In an interview on NL Newsday – Kamloops mayoral candidate Ray Dhaliwal pitched more “boots on the ground” as one piece of improving community safety.

However, a piece of his proposal would be illegal.

Dhaliwal said there needs to be more CSO’s [Community Safety Officers], and more RCMP walking the streets to increase visibility to potential trouble-makers.

“RCMP, CSO’s, bylaws. I belong to the ANAVets and we had a discussion with them and they said ‘we have the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry here too that we could put on patrol at night time too and give them some training so we can even bring them up aboard,” he said.

When pressed on whether the idea to involve the military was legal, Dhaliwal says, “Well once I get in there I’ll know a little bit more about that, but it was just something the we passed that in passing – I’m also a member of the Royal Canadian Legion as well so we’ve had some good discussions on solving this problem – not on solving it – but mitigating it and finding some solutions.”

Asked further who would pay if the federal government wouldn’t or couldn’t, he adds, “well, the federal will put in the money and if not the City of Kamloops we will have to do that definitely. We need to protect our citizens.”

NL played Dhaliwal’s interview for two lawyers and a former BC Provincial Court judge, all of whom immediately tossed cold water on the idea.

They say it would be without precedent, except for the invocation of the War Measures Act in 1970, noting that even when the Emergencies Act was invoked in Ottawa to deal with convoy protests, the military was not deployed, nor are they trained as peace officers.

In addition, the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry is garrisoned in Edmonton.

However, the Rocky Mountain Rangers, an army reserve regiment of the 39 Canadian Brigade Group, is garrisoned in Kamloops.