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What Happened to BC’s Plans for Police Reform? (The Tyee)


... In April 2022, the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act released its report. Among its 11 recommendations were replacing the RCMP with a provincial police force, adopting a new approach to mental health calls and giving First Nations self-determination over policing in their communities.

The goal was to modernize the Police Act and bring it in line with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Adam Olsen, then the BC Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, was among 10 committee members who spent 15 months consulting the public and deliberating on the proposed changes. He described the work, which resulted in consensus across party lines, as a “unique moment of alignment.”

But this week Olsen told The Tyee he’s lost hope that the efforts will result in meaningful police reform ...

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