Travel rules raise concerns for RCMP union
Roadside `audits' ambiguous, could erode trust: official
The union representing B.C.'S 6,500 RCMP officers says it has “grave concerns” about the new COVID -19 travel restrictions coming into force on Friday, measures that it said could erode trust with racialized communities and put officers at increased risk of catching the virus.
And 11 legal and First Nations advocacy groups sent a joint letter to the province Wednesday raising alarm bells about the “over-broad and unconstitutional expansion of police powers” that will disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities.
Premier John Horgan announced Monday that new orders under the Emergency Program Act will allow police to do roadside “audits” with the ability to ticket anyone travelling for leisure outside their health region.
A growing number of Mounties have been asking the National Police Federation to oppose the proposed order, said the federation's president, Brian Sauvé.
“In addition to shouldering an already heavy and increasing workload, participating in enforcement `roadblocks' puts even greater pressure on limited resources and puts our members at further risk of exposure and possible infection,” Sauvé said in a statement.
“Equally important, we are continuing to enhance and build on our relationships with vulnerable and racialized communities, and the ambiguity and potentially negative impacts of these orders risk reversing this progress.”
The federation on Wednesday wrote to Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth to express its disappointment over the proposed measures, Sauvé said.
“The lack of information and details about the order has raised many alarm bells, especially in the middle of a global and local reckoning about systemic racism in policing and policing powers,” said the letter by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, B.C. First Nations Justice Council, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit, Pivot Legal Society, Criminal Defence Advocacy Society, Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War, Sanctuary Health, PACE Society, and the Pacific AIDS Network.
The letter asks for more details on what kind of questions police will be authorized to ask, noting that people are not currently compelled to answer questions about where they're going and for what purpose. “Would this order expand discretionary police powers to compel answers from B.C. residents suspected of travelling outside their health authority?” the letter asked.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford was forced to cancel some of the travel and movement restrictions announced last week after many police departments refused to enforce measures that gave officers the power to arbitrarily stop people, ask for their address and their reasons for not being at home. The order was reversed after public outrage and concerns from civil liberties advocates over racial profiling.
Horgan said Monday the province will consult with Black and Indigenous communities and people of colour to ensure the new restrictions do not disproportionately target racialized people. He said the new rules are not intended to watch and monitor everyone's activity, rather they're intended for those who are recklessly flouting the rules.
Farnworth did not address the concerns about racial profiling during a scrum Wednesday.
He said the police checkpoints will be placed at ferry terminals and major highways such as Highway 1 into B.C.'S Interior and the Coquihalla and that drivers won't be stopped on Boundary Road, for example, one of the arteries between the Vancouver Coastal Health region and the Fraser Health region.
Asked whether people on Vancouver Island, which is a single health region, would be able to travel from Victoria to Tofino, Farnworth said the province has been recommending since November that people avoid non-essential travel outside of their local area.
“So for example if you're in Victoria, don't go up to Nanaimo,” Farnworth said.
“If you're in Nanaimo, don't go up to Port Hardy.”
He did not say how much the fines will be for people found to be flouting the order, saying those details will be released Friday. He also said the province is working on new rules to ensure people who receive COVID -related fines actually pay them.
The new order will clarify what is meant by “essential travel” Farnworth said.
The provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has said going to work or to a medical appointment is considered essential. It's unclear whether people will be required to prove their trip is essential.