Second Session
Thirty-sixth Parliament
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
February 19, 1998
Mr. Pietro Calendino, MLA
Chairperson
Transmittal
Introduction
Terms of Reference
Composition of the Committee
Selection Process
Recommendation
Biographical Notes
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Press Release
Police Amendment Act (selected sections)
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, British Columbia
February 19, 1998
To the Honourable Legislative Assembly
of the Province of British Columbia
Honourable Members:
We have the honour to present herewith the report of the Special Committee to Appoint a Police Complaint Commissioner for the province of British Columbia. This report covers the work of the all-party legislative committee for the Second Session of the Thirty-sixth Parliament. Pursuant to the Committee's terms of reference, we are depositing a copy of this Report with the Clerk of the House today.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee.
Mr. Pietro Calendino, MLA
(Burnaby North)
Chairperson
Mr. Geoff Plant, MLA
(Richmond-Steveston)
Deputy Chairperson
Amendments to the Police Act were passed by the Legislative Assembly during the Second Session of the Thirty-sixth Parliament. Section 47 of the Act stipulates that a special committee of the Legislative Assembly unanimously recommend the appointment of a person to be the Police Complaint Commissioner for the province, and that he or she hold office for a period of six years.
This is the first time that a Police Complaint Commissioner has been selected in this manner. The Commissioner is a statutory officer of the Legislative Assembly, which means that the position is independent of government and communicates directly to the Legislative Assembly through the Speaker. The Commissioner's main function is to oversee the new process by which complaints against municipal police forces are to be resolved. Selected sections of the Act appended to this report describe the powers and duties of the position. It should be noted that the Act has not yet been proclaimed into law.
The Committee would like to thank the Committee Clerk for his procedural and administrative assistance throughout the Committee's deliberations.
On July 29, 1997 the House approved the following motion:
That a Special Committee be appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly, the appointment of a Police Complaints Commissioner for the Province of British Columbia, pursuant to section 47 of the Police Amendment Act, 1997, and that the Special Committee so appointed shall have the powers of a Select Standing Committee and is also empowered:
| (a) | to appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the Committee; |
| (b) | to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House; |
| (c) | to adjourn from place to place as may be convenient; |
| (d) | to retain such personnel as required to assist the Committee; |
and shall report to the House as soon as possible, or following any adjournment, or at the next following Session, as the case may be; to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.
The said Special Committee is to be composed of Messrs. Giesbrecht (Convener), Orcherton, Calendino and Randall, Mmes. Brewin, Sawicki and Smallwood, Messrs. Plant, Coell and Coleman, Ms. Reid and Mr. Weisgerber.
Members:
| Mr. Pietro Calendino (Chairperson) * | Burnaby North | |
| Mr. Geoff Plant (Deputy Chairperson) | Richmond-Steveston | |
| Mr. Helmut Giesbrecht | Skeena | |
| Ms. Joan Smallwood | Surrey-Whalley | |
| Mr. Steve Orcherton | Victoria-Hillside | |
| Ms. Joan Sawicki | Burnaby-Willingdon | |
| Ms. Gretchen Brewin | Victoria-Beacon Hill | |
| Mr. Fred Randall | Burnaby-Edmonds | |
| Mr. Rich Coleman | Fort Langley-Aldergrove | |
| Ms. Linda Reid | Richmond East | |
| Mr. Murray Coell | Saanich North and the Islands | |
| Mr. Jack Weisgerber | Peace River South |
Clerk to the Committee:
Mr. Neil Reimer
* From November 5th, 1997 to January 28th, 1998, Mr. Giesbrecht served as Chairperson of the Committee.
Members of the Committee met seven times to consider issues relating to:
At the outset of its work, the Committee received a briefing about the proposed mandate of the Police Complaint Commissioner and the new complaint process contemplated by the amendments to the Police Act. It then set in motion a process to provide for an open competition for the position.
Advertisements were placed in all major daily newspapers in British Columbia and in a newspaper with national circulation. All applications received were reviewed individually by the sub- committee. Of the 274 applications received, 25 were forwarded to the full Committee for further review. An interview shortlist was then established by the Committee. A screening matrix was applied throughout this process, and applicants' personal information was obscured. Eight candidates were contacted for interviews, and six of these accepted and were interviewed by the full Committee.
