Donald M. Payne: “Let me say that the Good Friday Accord established an international body chaired by Chris Patten, and it called to bring…”

“Let me say that the Good Friday Accord established an international body chaired by Chris Patten, and it called to bring a new beginning to policing in Northern Ireland with a police service capable of attracting and sustaining support from the community as a whole. In September 1999, over 170 recommendations for change were given, such things as the power of a policing board should be looked at, the appointment of its members should be looked at carefully, the centrality of human rights, they talked about a name change, the future of full time reserves, the power of the police ombudsperson, a statutory basis to work from the International Oversight Commission. There are a number of things that were talked about in this very thorough report. Mr. Speaker, we are disappointed that the watered-down version that has come forth does not stand up to what the people of Ireland, North and South, wanted, a new beginning; and we believe that there is much room for improvement.”