The committee met at 8:20 a.m.

Election of Chair and Deputy Chair

K. Riarh (Clerk to the Committee): Good morning, Members. As this is the first meeting of the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act, it is my honour, as Committee Clerk, to oversee the election of a Chair.

Do we have any nominations for the Chair of the committee?

G. Begg: I nominate Nicholas Simons.

K. Riarh (Clerk to the Committee): Nicholas, do you accept the nomination?

N. Simons: I do.

K. Riarh (Clerk to the Committee): Are there any further nominations? Any further nominations? And a third and last time, any further nominations?

All right. The question is that Nicholas Simons take the chair as Chairperson of the committee.

Motion approved.

[N. Simons in the chair.]

K. Riarh (Clerk to the Committee): Congratulations, Chair.

N. Simons (Chair): Thank you very much, Karan.

Good morning. First of all, thank you very much for that. I appreciate it.

The first order of business is to elect a Deputy Chair of the committee. So I accept nominations from the floor.

M. Morris: Jas Johal.

N. Simons (Chair): Jas, do you accept the nomination?

J. Johal: I accept.

N. Simons (Chair): Let’s have a vote.

Motion approved.

N. Simons (Chair): Congratulations, Jas.

J. Johal (Deputy Chair): Thank you. It’ll be fun.

N. Simons (Chair): It should be interesting and fun.

Role of Committee
and Terms of Reference

N. Simons (Chair): I thought I would just start with a few comments. First of all, good morning. Thank you for accommodating an early start time and the stresses on Hansard and the Clerks and all of our offices in accommodating these interesting meeting situations.

To those listening, welcome to the first meeting of the committee to reform the Police Act. I’m very pleased I’ve been selected Chair.

Congratulations, Jas. I say you have the honour of being my deputy. I know. We’ll see about that.

We’re all meeting from a traditional territory of an Indigenous people. I’m speaking to you from the territory of the Tla’amin Nation, who signed a treaty in 2014. I’d like to acknowledge their Elders and their leaders and families and other nations with whom territory is shared.

I also acknowledge the Inuit and Métis people.

In May, George Floyd died at the hands of the Minneapolis police department, a homicide that was captured on video. It sparked outrage and grief and anger across the United States, leading to marches, rallies and demonstrations against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In Canada, that sentiment was already shared but heightened on learning of the death of Chantel Moore in New Brunswick. The young Indigenous woman, who grew up on the west coast, died in her home in New Brunswick after being shot by police during what’s known as a wellness check. The circumstances surrounding her death have raised numerous questions from the family, the Indigenous community and, indeed, the general public. We acknowledge the family’s loss, and we acknowledge the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation, of which Chantel was a member.

Other incidents were then brought to light, and a ground­swell of public interest in systemic racism within law enforcement and, indeed, across society took place.

Our province recognizes the importance of public trust in policing and that everyone needs to be treated fairly. For many, especially Indigenous, Black and other people of colour, we recognize that hasn’t always been the case.

Evidence suggests that some communities have more confidence in law enforcement than do others, and it often correlates with ethnic origin, race or neighbourhood of economic strength or weakness.

As British Columbians, we have to make sure our police are held to the highest professional standards, because it’s crucial to maintaining public trust. It’s in the best interest of good public policy that this all-party committee finds itself working on finding out what’s working and what needs to change.

[8:25 a.m.]

Members of this committee have a vast breadth and depth of experience. While that will become obvious as we deliberate, the most important attribute that each of us brings to this table is that we’re MLAs, members elected by our constituents to represent their best interests and the best interests of British Columbians.

Our terms of reference are so broad that they don’t preclude this committee from discussing any public policy issue that relates to policing or public safety.

We’ve been convened to examine, enquire into and make recommendations around the scope and impact of systemic racism in policing. We’ve been asked to examine its impact on public safety and public trust in policing.

We’ve been asked to make recommendations on how to modernize the Police Act and all its 184 sections, not to mention all the regulations and agreements associated with it.

We’ve been asked to ensure the Police Act complies with the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peo­ples Act.

These are no small tasks, but I think we’re up to it.

With that, I’ll just ask Jas if he wants to make any comments.

J. Johal (Deputy Chair): Thank you, Nicholas. First of all, thank you for your comments. They’re very relevant to the moment in time and all the things that we are collectively talking about as a society, which I think is very healthy.

I think any time you undertake these initiatives like we are today, there are going to be challenges — challenges from entrenched interests, challenges from those who don’t think there should be any changes.

We have an obligation to listen, to learn and to recommend changes that ultimately protect society but also make sure our citizens feel safe and, I believe, provide the proper tools for the policing community as well.

I’ve been very fortunate to travel to well over 150 communities in this province in my 23 years as a journalist and to work with many, many police departments. They have a tremendous amount of challenges before them every day. Our ultimate goal is, hopefully, to make their job better, easier and then, of course, to serve society as well.

With those words, I look forward to working with all of you.

N. Simons (Chair): Thank you very much.

The normal course of action in these situations is usually the committee will break into a confidential discussion, first of all, just to get familiar with each other again and talk about what we hope to achieve as we work to­wards meeting the deadline of May 14, 2021. The task before us is a daunting task, and it’s going to be capturing the interest of the public because of the subject matter.

I think what we can do first is maybe I would entertain a motion to go in camera. We can start with some discussions. Then we’ll come out, back into public session, to wrap up before the nine o’clock hour.

I’m looking for a motion to go in camera.

Bowinn, thank you. Seconded by Jas.

The committee continued in camera from 8:28 a.m. to 8:58 a.m.

[N. Simons in the chair.]

N. Simons (Chair): Thank you very much, Hansard.

Thank you, Katey and Karan, for your support on this discussion.

Thank you, all committee members. I think we are embarking on an important, challenging and, hopefully, rewarding task. I thank you all for your participation and your presence here today.

I look for a motion to adjourn.

Thank you, Michelle. It’s seconded by Garry.

Motion approved.

The committee adjourned at 8:58 a.m.