Automatic reply: YO Higgy Why is that I am not surprised that I am being blocked from commenting on this topic?
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 Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario<Premier@ontario.ca> | Fri, Apr 14, 2023 at 3:36 PM |
| To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | |
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued. You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read, reviewed and taken into consideration. There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a response may take several business days. Thanks again for your email. ______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations. Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons. Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre. Merci encore pour votre courriel. | |
YO Higgy Why is that I am not surprised that I am being blocked from commenting on this topic?
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Fri, Apr 14, 2023 at 3:36 PM |
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| Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, megan.mitton@gnb.ca, jborne@dorchester.com, d.beal@sackville.com, b.goodwin@sackville.com, m.beal@sackville.com, Eric.Hanson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca | |
Higgs government rules out provincial police force to replace RCMP
Higgs government rules out provincial police force to replace RCMP
Minister says transition would take a decade and cost would be ‘extremely high’
Public Safety Minister Kris Austin told a committee of the legislature Thursday morning that there's no money in his budget this year to set up such a force because the province has opted against it.
"A provincial police force is really not feasible, simply because of the costs associated with it [and] the amount of time it would take to implement such a division, such a force," he said.
He later told reporters the transition to a provincial force might have taken a decade and the cost would have been "extremely high," though he didn't have a dollar figure.
"It would be a huge project, and I'm not convinced that the public would get the best bang for their buck," he said.
The province has a 20-year contract with the RCMP for policing most of the province that will end in 2032. (Shane Magee/CBC)
The RCMP now provides provincial policing under a 20-year contract in areas of the province where there is no municipal police force.
Municipalities are required to pay part of the cost, and some communities have complained in recent years that they don't feel they've been getting police coverage in line with what they're spending.
Austin said rather than replace the RCMP, his department will continue working on how its own enforcement officers, Mounties and municipal police can work together more effectively to provide better service.
He also said he's open to working with municipalities that are unhappy with the federal force and that opt to create their own forces.
"These are all discussions we're willing to have. At the end of the day it's got to be feasible. The standards have to be there. We want good policing."
Liberal
public safety critic Jacques LeBlanc says Austin raised questions about
RCMP staffing when he was leader of the People's Alliance. (CBC)
Liberal public safety critic Jacques LeBlanc said he was "kind of surprised to hear the minister say it's not feasible.… We all knew that."
He pointed out that Austin raised questions about adequate RCMP staffing in rural areas when he was the leader of the People's Alliance party, before he joined the Progressive Conservative government a year ago.
"It's like putting your foot in your mouth," LeBlanc said.
Austin acknowledged his previous position during the committee session.
"That's certainly something that I have, in previous years, obviously wanted to know more about. So now I know more about it."
Last year residents of McAdam complained at a public meeting that the RCMP were taking too long to respond to calls.
The force later stepped up their presence in the village, but local businessman Don Doherty says it hasn't helped and crime remains a problem.
Don
Doherty of McAdam said the RCMP aren't effectively responding to crime
happening in the New Brunswick village, and was one of several people
who spoke out about their concerns at a meeting at McAdam High School
last year. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
Switching from the RCMP to a provincial force wouldn't make any difference as long as federal policies and laws make it hard for police and prosecutors to arrest people or secure long prison sentences, he said.
"It's impossible to lay charges with the way the laws are," said Doherty.
"It needs to be fixed at the federal level, not the provincial level. A provincial police force is not going to change anything anyway."
Two
years ago, then-public safety minister Ted Flemming said a provincial
police force was 'something we should take a hard look at.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)
In December 2021, then-minister Ted Flemming called a provincial police force "something we should take a hard look at" because of complaints about inadequate RCMP services, especially in rural areas.
Flemming called it a complex issue and said the province would be giving up the one third of police funding that the federal government covers when the RCMP polices municipalities.
The province has a 20-year contract with the RCMP for policing most of the province that will end in 2032.
The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick called for a review of policing services in 2021 and the provincial government's white paper on local government reform promised such a review.
Municipalities complained about the rising cost of RCMP policing after officers were unionized, as well as a lack of local control and accountability.
The province will spend $125 million on its policing contract with the RCMP this year, an increase of around $24 million this year.
Green
MLA Megan Mitton said the province should consider other ways to
support local communities, such as with mobile crisis services and
social workers. (Patrick Richard/CBC)
That increase, in part, reflects the province absorbing the increase to policing costs so municipalities don't have to pay for it, Austin said.
"As a provincial government, we said we're not going to download that cost. That cost is something we're going to bear."
Green MLA Megan Mitton said the province should consider other ways to support local communities, such as with mobile crisis services and social workers.
"What else is needed in our communities?" she said. "These are policy decisions, and I don't always think we're on the right track with this government."
But Doherty said communities need more police officers and tougher laws.
"It is not a social problem. It is a behavioural problem and the only way to correct it is with stiffer sentences."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Would it not be easier to name the communities who aren't complaining about poor service?
That's probably about it.
Is this like contractors who don't want to do the work quoting astronomical costs and timeframes so they either won't have to do the work or get a huge payday with no strings attached.
In January 1980 the Highway Law Enforcement Division was renamed the New Brunswick Highway Patrol and the focus changed to policing. Expansion during the early 1980s saw the NBHP expand its coverage to all highways in New Brunswick. Training requirements mandated a law enforcement background and members of the NBHP were peace officers with the same training and responsibilities as other police forces in the province under the Police Act.[1] [2][3] [4]
The NBHP expanded to 114 uniformed officers commanded by a chief and deputy chief and supported by civilian staff at the detachments. NBHP divided the province into two regions with a staff sergeant being responsible for each region. Each detachment was commanded by a sergeant and patrol officers had the rank of constable. There was no rank of corporal.
