BODY CAMERAS TO COST $131 MILLION OVER FIVE YEARS

As Mounties move forward to outfit officers with body-worn cameras, the parliamentary budget officer estimates it will cost $131 million over five years. A costing note Thursday said the RCMP is expected to purchase 12,500 camera subscriptions for use across the country at 700 detachments. There were calls for officers to wear the technology during global demonstrations last year demanding more police accountability. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced his support for body cameras in June when the RCMP was facing criticism for a video from a bystander showing an officer in Nunavut using a truck door to knock a man over. The government’s 2020 fall economic statement announced $238.5 million over six years to support the camera program.