp’s opening question regarding Setting Security Consultants “Is this for Setting Lake area residents and inhabitants.” The answer is “no” unless, of course, my business is contracted by a resident of Setting Lake then that would be just great!

In terms of the content of the study, this is not the appropriate venue. The study itself comprises 68 pages and contains yet another 60 pages of appendices. The sheer weight of any study does not automatically validate merit. I make the point only to highlight that there is far more material in the Study than that covered in the Citizen. The study is publicly available on the City of Thompson web site and I would encourage everyone to read it. Contrary to Mr. Kemp’s allegation, the RCMP service delivery and the current $3.5 million costs are thoroughly detailed in the study. This includes costing, service delivery and future public safety options. Policing costs do fall within the realm of public information. It would not be smart to hide that, which already falls in the public realm. As we all know, no one hides anything in Thompson anyway!

The RCMP annual costs of $3.5 million do not represent Thompson Rural RCMP. Why would I intentionally mislead a financial fact of life? There are, contrary to Mr. Kemp’s letter, 38 and not 31 contracted RCMP Thompson City members. If Mr. Kemp read the study then he would have seen reams of supporting documentation. The numbers of RCMP in Thompson are a fact of life. The positions are fully documented on the RCMP organizational chart. Mr. Kemp, you can choose to accept financial fact or continue to live in the world of fantasy, your choice.

Mr. Kemp also commented on the RCMP Thompson Rural on-call issues. The actual numbers posted in the study were 57 per cent Thompson Rural working time and 43 per cent on call. Not 51 per cent and 43 per cent respectively as Mr. Kemp so indicated. Mr. Kemp stated, “I don’t know what he did, but to me the ratio is great. It tells me that 43 percent of calls were not a priority. Such as—a kid threw a stone through a window, joy riding, dogs running loose…”

Your first clue, Mr. Kemp—should have been that 51 + 43 does not equal 100. The second clue, consistent with your convoluted logic; is that Thompson Rural RCMP "on call" has nothing to do with snowball throwing or dogs running. Your comments infer that RCMP “on call” represents elective calls of a minor nature. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I can reassure the public and especially our rural communities, that Thompson Rural RCMP are on call for homicides, assaults, firearms calls and other serious Criminal Code complaints. It is because the members of the RCMP are on call for life threatening issues and not running dogs that merits the very essence of discussion.

Mr. Kemp, you have called the study “nonsense” yet you have not referenced anything in the study that was not previously articulated in the Citizen. That fact would leave me to believe that you have not read the study. I don’t blame the Citizen one bit. Their coverage of Feb. 10 was a snap shot of my very brief televised presentation to council. My inclination is that you simply read the article in the Citizen and prematurely offered a very ill informed opinion. Public safety is a serious issue impacting on our families everyday. It is the reason why we need to pull together as a community, discuss future options and move ahead with a concerted plan. Mr. Kemp, please do write the editor over the price of gas but please also know when to put down the quill.

Lou Morissette

Thompson