Town looking to off-load armoured vehicle

Light-armoured unit was donated by then MP Peter MacKay

‘Could we have done without it? Yes.’ Regional police chief Eric MacNeil

Members of the police force in New Glasgow, N.S., were all smiles in 2014 when Peter MacKay, the local MP and then defence minister, arranged for the Canadian military to give them a decommissioned lightarmoured vehicle, free of charge.

Four years later, the town’s police chief says the imposing, 10-tonne vehicle - complete with a rotating turret - was never really put to good use, and he confirmed that town officials have decided to give it away.

“We really have not had any use for that since we’ve had it,’’ regional police chief Eric MacNeil said in an interview Wednesday. “Could we have done without it? Yes.’’

The six-wheeled Cougar, first built by General Dynamics in London, Ont., in the late 1970s, was used by the Canadian military until 2005. The fleet has since been retired, and some vehicles were given to other police forces, including those in Edmonton and Windsor. In New Glasgow, the tanklike vehicle was supposed to be used by the police department’s emergency response team, but that unit was recently disbanded after 10 years in operation.

“We didn’t really have a call for that as well,’’ MacNeil said. “We had several calls, but they probably could have been handled without the use of an emergency response team.’’

For the most part, the vehicle was kept in storage and was taken outside last week for Police Week.

The town’s mayor, Nancy Dicks, said there was much public debate about the acquisition four years ago.

“Initially, there was that perception that it was over-militarizing our police,’’ she said. “But I haven’t heard anything to that effect after the first few months.’’