Sham inquiries cover up
for OPCC cover-ups

Whether in legislature or committee, B.C. MLAs
consistently support a corrupt system of police accountability

 

From 2012 to 2013, again in 2019 and then in 2020-22, all-party committees appointed by the provincial legislature have been conducting sham inquiries into B.C.’s police complaint process. That follows the practice, in both committees and the legislature at large, in which absolutely no MLA will ever consider evidence pointing to flagrant ethical corruption at B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner or consider reforming the agency’s lack of transparency and accountability.

The fact that B.C. MLAs always act unanimously on police accountability issues demonstrates the rigidity of party discipline and the subservience of politicians. NDP and BC Liberals have demonstrated their slavish uniformity for many years, but more recently the Green Party has also fallen into step. Their motivation most likely would be the remuneration so few of these inadequate characters could achieve elsewhere. Although there’s no smoking gun evidence, the cause suggests a powerful police lobby.

Here are some posts about the 2020-22 committee, followed by five posts on the 2019 process and more lengthy coverage of the earlier whitewash.

Decolonizing corruption

B.C. wants to retain cop cover-ups, but with
native participation under a confused, weird
and racially exclusive Police Act. More…

 

At last, a (partial) advocate
for police accountability

But the B.C. Human Rights Commission emphasizes
identity politics at the cost of some issues
—and some people. More…

 

B.C. Police Act reform:
What MLAs don’t want to know

Another legislative committee will likely evade
the problem of OPCC secrecy and immunity. More…

 

An open letter to the
Union of British Columbia
Indian Chiefs and the
B.C. Civil Liberties Association

Police cover-ups are more common than you might realize.
But you’re uniquely positioned to address the problem. More...

 

The cop status quo matters

B.C. stands ready to manipulate identity politics
in support of OPCC corruption. More...

 

Three principles drive
Adam Olsen’s career

He opposes police accountability, sells out natives and
lacks environmental commitment. But the Green MLA
stands firm on his pay, perks and pension. More...

 

Just following orders

Some reflections on how B.C.’s arrogant but subservient
political culture props up corrupt institutions. More...

 

The cop status quo stands,
thanks to five self-serving MLAs

Another sham legislative committee entrenches
the OPCC’s lack of transparency and accountability. More...

 

Rigged input, predictable output

A legislative committee will likely recommend
“arm’s-length” investigation of cops and distinct
consideration for natives. But expect the MLAs
to ignore the OPCC’s lack of transparency
and accountability. More…

 

From the earlier sham process

B.C. auditor general John Doyle and seven MLAs
whitewashed B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner

 

Between summer 2012 and March 2013, British Columbia’s auditor general and a non-partisan committee of seven MLAs supposedly conducted an inquiry into cases handled by B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. Had it been a genuine inquiry, this would have been the only time this unaccountable agency has faced any official scrutiny into its work. (The nearest exception, which dates all the way back to 2002, focused on the way the police complaint commissioner of the time bullied his employees.) But this inquiry turned out to be an extremely cynical sham.

Auditor general John Doyle conducted his work in secret. He refused to divulge his methodology or his criteria for evaluating the OPCC’s work. He wouldn’t even issue a report. All he released publicly is an inadequate statement praising the OPCC.

The seven MLAs, meanwhile, used a laughable excuse to block all public input into the inquiry. They were informed of specific OPCC/police cover-ups and had a duty to act on them. But they refused. They ignored written submissions and refused to meet with members of the public.

Instead they spoke only with police interests, asking puffball questions in meandering conversations. B.C.’s media fell for it, running several superficial stories praising the OPCC without noticing the obvious problems with the auditor general’s press release and the committee’s report.

Here’s a series of posts about the inquiry. This is by far the most thorough account publicly available about this cynical whitewash.

 

A contradiction further exposes
the OPCC whitewash

The legislative committee’s final report confirms seven MLAs deliberately
blocked public input from their sham inquiry into police complaints. More...

 

BC Liberal MLA Gordon Hogg’s hypocrisy
about “fiduciary duty”

He spurned his duty to act on OPCC corruption. But to save his political skin
Hogg calls for an inquiry into a much lesser scandal. More...

 

MLAs Murray Coell and
Kathy Corrigan lie to the media

Such is their determination to whitewash B.C.’s Office of the Police
Complaint Commissioner that they resort to obvious dishonesty. More...

 

Police interests welcomed
but public input ignored

B.C.’s auditor general and seven MLAs set out to whitewash
the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
But they inadvertently confirmed the OPCC lacks
transparency and accountability. More...

 

B.C.’s auditor general praises the OPCC.
But how was the audit conducted?

The auditor general and a committee of MLAs seem to have evaded public input
into the audit of B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. More...

 

Time to examine B.C.’s secretive OPCC

Legislative committee asked to call an inquiry
into the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. More...

 

Four cases that show the dishonesty
of B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner

Stan T. Lowe, Rollie Woods, Dirk Ryneveld and Bruce M. Brown are liars.
They lie obviously, complacently and arrogantly. More...

 

More reason for cynicism
about the MLAs who will audit the OPCC

Another MLA committee sees nothing wrong with B.C.’s
conflict of interest commissioner being in a conflict of interest himself. More...

 

Legislative committee to examine
B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner

Will that mean long-overdue scrutiny or a whitewash
of this secretive, unaccountable agency? More...