Prince George councillors want answers after RCMP monitor city hall meeting without their knowledge

A pair of city councillors in Prince George, B.C., are looking for answers after they say two RCMP officers monitored a public meeting at city hall without their knowledge.

It happened Wednesday night during a review of the city's updated official community plan, which was open to public comment.

Coun. Trudy Klassen said that during the meeting she noticed two people "sort of skulking in the back," and that afterwards she and fellow Coun. Brian Skakun asked city staff about who they were.

It was then that she found out they were two RCMP officers, out of uniform, who had attended at the request of city staff over safety concerns.

"I feel like this was a serious betrayal of trust," Klasen said, adding she'd heard from members of the public who were upset to find out they were being treated as a threat. "If this was such a concern ... why was mayor and council not informed?"

She also questioned the decision to take two officers off their regular duties for four hours when, as a councillor, she is constantly hearing about stretched police resources and problems of mischief and crime that go unaddressed as a result.

"This just seems to me to be an unwarranted use of police resources," she said.

Police attended meeting focused on greenspace protection

The meeting was the second in a series of hearings aimed at getting public feedback on the city's official community plan (OCP) while it is under review. The OCP is a document that outlines in broad strokes planning and land-use decisions based on the city's values for different regions.

One area that has been contentious is the protection of greenspace within the city, particularly around Ginter's Meadow, an urban park connected to other unprotected greenbelts.

For several years, a coalition of citizens under the name Ginter's Green Forever have been pushing city hall to do more to preserve these spaces from development, and have been told their best way forward is through the OCP. As a result, dozens of supporters have come out to the public hearings around the plan, with feedback sessions lasting several hours.

While these members are passionate, Klassen said she has never felt intimidated or threatened by the people speaking at the meetings, and she worries the presence of RCMP at the meetings sends the wrong message.

"They have spent so much time and energy," she said. So to be "treated as a threat," she said, it's "no wonder people have lost faith in government."

City says police presence was precautionary

An RCMP spokesperson responded via email to say that "any time there's a large number of people at city events, we consider safety precautions."

A city spokesperson confirmed via email that the RCMP members were there at the request of city staff as a "precautionary measure, not as a response to a specific threat." They did not say why mayor and council were not informed of the decision nor provide any specific reason why police were needed.

"After the first official community plan public hearing, staff raised concerns about safety, and the city inquired with the RCMP about the support that could be offered for the second public hearing date," the spokesperson wrote.

"This decision was made in the interest of ensuring the safety and security of all attendees."

The email said that RCMP officers often attend city events where a "large attendance is expected," and that is "due to concerns raised about issues experienced at similar events in other communities."

It said the RCMP presence was meant to "be a responsible measure to maintain a safe environment for everyone, while preserving the open and welcoming atmosphere that public hearings are meant to foster."

Klassen, though, said it had the opposite effect, as she heard from some members of the public that they felt intimidated by the men sitting in the public hearing area and expressed even more concern after learning they were RCMP.

"There's a feeling that, 'my goodness, I shouldn't have bothered,'" she said. "It casts a pall on the public."

Review requested

CBC News has reached out to other city councillors through their city hall emails.

In a Facebook post, Coun. Skakun said he was "upset and saddened" by the police presence at the meeting, and the lack of transparency around the decision.

"I truly believe this will shake public trust in City Hall, at least in the short term," he wrote.

Klassen said she feels the same and is seeking more answers from city staff about how the decision was made. She said that, so far, the answers received are inadequate.

"I'm not satisfied at all with the response," she said.