Little progress on Police Act reforms 3 years in, critics say

Emily Fagan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 27, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Three years after an all-party report gave provincial leaders recommendations to alteration policing successful British Columbia, critics accidental advancement has stalled, with galore captious steps yet to beryllium taken.

The Special Committee connected Reforming the Police Act was appointed successful 2020 to initiate reforms related to modernizing the police, addressing systemic racism, and its interaction connected intelligence wellness and addiction. It followed the execution of George Floyd by a Minneapolis constabulary officer and the ensuing question to analyse systemic racism successful policing.

"Over the past 15 months, it has go wide that transformative alteration is required to execute a caller imaginativeness of policing and assemblage information rooted successful decolonization, anti-racism, community, and accountability," said the last study from the peculiar committee connected April 28, 2022.

The 11 recommendations included calls for First Nations to person power implicit constabulary governance successful their communities, the instauration of a provincial constabulary force, the enactment of a caller attack to intelligence wellness calls, and the constitution of an all-party lasting committee to oversee the implementation of the report's changes.

"Very small advancement has been made with respect to the Police Act amendments to marque definite that we person a modern constabulary work … it's benignant of dropped disconnected the forefront," said erstwhile B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed.

"It's a monolithic challenge, and you've got to person the volition to bash it. The policymakers bash not person the volition to bash it."

The interaction of this prolonged inaction, according to First Nations leaders and erstwhile politicians, is significant: continued issues with systemic racism successful policing, higher costs, and challenges with transparency and governance.

Timeline for provincial constabulary work unclear

Garry Begg, the curate of nationalist information and solicitor wide for British Columbia, who served connected the committee, says the state intends to instrumentality each of the recommendations — but could not supply a timeline.

"Things person changed beauteous dramatically, and the advancement that we've seen is rather remarkable," said Begg, who answers the critics by pointing to changes to policing in tone, mindset, and consultation with First Nations communities.

"I deliberation it's an evolution, not a revolution," said Begg. 

"It is thing that requires gradual alteration and requires a tremendous magnitude of ineligible enactment that is ever done down the scenes, but I'm satisfied that we're making advancement that puts america wherever we should be."

Tiffany Parton, the enforcement manager of the B.C Association of Chiefs of Police, declined an interrogation for this story, saying she is bound by a non-disclosure agreement.

Parton said she has been moving with the Ministry of Public Safety successful effect to the report, but is "unsure of what the aboriginal holds successful narration to a provincial constabulary force," 1 of the report's large recommendations.

Delays travel astatine outgo to community, critics say

In April 2024, B.C. passed Bill 17, the Police Amendment Act, which made changes to constabulary governance and oversight, mostly affecting police boards and municipalities, including requirements for constabulary boards to make a codification of behaviour and updated procedures for handling complaints.

However, Adam Olsen, the erstwhile MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, who besides served connected the committee, says helium feels the changes are "transactional," and correspond the priorities of the Ministry of Public Safety, not what the committee heard the nationalist wanted.

Olsen says helium has been disappointed to see small advancement connected galore of the recommendations. For instance, helium says B.C. is nary person to having a provincial constabulary work oregon the co-ordination of intelligence wellness services with 911 exigency responses.

He says the outgo of these delays has made nationalist information a governmental shot successful the legislature.

"My patience is bladed due to the fact that the happening that we discussed arsenic a committee is being effectual astatine diminishing the politicization of nationalist safety," Olsen said. "What person we seen implicit the past twelvemonth and a half? Total politicization of nationalist safety."

Cloy-e-iis (Judith Sayers), the president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, says she and different committee members of the B.C. First Nations Justice Council were amazed erstwhile Bill 17 was announced past year, arsenic they hadn't been consulted.

She says the authorities doesn't admit First Nations' accepted laws, and categorizes First Nations policing arsenic designated units, not a afloat constabulary force. 

She says she would similar to spot immoderate enactment connected autarkic oversight by First Nations implicit policing successful their communities.

"We're not seeing the enactment that we need. We're not seeing changes," Sayers said. "We support connected seeing shootings of First Nations radical by police, and it hasn't stopped."

Heed says that astatine this point, helium believes it volition instrumentality a important magnitude of nationalist unit oregon different catalyst similar George Floyd's execution to spark politicians to enact the wide changes that person been called for.

"I'm not optimistic that it's going to hap successful the adjacent decennary oregon so," helium said.

'However, you would deliberation we'd person a authorities that would beryllium originative capable to present the work to the assemblage successful a precise accountable, effectual and businesslike way."