Re: “B.C. Premier Eby promises $230M in police funding for RCMP vacancies, new hires,” www.theprogress.com, Nov. 23, 2022.
Two articles published this week, when taken together, say a great deal about the lack of accountability in policing, and the leeway that police are given in this province.
On Nov. 22, it was reported that the RCMP will not say how many of their officers are on the job in Surrey. Rather incredible news that would be unacceptable for any other public agency.
Then, only a day later, came word that British Columbia Premier David Eby had announced $230 million in new funding for the RCMP.
In what other sphere of public spending could a publicly funded organization get an increase of hundreds of millions of dollars right after refusing even to say how many people were actually working in a major city? No audit beforehand. Nothing.
The answer is pretty obvious. At some point we might be expected to know exactly what is being paid for.
Dr. Jeff Shantz
Department of Criminology
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Surrey
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