Ste Anne’s top cop welcomes legislation review

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This article was published 23/11/2020 (1684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ste Anne Chief of Police Marc Robichaud had an important role in shaping recommendations to the province concerning the Police Services Act, but the wait is on to see when the recommendations may be enacted.

A review of Manitoba’s Police Services Act was released Nov. 5. The 196-page document contained some 70 recommendations related to the Police Services Act, a major piece of legislation that, among other things, lays out rules police are required to follow.

In addition to being Ste Anne’s police chief, Robichaud is also president of the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police. He said he had an active role in discussions that led to the recommendations.

Basically, Robichaud said, the review and recommendations should make policing rules more consistent across the province.

The Manitoba government agreed to the review in 2018 and began a tendering process in 2019.

Recommendations refer to Manitoba Justice adopting the Alberta Peace Officer model and adopting a layered model for policing in the province.

Robichaud said he’s an advocate for a tiered policing model, which broadens “the categories and types of police personnel that perform various police functions,” according to a 2013 policing model report. It also involves a distribution of responsibilities that includes regular police, police with limited powers, special constables, as well as private security, civilian members, and community partners.

According to the recommendations, municipal police boards will continue to be mandatory. Recommendations include the province granting two appointments to boards rather than boards having two municipal appointees.

Another recommendation said all board members are required to complete training responsibilities prior to voting in a board meeting.

Additionally, the Independent Investigation Unit, Manitoba’s police watchdog, would also get its own legislation. Such changes if enacted could give the IIU more oversight powers and strengthen its independence.

Some critics wonder if the IIU sometimes declines to prosecute an accused officer because some IIU personnel have ties to police. Robichaud rejected such a notion.

“I think the suggestion that [the IIU] wouldn’t actively prosecute somebody if they had grounds to do it… would be a misstatement,” Robichaud said.

Now that the report is complete, Robichaud said implementing the recommendations could require significant resources from Manitoba Justice, and the will of the provincial government.

In the grand scheme of passing legislation, the report is a preliminary step. Further steps, Robichaud said, include police consultations. Crafting new legislation may take years, he said.