Delving inte * ‘THE more the disarm- ing of the police auxil- jaries/reserves is looked at, the more convinced I am that there’s something nefarious and distaste- ful going on behind the scenes. Exactly what that some- thing is, 1 cannor yer fathom. But make no mistake about it, there’s more to this than the attorney general will admit. Two wecks ago, Ujjal . Dosanjh announced he was “ disarming the RCMP aunil- jaries pending a review by some mysterious committee, due to report to him in September. "Within days, Vancouver +: Police Department Chief Bruce Chambers announced ~~ a.similar, though more limit- S.ed move, which resulted in the.department’s reserve - force. withdrawing all services. In an interview with Attorncy General Dosanjh ._ Jast. week, ] asked about points'J:made in last weck’s column. Specifically, I ques- tioned Dosanjh about his statements saying the original - intention of the auxiliary pro- gram was never to put them . in charm’s way. “] explained to a non-com- ’s prehending attorney general thar it is a condition of the employment of each volun- tcer ausiliary.to spend a mini- -_mum of 160 hours per year ‘in a “duty” situation, Most of the hours spent ‘are in uniform riding beside a regular police officer, provid- "ing back-up support in every mats of the officer's shift. .:, Stop a car, the auxiliary is |, ‘on. the passenger side moni-'- , toring the occupants. Go to a '. domestic dispute, the volun- teer is in the pressure cooker with the regular member, try- “ing to calm the situation. ’ Shots fired call: The auxiliary doesn’t remain in the car, ducked down while the situa- tion is dealt with. Bar fight. Guess who is inside, some- times rolling around in the lood and the beer? “According to Dosanjh, the . volunteer auxiliary is expect- © éd to do this withour the , _ Protection of a sidearm. During the interview, I iis- teried incredulously as ; Dosanjh responded that he has been on a-number of ide-alongs with the police ~ “and never felt:in harm’s way. wonder when he. was last. crime and punishment riding with a police officer and was required to physically get involved with an arrest? So f asked him why jump the gun? Why not wait for this committee to report back with their recommendations? He said he was reacting to public safety concerns brought to him by the com- mittee and the police. What concerns, asked the innocent scribe? A number of them, says he. J tried again and began to get dizzy from going around that circle. Once more into the breach. Why make a decision before the committee has had a chance to report? Because of the safety concerns brought to him, said the AG. What concerns would they be, says 1? Many concern: brought to him by the police and the conumittee, says he. Hang on. I've already see this movie. OK I know enough to come in out of the rain. Well, who is on this conumittee? “I don’t know,” was the answer. Hult So I requested a taxed list of the conimittee members. Surely the public deserves to find out who is bringing” mailbox — Medicare being undermined Opén letter to the ‘Prime ; Minister: --.; The ‘saying is that if one . does not have health one ‘has nothing! -_ . And:.Canada today most , surely""does not have the < health (system) it enjoyed before you took over. You are laughing . and dancing with glee about a bal- anced budget. But what a way to achieve it —. wreck the country’s health care system! . Ic is near total chaos, /t is not” balanced! ~~ -. Whosoever: rated . Canada as the best place to live should AG’s disarming see “concerns” to the AG that affect the police service we, as citizens, receive. The attorney general then stated he would have his staff fax the list of members to me without delay. Then he had to go to a mecting, or pick up his dry cleaning or wash his hair or something equally of great state importance. A half hour Jater, my fax machine began churning our a multiple page document from the AG’s ministry. At fast, the list of commit- tee members, We will finally be able to determine if there's an clement of credibil- ity on the committec. Wrong. T received two letters writ- ten to the AG, one by VPD Chief Chambers and one by Assistant Commissioner, Murray Johnston, the Commanding Officer of the RCMP in B.C. Ironically, both letters were dated April 2, 1998. Both !ztters said virtually the same thing — thar cach was aware of, and in support of, the attorney general’s deci- sion to disarm the ausiliaries. - Now, what are the chances, do you suppose, of the two mast senior police cfficers in the province, both writing to the attorney gener- al on the same subject, on the same day, saying virtually che same thing and then those letters being released to the media to explain the decision taken by the AG? About the same as Glen Clark or Joy MacPhail relling the truth about the budget, Pd wager. But still no fist of the committee members who are advising the attorney general and who, he says, he doesn’t know. OK, so I'm gullible. | called Kare Thompson, the director of communications for the AG. Where's the list I was promised by Mr. Dosanjh? Sorry, says she, “Pt! look right into it.” Two days later, [ called again. Uh, the list, remem- ber? Oops, says Ms. Thompson. It seems to be lost. But she'll keep looking. ¢ | Cant find ic Now, I don’t know what's going on in this matter. Anyone who has a modicum of knowledge knows the aux- iliary/‘reserve program in B.C. has its foibles. But at the same time, its members provide countless thousands of volunteer hours of service to B.C. citizens. If the program is to be reviewed to make it better for all concerned, fair cnough. But why the knee-jerk reac- tion? Try as I might, | couldn’t geta straight answer from the AG explaining why he has done what he has in this manner. What is being hid- den liere? Clearly, if this is all above hoard then why not answer my questions? If this was done because of public safery concerns, then what are those concerns? If the decision was recom- mended by this mysterious commiitee, then why not identify the committee and let us look ar whe: is making the recommendations and eonay perreemmcereman tr 9 today re-evaluate the situa- tion. You are the greatest dis- aster this country has ever known as ‘a leader and it has ‘enjoyed some beauties in recent times. Your decimation — of Medicare is criminal. Na fess! «: The degree I’ve awarded you » stands for Medicare Demolition Expediter. As the . demolished Medicare system can no longer cater to the present population, I’m sure you've put the cork in thei immigra- tion bottle? Yes: Resign, beltre we reach BUY ANY. 72 BEDDING PLANT CELL PACKS. AND RECEIVE THE 13TH..FREE. 4 INCH GERANIUMS Reg. $2.87 Special $2.57 over. 700 to choose from : Third World status healthwise! Albert B. Griffin North Vancouver." Wednesday, April 29, 1998 — North Shore News — 7 Surely we are entitled to know what’s really going on. — lknight@directce Perhaps we can then discern why the recommendations were made? en ose one Se SSS ee eee ome os) ee ae oe ce =m ay Oil, Lube & Filter Cases, «21 Bt. Safety: check, 15 minutes - FAST! 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