(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
April 12, 2000)
Funding
fiddled while organized crime grows
By Leo Knight
LAST
August, at the annual convention of the Canadian Chiefs of
Police, the RCMP announced the formation of the Organized Crime
Directorate under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner Giuliano
"Zack" Zaccardelli.
In
choosing that forum to make the announcement, with all the
attendant media attention, the RCMP demonstrated just how
significant the problem has become.
Last
week Zaccardelli said in an interview with the national media
that organized crime is threatening our democracy.
"For
the first time, organized crime, serious criminal organizations,
are actually threatening the democratic institutions of this
country and the values that we hold dear," said Zaccardelli.
"It
is a real threat to the way of life that we have in this
country. It is that serious."
Now
this statement comes as no shock to me or to regular readers of
this space. The ramifications of organized crime and the
inaction of various levels of our governments have long been a
bone of contention with me.
Unfortunately,
neither the federal nor provincial government seems to give a
tinker's damn about the problem. In fact, their masterful
inactivity smacks more of condoning the situation rather than
seeking to combat the problem.
Last
week, our newly minted provincial Attorney General, Andrew
Petter, made a big splash in announcing an
"additional" $3.8 million in funding for the Organized
Crime Agency of B.C. (OCA).
In
the accompanying press release, Petter was quoted as saying that
"staying ahead of organized crime is an essential element
of public safety."
As
stupid as that statement is, and it really is, Petter compounded
the ignorance by saying, "This government's commitment was
demonstrated last year when we established the agency (OCA) and
we are increasing that commitment today by providing new
provincial funding to target organized crime groups at their
highest level."
In
the first place, it is impossible for us to "stay
ahead" of a problem that is spiralling out of sight.
I
spoke to a police officer about this issue the other day. The
officer has over 25 years experience, the bulk of that time
spent in the fight against organized crime. He scoffed when I
read him the quote.
"We
can't stay ahead of something we're merely trying to catch up
to," he said.
As
far as "this government's commitment," there is none.
OCA
was formed when CLEU (Co-ordinated Law Enforcement Unit) was put
out of its misery after years of being totally dysfunctional
under the dubious direction of Peter Engstad, who, since he was
fired from CLEU, has been placed as a senior negotiator with the
Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs dealing with treaties.
Inspires
a lot of confidence in the government's ability to get a good
deal for B.C. doesn't it?
Back
to OCA though. According to the press release, OCA runs on a
$9.8 million operating budget. The additional cash announced by
Petter with much fanfare brings the budget to $13.6 million. The
operating budget for CLEU at the time of its demise was $13.6
million.
The
Owen Report, which recommended the death of CLEU and the
implementation of a new agency, said in its recommendations:
"Current levels of public funding for British Columbia's
anti-organized crime initiatives should be maintained while the
new organizational model recommended in this report is developed
and implemented."
In
other words, all Petter has done is what was being done before
and following the recommendations of the Owen Report.
But,
in reality, the situation is really much worse than even those
sad facts would indicate.
On March 23, 1999, our erstwhile attorney general, now Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, announced the hiring of RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bev Busson as the head of OCA.
On
that day, at the press conference done with the usual NDP
fanfare, Dosanjh said the budget for the new agency would be set
at $15.1 million. Any suggestions how we got from $15.1 million
down to the $9.8 quoted in Petter's press release? Some
commitment!
It's also interesting to note that Busson left the new agency to take over as commanding officer for the RCMP in British Columbia after only nine months on the job.
There
was a rumour going around that she left because the government
-- you remember those guys who are committed to fighting
organized crime -- cut her budget by $5 million.
Whenever
I tried to get to the bottom of that, I was assured it wasn't
true. Given the statement made by Dosanjh last March and the one
made by Petter last week, it certainly seems as though there may
be more than a little truth in it. Unless my calculator is
broken, $15.1 million minus $9.8 million leaves $5.3 million.
Then
there's the last line of Petter's press release. It says,
"As part of its expansion strategy the agency will open its
first branch in Victoria later this month."
Far
be it from me to underestimate the importance of Victoria, but
the majority of the organized criminal activity in B.C. runs
through Vancouver. It would make more sense to open an office in
Nanaimo, at least they have the Hells Angels and Vietnamese drug
dealers. The only thing there is in Victoria is bureaucrats and
politicians. Hmmmmm.
I will leave the final word to the police officer I referred to earlier. "This would be laughable if it weren't so serious."
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