Legislature to study systemic racism in B.C. police forces
VICTORIA Provincial politicians will study how B.C. police departments handle mental health calls, complex social issues and the scope of systemic racism within the policing community.
Solicitor general Mike Farnworth struck an all-party special committee of the legislature to investigate the issues Wednesday, which includes MLAs from the opposition Liberal and Green parties.
The goal, he said, is to make any necessary changes to B.C. laws that govern the policies, structures, funding, training and oversight of police.
“We know many of our institutions have systemic racism built into them, often not by design, but in many cases the form of bias, for example,” said Farnworth. “The committee has wide-ranging ability to examine that.”
The MLAs will be able to summon witnesses for testimony, travel across the province, hire research staff and create subcommittees to examine related topics. The committee’s report to the legislature is due by May 14, 2021.
“The committee will hear from a broad range of experts on these issues,” said Farnworth.
B.C. does not control the policies of the RCMP, which it contracts to police much of the province outside of municipal police forces in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. However, Farnworth said the committee will include the RCMP in its recommendations, and the province’s police contract contains several clauses the government can use to negotiate with Ottawa on reforms.
B.C.’s police review comes at a time when departments across Canada and the United States are facing renewed criticism over excessive use of force and racism.
Protesters have taken to the streets in most major U.S. cities over the past month after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while handcuffed on the ground as a police officer pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes. Floyd’s death sparked outrage over how police treat Black citizens across the United States, and has encompassed a larger Black Lives Matter protest movement.
In Canada, the RCMP has faced allegations of systemic racism after dashcam footage released last month showed Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam being tackled and punched by a police officer.
Criticism of the police expanded last month into how departments handle mental health calls, after footage showed nursing student Mona Wang being dragged down a hallway in Kelowna and having her head stepped on by an RCMP officer responding to a wellness check.
The committee’s terms of reference also include examining whether policing is consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples law, which B.C. passed last year.
The province has studied the issue before, with little action, said Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.
“There have been countless inquiries, studies, committees, and yet our people continue to die at the hands of law enforcement across this country,” said Phillip. “What we need to understand is how ... deeply steeped racism is in the history of this country, and we need to move beyond that. We need to move beyond that frontier mentality.”