One Richmond city councillor suggested his colleague’s motion to add fighting racism and hate crimes to local RCMP’s priority list was an attempt to get his picture into the newspaper.
Coun. Chak Au raised the motion at Monday’s meeting as city council was looking to approve the Richmond RCMP’s 2023/24 performance plan.
Coun. Bill McNulty spoke against this motion – along with other councillors - saying the words suggested by Au were “hollow” because they didn’t have any action items attached to them.
“It gets in the newspaper and Councillor Au gets his picture in the paper, but what does it do to stop it in the coffee shop, in the street, in the hallways?” McNulty said.
He added the city should work to fight racism targetting all groups “including reverse racism which I’ve experienced,” but he questioned whether there was a better way to handle the issue in Richmond, rather than just adding words to the RCMP’s work plan.
Furthermore, McNulty told city council he didn’t like the way the issue came forward to city council.
“The councillor has put us in a very bad position – I don’t want tell the RCMP what to do,” McNulty said.
Two other city councillors, Kash Heed and Andy Hobbs, both retired Vancouver police officers, also argued against the motion saying it was giving “operational direction” to the RCMP rather than giving policy direction.
Heed said there’s a “line that's drawn in the sand” that giving this direction to the RCMP crosses.
“We have to be very, very cognizant that we do not direct any operational direction with the police of jurisdiction of Richmond,” Heed said.
Hobbs noted this amendment puts council in a “difficult position” as it sounds like they’re arguing against fighting racism. Furthermore, he said, the RCMP's performance plan is an internal document that most city councils don’t deal with publicly.
“We should respect the national RCMP’s umbrella, provincial direction and the fact that the Richmond RCMP is working under those requirements,” Hobbs said.
Fighting racism was added last year to the RCMP priority list, and Au said the problem hasn’t gone away, and, in fact, having it a priority resulted in fewer racism incidents and crimes in Richmond.
The RCMP set four priorities in their performance plan this year: property crime, road safety, organized crime and vulnerable people.
Chauhan said their anti-racism initiatives from last year seem to be “paying dividends,” which can be seen in fewer incidents of racism being reported to the RCMP. He noted there have only been five so far this calendar year.
The four RCMP priorities reflect broad concerns and emerging trends, Chauhan said, but racism and hate remain a priority for him and the Richmond RCMP.
However, Au replied, in his opinion, having it as a priority last year resulted in fewer such incidents.
“There’s a link between the priorities and the action and the results,” Au said.
After Au questioned Chief Supt. Dave Chauhan at length on the issue, Heed called of point of privilege, saying Au’s question had already been answered.
“The answer has been given several times – it’s not the answer Coun. Au wants to hear and as a result he is belabouring the issue and is asking the question over and over,” Heed said.
Au’s amendment to add “fighting racism” was defeated with himself, Couns. Laura Gillanders, Michael Wolfe and the mayor voting in favour.