In July 1988 the recently elected government of Premier Frank McKenna announced that the responsibilities of the NBHP would be contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "J" Division. The NBHP was abolished effective February 1, 1989. Have no idea as to why they were discontinued. It would be nice to have the NBHP reinstated.
The NBHP expanded to 114 uniformed officers commanded by a chief and deputy chief and supported by civilian staff at the detachments. NBHP divided the province into two regions with a staff sergeant being responsible for each region. Each detachment was commanded by a sergeant and patrol officers had the rank of constable. There was no rank of corporal.
In July 1988 the recently elected government of Premier Frank McKenna announced that the responsibilities of the NBHP would be contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "J" Division. The NBHP was abolished effective February 1, 1989.
Province changes course and gives ombud records on new Fredericton jail
Province had refused to give records to ombud for review, claiming they are confidential cabinet documents
That comes after the department initially refused to provide the ombud's office with the records, claiming they're confidential cabinet documents.
After CBC News reported on the refusal on Wednesday, Premier Blaine Higgs said he'd asked the deputy minister and clerk to look into it.
"People are lighting their hair on fire on this and I want to make sure transparency is there as much as possible," Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said on Thursday during a Legislative committee meeting, after Green MLA Megan Mitton asked about the records.
Last year, CBC asked the province for all records that detail the need for a new jail, such as records that discuss the business case for the jail or capacity issues within existing correctional centres.
The
province refused a right to information request from CBC that asked for
records about the decision to build a new jail. The Southeast Regional
Correctional Centre in Shediac is pictured here. (CBC News file photo)
The Department of Justice and Public Safety refused to provide any records in response to that request, saying all the records are exempted under sections of the right to information law that protect confidential cabinet documents and advice to a cabinet minister.
CBC appealed the decision to provincial ombud Marie-France Pelletier, whose office handles complaints about right to information.
The government then also refused to provide copies to Pelletier's office, claiming all of the records are protected under cabinet confidences. It's one of only two reasons the law allows the department to not produce records to the ombud for review.
Austin says department followed the law
Austin said the department reversed course and decided to provide the records to the ombud "out of an abundance of transparency." He said his government has never provided a cabinet memorandum to anyone, including the ombud.
"The premier has always been very big on ensuring that the public knows what's going on and that there's no perception out there of trying to hide anything," Austin told reporters.
Austin said the department followed the law when it refused to hand over the records.
But he also said the information has already been released to the public, raising questions about how it could be considered confidential information.
"What I've given you is hard data … here's the capacity levels, here's where we're at or over capacity, over the last several years," Austin said.
"What the [memorandum to executive council] is going to give is basically the same thing summarized in a different form."
When asked whether he will follow the ombud's advice if Pelletier determines the records should become public, Austin didn't seem to see any issue, even though his department refused the right to information request.
"If it's the information that we've already been giving, why wouldn't we? There's no extra information there. It's the case around why we need the jail."
Last month, the ombud's office told CBC the records may not have been properly held back, and suggested the department reconsider its decision to not provide the records to CBC.
"Unfortunately, the department was not amenable to changing its minds, and maintained its original position that you are not entitled to access to any records," the ombud's office wrote.
Cost of Fredericton jail now up to $42 million
Austin also told the committee Thursday that the cost of the Fredericton jail is now estimated to be around $42 million, up from the $32 million figure the government gave a year and a half ago.
A spokesperson with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure told CBC this week that it won't have a better sense of the overall cost until it finishes work to "define the project's requirements."
"I'm not overly concerned that the costs are going to be that exorbitant," Austin said. "You've got to take in inflation, it's the world we live in today. But if that [number] changes, we're going to get it done."
Plans to build a new jail were announced in December 2021.
The expenditure didn't appear in the Progressive Conservative platform from the 2020 provincial election or in the party's 2018 platform. The government has cited rising crime rates and jails stretched to capacity as reasons why the new jail is needed.
- Austin leans on top cops, crime data to make case for more police spending
- Change in the way N.B. counts people in jail makes the correctional system seem more crowded
As of March 31, Austin said there were 450 men inside provincial jails, which is under the capacity number of 470. Another 18 men were being monitored by ankle bracelets on this date, the minister said.
Money better spent on housing, MLA says
Criminologists who have previously spoken to CBC have argued that building a new jail won't reduce crime or make the public any safer, and the money could be better spent on things like mental health care, addiction and housing.
Green MLA Megan Mitton pressed Public Safety Minister Kris Austin for more justification around building a new jail. (Patrick Richard/CBC)
In the committee meeting Thursday, Mitton asked Austin to provide more justification for why the government plans to spend at least $42 million to build the jail.
"That's a lot of money," Mitton told reporters.
"We could really use those investments in other things like supporting a housing first approach, so that people who are leaving jail have the supports they need to not end up re-offending."
The department's operating budget for 2022-23 includes $3.7 million for provincial jail programming "designed to help [people] change their lives and avoid re-offending once released."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Jacques Poitras
That is both laughable and demonstrably untrue.
a new jail ??
Jails are built everyday .
Let's have more "transparency" by acknowledging
the fact that this jail has been unpopular since
it was first announced.
*Politics* at its finest !!!
Promises, promises....
Strange how it’s all good for him to question but alas, not to be questioned by others.
Although the Ombud will receive all the documents some of these documents I still do not believe will be for public consumption, as with many documents and the legislation they come under. Most of the data was already public, this was a a story when there was none.
Walking in someone else’s shoes.
And the Premier said, ….
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