Drunk Driving

Will Campbell's Cutbacks Encourage Drunks to Drive? Did Rich Coleman succeed where Gary Collins failed? Who is behind the RCMP's decision to back out of CounterAttack after almost 20 years of participation.

The flip flop on CounterAttack is enough to make even a sober observer dizzy. The RCMP is now taking the blame for canceling CounterAttack roadblocks. According to the story in the media, the RCMP will no longer agree to the times and locations requested by ICBC so the roadblocks are not going up. Vancouver Sun columnist Paul Willcocks has even written a column rationalizing the cuts and blaming the former NDP government for distorting policing priorities by allowing ICBC to fund CounterAttack and other road safety initiatives.

So far in the New Era, ICBC is not yet like a private corporation. It is expected to behave in the public interest. That means the public should expect co-operation between the police and ICBC so as to reduce carnage on our roads. Far from distorting priorities, ICBC funding should be, and has been, assisting the police in achieving the best outcomes. The best outcomes include reducing injuries and deaths, not just catching violators. Effective preventive programs need to continue.

At the November 7, 2001, staged cabinet meeting, ICBC's Nick Geer announced that ICBC will continue to fund CounterAttack. It is very convenient for the government for the RCMP to take the blame for accomplishing the cost shift that Finance Minister Collins wanted in November. At that time CBC quoted Collins as saying that funding for "some form" of CounterAttack might have to come from the municipalities. A cynic might think that Solicitor General Rich Coleman succeeded where Collins failed.

Municipal police detachments are continuing to participate in CounterAttack even though RCMP detachments are not.