The National Police Federation says new measures to enforce travel restrictions in B.C. “might be going too far.”
Speaking on the Mike Smyth Show, president Brian Sauve says members are anxious to find out details about road blocks tomorrow, which will be announced by Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
“A little overarching, and we’re really looking forward to actually seeing what the Minister is going to propose tomorrow. So at the moment, we’re just expressing our concerns that if it comes to fruition with what he stated earlier in the week, that this is going to be a stretch for our members,” Sauve said.
“We’ve had a challenging couple of years in policing, trying to rebuild the trust of the public and maintain that trust. Something like this, the ability to pull someone over for whatever, and say ‘prove to me why you’re here, for non-essential or essential reason,’ could erode that trust further.”
The National Police Federation represents about 6,500 RCMP officers in the province.
This past Monday, Premier John Horgan announced that starting on Friday, people would not be allowed to travel between health authorities in the province until “circuit breaker” restrictions end, currently set to happen on May 25.
Farnworth later noted that road blocks will likely be set up at ferry terminals and major highways, including those in and out of the Lower Mainland.
He also said that travellers who enter B.C. from other provinces won’t be able to leave the health authority they arrive in.
“We are putting in place measures that will ensure that if, for example, you were to enter B.C., you would have to stay within that health authority, but at the same time, we’ve also been working with the tourism associations on dealing with people coming from other jurisdictions,” he said.
Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn said the provincial RCMP is looking into the new rules, while waiting to see what the government announces on Friday.
“Regardless of what is announced and what isn’t announced, we ask all British Columbians to fully comply with public health orders and to stay safe,” Evelyn told NL News. “That is one of the things we’ve always asked for people to comply with public heath orders and to stay safe.”