National

Police officer program to end in Vancouver schools

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Apr, 2021 04:35 PM

Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program.

The program has been under review for almost a year due to concerns that uniformed officers make some students anxious or upset, including many identifying as Black, Indigenous or people of colour.

It’s w/a heavy ❤️ that I think of all the #youth who will no longer have an #SLO or benefit from the countless programs they run. @VancouverPD was hopeful that all #stakeholders could have worked together to find a path forward while preserving the program @VSB39. @VPDYouth https://t.co/7Aq8paFwja
— Fiona Wilson (@FionaWilsonVPD) April 27, 2021

Trustees voted eight to one Monday in favour of a motion to halt the program at the end of June.

The decision is supported by several groups, including the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council and associations representing elementary and secondary school teachers in the city.

The school board will now work with Vancouver police and RCMP to create what the motion defines as a "new relationship" developing "trauma-informed approaches to working with children and youth."

Sgt. Steve Addison says in a statement that Vancouver police were open to an "evolving" relationship that could include roles for plainclothes officers in city schools.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Black Canadians say racism here is just as harmful as in the United States

The death of George Floyd in Minnesota following a police intervention has spurred massive protests in both Canada and the United States and societal soul-searching on the need to fight racism on both sides of the border.

Black Canadians say racism here is just as harmful as in the United States

Minister says reckoning on police violence against Indigenous people needed

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Canada needs a reckoning over a repeated and disgusting pattern of police violence against Indigenous people. Miller says he "watched in disgust" video and reports this week of violence against a 22-year-old Inuk man in Nunavut and a 26-year-old First Nations mother in New Brunswick.

Minister says reckoning on police violence against Indigenous people needed

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Canada clawed back 289,600 jobs in May as provincial governments began easing public health restrictions and businesses reopened, Statistics Canada said Friday. Still, the unemployment rate in May rose to 13.7 per cent, the highest level in more than four decades of comparable data.

Canada unemployment rate hits new record

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

The head of Toronto's police service took a public knee on Friday in solidarity with marching anti-racism demonstrators protesting police killings of black people, with similar demonstrations planned in other Canadian cities.

Anti-racism protesters march in Toronto; Trudeau calls systemic racism real

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is offering $14 billion to the provincial and territorial governments for measures to keep COVID-19 at bay.

Trudeau offers $14B to provinces for anti-COVID-19 efforts through rest of year

Vancouver doubles height for mass-timber development from six to twelve storeys

Amendments to the city's building bylaw approved by Council last week will allow mass timber construction up to 12 storeys for residential and commercial uses, doubling the current height limit of 6 storeys. With changes taking effect on July 1, permitting taller mass timber construction within the Building By-law will make it easier to build with low carbon materials, support housing affordability, and remove barriers for the construction industry at a time of crisis and economic recovery.