Wildlife and other peace officers to be armed with carbines, Tasers
New 'tools' for officers will help RCMP, increase law enforcement capacity, department says
Public Safety Minister Kris Austin announced the new "tools" on Thursday.
"The RCMP is the New Brunswick provincial police force, but this initiative will not only keep officers safe, it also supports increased law enforcement capacity within the province," he said in a statement.
No information about the cost or rollout has been provided.
The announcement comes amid unrest with RCMP services in rural areas across the province.
The mayor of Saint Andrews has said public confidence in policing in his region is "at an all-time low," while some communities, such as Fundy Shores and Eastern Charlotte, are exploring their policing options.
CBC has requested comments from Public Safety about the timing of the announcement.
In a news release, Austin said the performance of the department's peace officers over the past three years has been "impressive and showed that they can do more to support police."
Semi-automatic rifles come with mandatory training
Justice and Public Safety officers are trained to police standards in the use of force, intermediate weapons and firearms, according to the news release.
They will receive mandatory training before they have access to the carbines and conducted energy weapons, commonly known as Tasers, it says. No details about the training have been provided.
Carbines, used by the RCMP, are semi-automatic, short-barrelled rifles that have a longer and more accurate range than pistols or shotguns.
CBC has requested more information about why the department opted for carbines over other types of firearms.
Public Safety Minister Kris Austin said peace officers can do more to support police. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
The use of carbines — and why Moncton Mounties didn't have them during the 2014 shootings — was at the centre of a Canada Labour Code trial in 2017.
The gunman was armed with an M305.308 semi-automatic rifle and a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun. The officers who responded were carrying their duty pistols.
Constables Fabrice Gevaudan, Doug Larche and Dave Ross were killed. Two more RCMP officers were shot but survived.
A judge found the RCMP guilty of failing to provide adequate use-of-force equipment and related user training to the Moncton Mounties. The national force was ordered to pay a penalty of $550,000.
Work closely with police
The Justice and Public Safety officers are responsible for enforcing provincial and federal legislation in the areas of fish, wildlife, environment and natural resources; commercial and off-road vehicles; illegal cannabis and tobacco; as well as criminal code, controlled drugs and substances and firearms offences.
Peace officers also "work closely with all policing agencies in a support capacity when required," the news release noted.
They are involved with the RCMP's tactical traffic enforcement unit responsible for highway enforcement and the joint-force integrated enforcement units, which investigate low- to mid-level drug dealers.
According to the department, 80 per cent of New Brunswickers who responded to a 2023 Policing and Public Safety Study said peace officers "could do more to ensure a safe and secure province."
No information about the survey, including how many people responded or whether they were asked specifically about weapons, has been provided.
Justice and Public Safety officers will also wear body cameras in the field now, as officers from many police forces do.
"These cameras aim at strengthening transparency, accountability and public trust," the department said.
"They also help resolve public complaints more quickly, improve interactions with the public and improve evidence gathering."
His successor, Dominic LeBlanc, has plenty of leftovers to tuck into -- from gun control and RCMP modernization to First Nations policing and tackling financial crimes.
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.
Minister says transition would take a decade and cost would be ‘extremely high’
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Apr 13, 2023 3:53 PM ADT
Higgs government rules out provincial police force to replace RCMP
Minister says transition would take a decade and cost would be ‘extremely high’
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Apr 13, 2023 3:53 PM ADT
Reply to Adam Smith
Reply to Adam Smith
Peace officers also "work closely with all policing agencies in a support capacity when required," the department noted.
They are involved with the RCMP's tactical traffic enforcement unit responsible for highway enforcement and the joint-force integrated enforcement units, which investigate low- to mid-level drug dealers.
Austin hasn't come close though to convincing me this is a wise move; far from it.
The money would be better spent on more RCMP active policing throughout the province; especially in the highly neglected rural areas.
It's lovely down in the woods today, but safer to stay at home…”
From Henry Hall’s “The Teddy-Bear’s Picnic”
Elmer Fudd
This dude knew how to deal with wild life. Does anyone recall the RCMP using him to tease me with in YouTube?
I paid my four bits to see the high-diving act and I'm a-gonna see the high-diving act
Yosemite Sam
That should solve the vigilante problem in NB. Peace officers, conservation officers, just more out there to pull the trigger.
Reply to Samual Johnston
Reply to Dwain White
As new public safety minister, LeBlanc has plenty of tricky leftover files to handle
Meet Trudeau’s new cabinet
As public safety minister, Marco Mendicino had a full plate of simmering issues and legislative initiatives.
His successor, Dominic LeBlanc, has plenty of leftovers to tuck into -- from gun control and RCMP modernization to First Nations policing and tackling financial crimes.
As part of a major cabinet shuffle Wednesday, LeBlanc became minister of public safety, democratic institutions and intergovernmental affairs.
He has a head start on one key issue -- addressing concerns about alleged Chinese meddling in Canadian affairs.
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked LeBlanc to consult experts and opposition parties about next steps, including a possible public inquiry into foreign interference.
The government is also mulling the creation of a foreign influence transparency registry to keep better tabs on people acting on behalf of other countries.
In addition, LeBlanc will oversee establishment of the national counter foreign-interference co-ordinator, to be based at Public Safety Canada.
Another priority will be shepherding gun-control legislation, now before the Senate, into law and enacting crucial regulations to flesh out the bill.
The legislation would enshrine a national freeze on handguns, increase penalties for firearm trafficking, move to curb homemade ghost guns and usher in new measures to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers.
The legislation also includes a ban on assault-style firearms falling under a new technical definition that would apply to models designed and manufactured after the bill comes into force.
An attempt to amend the bill last November to include such a definition faltered when Conservative MPs and some gun owners vocally objected, saying it would outlaw many commonly used hunting rifles and shotguns.
Gun-control groups disputed that assessment, but the uproar derailed House of Commons committee hearings and created a high-profile political headache for Mendicino.
LeBlanc will also be expected to implement a long-planned federal buyback of outlawed guns and to revive the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee, which will provide guidance on gun classification.
First elected in 2000, the New Brunswick MP has long been part of Trudeau's trusted inner circle. LeBlanc has previously handled intergovernmental affairs, infrastructure and communities, fisheries and other portfolios.
Given resistance to the gun bill in some parts of the country, it is likely helpful to have a public safety minister with a record of working successfully with the provinces, said Blake Brown, a historian at St. Mary's University in Halifax.
"He's well known as being skilled at carrying files forward," Brown said in an interview. "So the fact they tapped him to have this portfolio does seem to me to highlight they want a skilled hand doing it, not a rookie."
LeBlanc takes the public safety reins amid renewed debate over the role of the RCMP.
Unfinished business includes beefing up the national police force's management advisory board and reviewing its contracting policing role in several provinces and territories.
LeBlanc will also face concerns from civil society groups about two bills before Parliament -- one to create a new watchdog for both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency and another aimed at giving authorities new tools to respond to emerging dangers in cyberspace.
Among the other tasks for the new minister:
-- Working with Indigenous groups to develop a legislative framework for First Nations policing;
-- bringing forward a proposal for a new Canada Financial Crimes Agency; and
-- advancing reforms to the criminal pardons program, including the possibility of automatically sealing a person's record for certain offences once they have completed their sentence and lived in the community without new convictions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2023.
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