Your committee unanimously recommends to the Legislative Assembly that Mr. Don Morrison be appointed the Police Complaint Commissioner for the province of British Columbia, pursuant to section 47 of the Police Act.
Don Morrison brings a varied background to the office of Police Complaint Commissioner. A respected senior Crown Counsel in Victoria, he has most recently represented the Crown in several high-profile youth trials in Victoria and Vancouver. His professional experience also includes adminstration, teaching, social work and consulting.
Mr. Morrison was appointed senior Crown Counsel in 1992, and was Administrative Crown Counsel for three years prior to that. He also has engaged in private law practice over the last several years.
Mr. Morrison's degrees include an L.LB from the University of British Columbia (1982), and Master's degrees in Social Work (University of British Columbia, 1971) and Organization Development (Pepperdine University, 1980). In the late 1970s he was involved in funding and coordinating community policing and support programs as consultant to the Solicitor General of Canada. He has also worked in an administrative capacity for the federal Department of Health and Welfare, supervising the Indian/Inuit Professional Health Career Program, and has been a policy advisor on aboriginal government and health services for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
Mr. Morrison's work in the social work field includes counselling native students at British Columbia universities and working as a parole officer in Vancouver. He has taught ESL in the Vancouver school system, lectured sessionally at Simon Fraser University, and taught secondary school in Ndola, Zambia. He has lectured across Canada to municipal police forces and the RCMP. He has been a consultant for a variety of organizations, including the Padaeic Society, the Vancouver Indian Health Care Society, CUSO, the Law Reform Commission of Canada, the B.C. Police Commission and the Vancouver Crisis Centre.
From 1993-1996, Mr. Morrison was a Victoria School Board trustee, and he has been on the boards of the Nisha Children's Society, the Mayor's Committee on Crime Prevention in Ottawa, the Britannia Community Centre and the Vancouver Crisis Centre.
An all-party Special Committee of the Legislature has been authorized to recommend to the Legislature the appointment of a Police Complaint Commissioner. The Committee invites qualified applicants to submit their resumes for consideration.
The Commissioner will be an independent officer of the Legislature, responsible for monitoring complaints from the public about municipal police departments and their officers. He or she serves for a six-year non-renewable term of office. The position will be located in Vancouver.
The Commissioner will receive complaints and monitor their progress; inform the public about complaint procedures; make recommendations to police boards and the Attorney General; and refer matters to Crown Counsel for criminal prosecution when warranted.
The successful candidate will have a variety of skills. He or she must:
The Commissioner's salary is to be fixed by Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
For more information about the position, contact:
Mr. Neil Reimer, Committee Clerk
Room 224
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
Phone: 250-356-2900 (collect) Fax: 250-356-8172 Email: neil.reimer@leg.bc.ca
The deadline for applications is December 12, 1997.
February 19, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
APPOINTMENT OF POLICE COMPLAINT COMMISSIONER
Victoria, B.C. -- The Special Committee to Appoint a Police Complaint Commissioner today released its report. The all-party Committee will be unanimously recommending to the Legislative Assembly the appointment of Mr. Don Morrison to become the province's first independent Police Complaint Commissioner.
Mr. Morrison's appointment follows a selection process that resulted in more than 250 applications for the position being received from across Canada. Mr. Morrison has been a senior Crown Counsel for ten years, and has worked previously in the fields of social work, teaching and consulting.
"Mr. Morrison brings a varied background to this new and challenging position," said Committee Chairperson Pietro Calendino (MLA, Burnaby North). "He has valuable experience in the criminal justice system, but has also worked with aboriginal groups and taught university. He has had a distinguished career and has an excellent reputation in his community. We look forward to him taking on this new, important role."
Under recent amendments to the Police Act, the Police Complaint Commissioner is an officer of the Legislature and is independent from government, reporting directly to the Legislative Assembly through the Speaker. The Commissioner is responsible for overseeing a new process for resolving complaints brought by the public against municipal police departments and ensuring that complaints are fairly handled. The Commissioner does not make rulings on the content of complaints, but may order investigations, oversee mediation between the complainant and the police department, refer serious matters for prosecution, and hold public inquiries. The appointment is for a six-year term.
