Terahertz

A friend of mine recently sent an email to his MLA, which I adapted and sent to my MLA, premier Christy Clark. Her office (or potentially her personally) responded below.

It’s good to see a response from one’s MLA, especially when that MLA is the premier and has stated she doesn’t plan on running in this constituency in the next election. Hopefully those camped out downtown have tried to contact their representatives. Protests are good for visibility, but there is always work to be done.

Good morning Premier Clark,

I am live in your riding of Vancouver-Point Grey and am writing you because I am particularly concerned about the state of the RCMP in the Province of British Columbia.

As you know, the BC Government is currently negotiating a new long-term contract for police services in BC with the RCMP. These negations have recently been in the news [1], with the Solicitor General Shirley Bond reporting that the federal government is using strong-arm negotiation tactics and threats of withdrawing services if a contract isn’t negotiated soon. I am writing to implore the BC Government to begin planning to replace the RCMP with a provincial  police force, much like the OPP in Ontario or the SQ in Québec, rather than  renewing their contract with the RCMP. I believe that a provincial police force would better serve the people of British Columbia, in part being more accountable to the citizenry than the RCMP is.

The most glaring example of the lack of accountability with the BC RCMP has been, of course, been the case of Robert Dzieka?ski. In that case, the RCMP officers colluded to both use both excessive force on Mr. Dzieka?ski, and after killing him, colluded about what happened during subsequent investigations and inquiries and have thus far skirted any responsibility in the name of federal jurisdiction. We have just passed 4 years since the event and nobody has been disciplined, much less charged. There has been two recently stories in the news [2][3] showing disgraceful and borderline criminal behavior by the RCMP in British Columbia. In both cases, rather than having their negligent behavior addressed by proper discipline, they have been handed a slap on the wrist.

An editorial this past weekend in the Globe & Mail [4] succinctly summarizes the situation – "Despite repeated assurances that it had learned from the many controversies and embarrassments that have torn at its integrity in the past few years, it would appear the RCMP was taught very little."

I believe that the former Solicitor General, Kash Heed, was on the right track for "want[ing] all police agencies in British Columbia, including the Mounties,  governed by the same accountability rules of the B.C. Police Act" [5]. The residents of British Columbia deserve a police force that is working for them and is accountable to them, not to a minister in Ottawa.

The counter example of the RCMP abuses has been the work of the Vancouver Police Department under Chief Jim Chu and mayor Gregor Robertson to do better for the people of Vancouver. I appreciate the VDP’s "meet and greet" approach that has been in place since the Olympics. Police presence in the Vancouver entertainment district on the weekend is friendly rather than provocative, and it is very effective at stopping problems early. I was impressed at the recent firing and prosecution of a corrupt VPD police officer, particularly because the VPD publicly apologized to the public and denounced his behavior [6]. This is the kind of accountability we need in British Columbia

This is not to say that there hasn’t been cases recently of bad cops being ineffectively disciplined for gross misconduct within municipal police forces within Metro Vancouver [7][8]. However, I believe that the first step to ensuring that abuses by the police forces within British Columbia is addressed is to first establish a culture of accountability, which cannot exist with the current RCMP being above provincial jurisdiction.

In summation, I believe that the evidence speaks for itself about how the RCMP is simply not good for the people of British Columbia. The citizens of this province deserve a police force that works for and is accountable to them. The ending of the present contracts with the RCMP makes this an ideal opportunity for British Columbia to transition to a provincial police force, which the government should begin work on immediately.

Sincerely,

Ian Bushfield

[1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/27/bc-rcmp-contract-shirley-bond.html
[2] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/10/12/bc-rcmp-recording-slayings-allegation.html
[3] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/02/bc-police-shooting-lawsuit.html
[4] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/gary_mason/shoddy-policing-and-accountability-show-rcmp-in-bc-have-learned-very-little/article2202109/
[5] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/10/12/bc-heed-rcmp-talks.html
[6] http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Accomplice+drug+dealing+Vancouver+gets+year+conditional+sentence/5236431/story.html
[7] http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110204/bc_darcy_taylor_110204/
[8] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/04/21/bc-new-westminster-police-klassen-jeffery.html

And her response.

Dear Mr. Bushfield,

Thank you very much for your email. As you know, we are encouraging public input and hearing from you is very helpful to us. As Government, we have a responsibility to ensure the laws, programs and policies that are in place are effective and, if they are not, we need to work on amending them.

I am encouraging a two-way dialogue between British Columbians and government, and I appreciate that you have written to express your views.

We are always looking for ways to improve and your feedback about police services is very helpful. Please be assured that the Honourable Shirley Bond Solicitor General, and her staff will include your views in their related discussions.

Sincerely,

Christy Clark, MLA

Vancouver – Point Grey

Not too shabby.