Mayor's Report - December 2001

Policing Costs Being “Transferred” To Small Communities

At a recent meeting with the Hon. Christy Clark, Belcarra’s MLA, Council obtained confirmation of media reports that the Province is planning to “transfer” the cost of policing to “small communities”; that is, communities with a population less than 5,000 people. If this “transfer” were to occur, the effect would be a potential increase of somewhere between 5% and 20% to the municipal budget. As a consequence, Council passed the following resolution at its regular meeting on November 19th:

"WHEREAS there are indications from the media that the Ministry of the Solicitor General may be considering the introduction of modifications in the funding of police services for small communities;

AND WHEREAS such changes could lead to significant new costs for many small communities in this province;

AND WHEREAS there has been no consultation with potentially affected communities;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

1. The Village of Belcarra requests clarification from the Solicitor General as to whether consideration is being given to this matter without consultation with those potentially affected; and

2. The Village of Belcarra state its opposition to any course of action that would transfer costs to small communities, especially in light of the current economic challenges being faced by many small communities in BC; and

3. That a copy of this resolution be immediately sent to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and the Mayors and Councils of all BC communities with populations of less than 5,000."

Council is also asking that residents telephone or write to the Hon. Christy Clark, and enlist her assistance in stopping this course of action. Christy Clark can be reached by telephone at 604-927-2672, by emailing her at christy.clark.mla@leg.bc.ca, or by writing to her constituency office at: Christy Clark, MLA, 2816 St. John’s Street, Port Moody, BC, V3H 2C1.

Not well understood by the Province, however, are the unique aspects of policing the rural areas within the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment. Few people realize that the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment covers an extensive area that ranges from the Fraser River in the south, north almost to Squamish, with Indian Arm on the west, and Pitt Lake and Pitt River on the east. Approximately 90% of the Detachment is unincorporated rural area that includes the BC Hydro Buntzen Recreation Area, Indian Arm Provincial Park, Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, Belcarra Regional Park, and Minnekhada Regional Park. As a consequence, the incorporated areas of Anmore, Belcarra, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam are only a small fraction of the Detachment’s physical area.

It is the extensive recreational use associated with the rural parks that distinguishes the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment from other detachments. For example, Belcarra Regional Park attracts approximately one million recreational visitors per year, while the BC Hydro Buntzen Recreation Area attracts approximately 750,000 recreational visitors per year.

In addition, the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment has a marine policing responsibility substantially associated with its water-access-only recreation areas. Marine recreation in Indian Arm has grown substantially in recent years, while at the same time the marine policing function was downloaded by Ports Canada to the local policing jurisdictions. The Coquitlam RCMP Detachment is also responsible for policing the waters of Pitt Lake, Pitt River and the Fraser River that define the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment boundaries, much of it unincorporated rural area.

The Province presently funds three officers for policing the “rural areas” of the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment, which includes Anmore and Belcarra, although historically the number has been as high as six officers. The key point, however, is that the majority of the rural policing demand is attributable to policing of recreational activity in the unincorporated areas and not to the communities of Anmore and Belcarra.

If the Province no longer funds policing for “small communities”, how will the Province ascertain actual police “usage” by small communities such as Anmore and Belcarra as opposed to the requirement to police the unincorporated rural recreation areas? Will the Province continue to fund the policing requirements of the unincorporated rural recreation areas of the Coquitlam RCMP Detachment?

As for the non-policing emergency services, the Sasamat Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD), jointly funded by Anmore and Belcarra, provides fire and rescue services to the BC Hydro Buntzen Recreation Area and Belcarra Regional Park as well as the two Villages. The recreational visitors to the regional recreation amenities generate a significant number of demands on the SVFD that include fires in park areas, motor vehicle accidents, medical emergencies, and rescue of hikers, etc. These emergency response services to regional recreation users should be viewed as a quid pro quo for policing services. Will the SVFD contribution of non-policing emergency services to regional recreation users be credited toward the cost of policing?

Council has requested Christy Clark’s office to arrange a meeting with the Hon. Rich Coleman, Solicitor General, at which we intend to speak to the issues regarding the transferring of policing costs to small communities. Assistance in the form of telephone calls and/or letters to both the Hon. Rich Coleman and the Hon. Christy Clark would be helpful in achieving our goal. Additional background information on this subject is contained in the 1999 UBCM Report entitled: Dollars & Sense Of Policing (Adobe Acrobat pdf Format).

Search www.belcarra.ca Search WWW