"We were pleased with the level of interest from qualified people across the country, though that made the Committee's choice more difficult," said deputy chairperson Geoff Plant (MLA, Richmond-Steveston). "Mr. Morrison is a respected member of the legal profession and has demonstrated the ability to work with many different groups during the course of his career."
The Committee will be presenting its report to the Legislative Assembly at its next sitting. The recommendation must be formally approved by the House.
Members of the Committee are:
| Mr. Pietro Calendino (Chairperson) | Burnaby North | |
| Mr. Geoff Plant (Deputy Chairperson) | Richmond-Steveston | |
| Mr. Helmut Giesbrecht | Skeena | |
| Ms. Joan Smallwood | Surrey-Whalley | |
| Mr. Steve Orcherton | Victoria-Hillside | |
| Ms. Joan Sawicki | Burnaby-Willingdon | |
| Ms. Gretchen Brewin | Victoria-Beacon Hill | |
| Mr. Fred Randall | Burnaby-Edmonds | |
| Mr. Rich Coleman | Fort Langley-Aldergrove | |
| Mr. Murray Coell | Saanich North and the Islands | |
| Ms. Linda Reid | Richmond East | |
| Mr. Jack Weisgerber | Peace River South |
For more information:
Mr. Neil Reimer
Committee Clerk
Room 224
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
| Phone: | 250-356-2900 (collect) |
| Fax: | 250-356-8172 |
Note: The sections of the Act reproduced below are for informational purposes only. The full printed version of the Act remains the official version.
Division 2 -- Police Complaint Commissioner
Police complaint commissioner
47 (1) On the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, the Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint as the police complaint commissioner a person, other than a member of the Legislative Assembly, who has been unanimously recommended for the appointment by a special committee of the Legislative Assembly.
(2) The police complaint commissioner is an officer of the Legislature.
(3) Subject to section 48, the police complaint commissioner holds office for a term of 6 years.
(4) A person who is appointed under this section is not eligible to be reappointed as police complaint commissioner.
Resignation, removal or suspension of police complaint commissioner
48 (1) The police complaint commissioner may resign at any time by notifying the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or, if there is no Speaker or the Speaker is absent from British Columbia, by notifying the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must remove the police complaint commissioner from office or suspend the police complaint commissioner for cause or incapacity on the recommendation of 2/3 of the members present in the Legislative Assembly.
(3) If the Legislative Assembly is not sitting, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may suspend the police complaint commissioner for cause or incapacity.
Acting police complaint commissioner
49 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint an acting police complaint commissioner if one of the following applies:
(a) the office of police complaint commissioner is or becomes vacant when the Legislative Assembly is not sitting;
(b) the police complaint commissioner is suspended when the Legislative Assembly is not sitting;
(c) the police complaint commissioner is removed or suspended or the office of the police complaint commissioner becomes vacant when the Legislative Assembly is sitting, but no recommendation is made by the Legislative Assembly under section 47 (1) before the end of the session;
(d) the police complaint commissioner will be temporarily absent for more than 30 days because of illness or any other reason.
(2) An acting police complaint commissioner holds office until the first of the following occurs:
(a) a person is appointed under section 47 (1);
(b) the suspension of the police complaint commissioner ends;
(c) the Legislative Assembly has sat for 20 days after the date of the acting police complaint commissioner's appointment;
(d) the police complaint commissioner returns to office after a temporary absence.
Powers and duties of police complaint commissioner
50 (1) The police complaint commissioner is to oversee the handling of complaints.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the police complaint commissioner is to
(a) receive complaints from any source,
(b) establish and maintain a record of complaints, including the complaint dispositions relating to those complaints,
(c) compile statistical information respecting all complaints,
(d) regularly prepare reports of the complaint dispositions made or reached during the reporting period, and make those reports available to the public,
(e) inform the public of the complaint procedures provided by this Part and the functions and duties of the police complaint commissioner,
(f) accept and consider comments from any interested person respecting the administration of this Part,
(g) inform, advise and assist complainants, respondents, discipline authorities, boards and adjudicators respecting the complaint process and the handling of complaints,
(h) periodically conduct reviews of the complaint process and make any recommendations for improvement of that process in the annual report under section 51.1,
(i) establish procedures for mediation services to assist complainants and respondents in achieving informal resolution of complaints and provide those services to those parties,
(j) establish guidelines to be followed by municipal police departments for the purpose of informal resolution of public trust complaints under section 54.1, and
(k) perform any other duties imposed and exercise any other powers provided by this Act.
