B.C. won’t create provincial police force despite all-party recommendation, minister says

The public safety minister says B.C. will not establish a new provincial police force any time soon.

The public safety minister says B.C. does not plan to establish a new provincial police force, despite a recommendation from a legislative committee.

In an interview with CTV News, Nina Krieger confirmed the government will maintain its agreement with the RCMP and will not create a separate provincial force “in the immediate term.”

“Provincial policing is not on the table at this moment for a few reasons,” Krieger said. “One is the complexity and the cost.”

In a 2022 report, an all-party committee laid out 11 recommendations for transforming policing, including transitioning to a new B.C. provincial police service.

“British Columbians should care because their provincial government was given good work. It was given a good report and they have ignored it,” said former Green Party MLA Adam Olsen, who was part of the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act.

“The report brought with it a consensus amongst all of the political parties in the Legislative Assembly, and that has been squandered by Premier (David) Eby and his public safety ministers.”

Krieger said the province will negotiate with the federal government to renew its agreement with the RCMP. The 20-year contract expires in 2032.

“Provincial policing is not the silver bullet,” Krieger said.

“B.C. has been very well served by the RCMP, and we are enhancing the work that they’re doing with our investments into policing and the creation of specialized, integrated teams.”

Transition would be ‘extremely ambitious’

Olsen said a provincial force could provide more consistent service, training, and oversight.

“Bringing the provincial police service back to the province would mean that the chain of command ends here,” he said.

A researcher at Carleton University said, politically, there aren’t any points to be earned by transitioning to the model.

“The provincial government always has a federal buffer between itself and direct policing,” said George Rigakos, a professor in the political economy of policing. “Then, in terms of the math, you’re getting subsidized.”

Despite that, he believes it’s the right thing to do.

“It makes no sense for me, sitting in Toronto, to know that part of my tax dollar is subsidizing the police force in British Columbia,” Rigakos said.

“Just in terms of its own maturity, of course it should have its own provincial police force.”

From 1858 to 1950, the British Columbia Provincial Police served as the provincial force. When it dissolved, its duties were absorbed by the RCMP, which has held the contract for provincial policing ever since.

The commanding officer for the B.C. RCMP said he has no interest in going back in time.

“The province of B.C. is very well-served by the RCMP and I would be more than happy to continue that,” Deputy Comm. Dwayne McDonald told CTV News.

“We bring with us the vast amount of resources that the RCMP are able to provide, not only in terms of localized and specialized community services, but also in the large, complex investigative techniques, integrated teams, and expertise.”

If the provincial government changed its policing model, McDonald said the RCMP would still be bound by contracts with many Indigenous and municipal communities. Beyond its contract with the province, it has separate agreements with Indigenous communities and larger municipalities, such as Burnaby and Nanaimo.

“To contemplate a change in provincial police force prior to 2032 would be extremely ambitious,” McDonald said.