With the RCMP in possession of high-tech sonar equipment, NDP MLA David Eby said Thursday it shouldn't be up to the families of drowning victims to bring in outside experts to search for their loved ones.
During question period in the legislature, Eby asked if the Justice Minister Suzanne Anton would help co-ordinate resources so that the RCMP's side sonar could be used alongside B.C. Hydro's robotic cameras and B.C. Coroners Service staff to search for the bodies of people who have drowned in provincial waterways.
Eby cited the case of Syd Neville, a Burns Lake man who went missing last month and is presumed drowned in Francois Lake. Gene and Sandy Ralston, an American couple with an expertise in underwater body recoverey, volunteered their services to help find Neville's body.
Although they never found their target, the couple did locate the body of John Angus Mowat who had been missing since 1984.
"Why are B.C. families still holding local fundraisers to bring in Americans to do this work on an ad-hoc basis?" Eby asked. "To put it bluntly, the equipment and the expertise are available here in B.C. The only thing missing is leadership."
Anton said it's not her job to micromanage how police and other responders direct their resources and said Eby's questions were akin to saying the RCMP weren't interested in the body recovery operations.
"I am not going to tell individual RCMP detachments or search and rescue people how to manage their affairs," Anton said. "They are the experts. They make the operational decisions. They take these things to heart."
NDP MLA Carole James countered that the search and recovery operations aren't currently in the RCMP's mandate and provincial leadership is required to make the best use of the equipment currently available. She said it shouldn't be up to Burns Lake residents to hold bottle drives and garage sales to help finance costs associated with the search.
Anton stood her ground and said she wouldn't direct the RCMP on how it conducts its operations.