(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the police complaint commissioner may do any of the following:
(a) prepare and provide informational reports on any matter related to the role of the police complaint commissioner;
(b) engage in or commission research on any matter relating to the purposes of this Part;
(c) make recommendations to a board that it examine and reconsider any written policies or procedures that may have been a factor in an act or omission that gave rise to a complaint;
(d) prepare guidelines respecting the procedures to be followed by a person receiving a complaint;
(e) make recommendations to the director or the Attorney General that a review, study or audit be undertaken to assist police departments or forces, or any designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit to which this Part is made applicable by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, in developing training or other programs designed to prevent recurrence of any problems revealed by the complaint process;
(f) make recommendations to the Attorney General for a public inquiry under the Inquiry Act if there are reasonable grounds to believe that
(i) the issues in respect of which the inquiry is recommended are so serious or so widespread that an inquiry is necessary in the public interest,
(ii) an investigation conducted under this Part, even if followed by a public hearing, would be too limited in scope, and
(iii) powers granted under the Inquiry Act are needed;
(g) refer to Crown counsel a complaint, or one or more of the allegations in a complaint, for possible criminal prosecution.
(4) In exercising the police complaint commissioner's powers and duties under this Part in relation to a public trust complaint, the police complaint commissioner may receive and obtain information respecting the complaint from the parties and the discipline authority in the manner the police complaint commissioner considers appropriate including, without limitation, interviewing and taking statements from the discipline authority, the person making the complaint and the respondent.
(5) A person having records relating to a complaint must provide, on request, the police complaint commissioner with access to those records.
Salary, expenses and benefits of police complaint commissioner
50.1 (1) The police complaint commissioner is entitled
(a) to be paid, out of the consolidated revenue fund, compensation as may be fixed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and
(b) to be reimbursed for reasonable travelling and out of pocket expenses personally incurred in performing the duties of the office.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may order that the Pension (Public Service) Act applies to the police complaint commissioner.
Staff of police complaint commissioner
51 (1) The police complaint commissioner may appoint, in accordance with the Public Service Act, employees necessary to enable the police complaint commissioner to perform the duties of the office.
(2) For the purpose of the application of the Public Service Act to subsection (1) of this section, the police complaint commissioner is deemed to be a deputy minister.
(3) The police complaint commissioner may appoint a deputy police complaint commissioner, who may carry out the functions of the police complaint commissioner while the police complaint commissioner is temporarily absent for a period of not more than 30 days because of illness or any other reason.
(4) The police complaint commissioner may incur reasonable office and other expenses as may be necessary to discharge functions under this Act.
(5) The police complaint commissioner may retain consultants, mediators or other persons as may be necessary to discharge functions under this Act, and may establish their remuneration and other terms and conditions of their retainers.
(6) The Public Service Act does not apply in respect of a person retained under subsection (5) of this section.
(7) The police complaint commissioner may make a special report to the Legislative Assembly if the police complaint commissioner considers that one or both of the following are inadequate for fulfilling the duties of the office:
(a) the amounts and establishment provided for the office of police complaint commissioner in the estimates;
(b) the services provided by the Public Service Employee Relations Commission.
Annual report
51.1 (1) The police complaint commissioner must report annually to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on the work of the police complaint commissioner's office.
(2) The Speaker must promptly lay each annual report before the Legislative Assembly if it is in session and, if the Legislative Assembly is not in session when the report is submitted, within 15 days after the beginning of the next session.
Review of this Part
51.2 (1) A special committee of the Legislative Assembly must begin a comprehensive review of this Part and the work of the police complaint commissioner within 3 years after this Part comes into force and must submit to the Legislative Assembly, within one year after beginning the review, a report that includes any amendments to this Part that the committee recommends.
(2) As part of the review process contemplated by subsection (1), the committee must solicit and consider written and oral input from any interested person or organization.
Copyright © 1997: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada