Upset Prince George councillors want answers after RCMP monitor city hall meeting without their knowledge

Andrew Kurjata · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 4:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A brace of metropolis councillors in Prince George, B.C., are looking for answers aft they accidental 2 RCMP officers monitored a nationalist gathering astatine metropolis hallway without their knowledge.

It happened Wednesday nighttime during a reappraisal of the city's updated authoritative assemblage plan, which was unfastened to nationalist comment.

Coun. Trudy Klassen said that during the meeting she noticed 2 radical "sort of skulking successful the back," and that afterwards she and chap Coun. Brian Skakun asked metropolis unit astir who they were.

It was past that she recovered retired they were 2 RCMP officers, retired of uniform, who had attended astatine the petition of metropolis unit implicit information concerns.

"I consciousness similar this was a superior betrayal of trust," Klasen said, adding she'd heard from members of the nationalist who were upset to find retired they were being treated arsenic a threat. "If this was specified a interest ... wherefore was politician and assembly not informed?"

She besides questioned the determination to instrumentality 2 officers disconnected their regular duties for four hours when, arsenic a councillor, she is perpetually proceeding astir stretched constabulary resourcesm and problems of mischief and transgression that spell unaddressed arsenic a result.

"This conscionable seems to maine to beryllium an unwarranted usage of constabulary resources," she said.

Police attended gathering focused connected greenspace protection

The gathering was the 2nd successful a bid of hearings aimed astatine getting nationalist feedback connected the city's authoritative assemblage program (OCP) portion it is nether review. The OCP is simply a papers that outlines successful wide strokes readying and land-use decisions based connected the city's values for antithetic regions.

One country that has been contentious is the extortion of greenspace wrong the city, peculiarly around Ginter's Meadow, an municipality parkland connected to different unprotected greenbelts.

For respective years, a conjugation of citizens nether the sanction Ginter's Green Forever person been pushing metropolis hallway to bash much to sphere these spaces from development, and person been told their champion mode guardant is done the OCP. As a result, dozens of supporters person travel retired to the nationalist hearings astir the plan, with feedback sessions lasting respective hours.

While these members are passionate, Klassen said she has ne'er felt intimidated oregon threatened by the radical speaking astatine the meetings, and she worries the beingness of RCMP astatine the meetings sends the incorrect message.

"They person spent truthful overmuch clip and energy," she said. So to beryllium "treated arsenic a threat," she said, it's "no wonderment radical person mislaid religion successful government."

City says constabulary beingness was precautionary

In an emailed response, a metropolis spokesperson confirmed the RCMP members were determination astatine the petition of metropolis unit arsenic a "precautionary measure, not arsenic a effect to a circumstantial threat." They did not accidental wherefore politician and assembly were not informed of the determination nor supply immoderate circumstantial crushed wherefore constabulary were needed.

"After the archetypal authoritative assemblage program nationalist hearing, unit raised concerns astir safety, and the metropolis inquired with the RCMP astir the enactment that could beryllium offered for the 2nd nationalist proceeding date," the spokesperson wrote.

"This determination was made successful the involvement of ensuring the information and information of each attendees."

The email said that RCMP officers often be metropolis events wherever a "large attendance is expected," and that is "due to concerns raised astir issues experienced astatine akin events successful different communities."

It said the RCMP beingness was meant to "be a liable measurement to support a harmless situation for everyone, portion preserving the unfastened and welcoming ambiance that nationalist hearings are meant to foster."

Klassen, though, said it had the other effect, arsenic she heard from immoderate members of the nationalist that they felt intimidated by the men sitting successful the nationalist proceeding country and expressed adjacent much interest aft learning they were RCMP.

"There's a feeling that, 'my goodness, I shouldn't person bothered,'" she said. "It casts a pall connected the public."

Review requested

CBC News has reached retired to RCMP for response. It has besides reached retired to different metropolis councillors done their metropolis hallway emails.

In a Facebook post, Coun. Skakun said helium was "upset and saddened" by the constabulary beingness astatine the meeting, and the deficiency of transparency astir the decision.

"I genuinely judge this volition shingle nationalist spot successful City Hall, astatine slightest successful the abbreviated term," helium wrote.

Klassen said she feels the same and is seeking much answers from metropolis unit astir however the determination was made. She said that, truthful far, the answers received are inadequate.

"I'm not satisfied astatine each with the response," she said.