Prince George's former top cop heads to Ottawa
Eric Stubbs was in charge when Prince George was named "Canada's most dangerous city" multiple years in a row
Good morning! We had 87 trick-or-treaters last night, about par for the course, and a lot of fireworks in the neighbourhood. We would have had more but apparently some people skip your house if it isn’t adequately decorated?
A couple weeks ago, the Ottawa Police Service announced Eric Stubbs would be its new chief of police, writing: “Chief Select Stubbs has a wide breadth and depth of experience in his 30-year long career with the RCMP.” Among that experience? Time as a top officer in Terrace, B.C. from 2005 until 2011, followed by a nearly three-year stint as RCMP superintendent for Prince George that lasted until 2014 when he left for other opportunities with the national police force.
Longtime residents of Prince George will recall that that time period — 2011 to 2014 — happens to overlap with the era when our city made national headlines when Maclean’s magazine, using Statistics Canada data, declared us to be Canada’s Most Dangerous City, three years in a row.
The first declaration, based on 2009 stats, came before Stubbs arrived, but he was established in his role when it happened the second time, based on 2010 stats which included a string of nine murders. Stubbs acknowledged the issues but put the blame on gang wars and the organized drug trade, telling Maclean’s of Prince George that, “It’s an excellent community and a safe community to live in, if you’re not in that world of drugs, alcohol and violence.”
But by the time of the third declaration, he was a little less understanding, pointing to the fact no homicides had been recorded and other major crimes were down, as well. As he left for new opportunities in 2014, then-mayor Shari Green wished him well and thanked him for his work on making the streets safer.
It’s that sort of work the Ottawa Police Board cited as they made the announcement Stubbs would be taking over in Ottawa, particularly “his ability to connect with people,” and his post-Prince George work as assistant commissioner in charge of core criminal operations for the B.C. RCMP.
But not everyone is pleased with Stubbs’ record. APTN points out he has been in charge of the RCMP’s response to Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and their supporters opposed to the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which includes high-profile raids in northern B.C., and the Ottawa Citizen notes he was in charge in Terrace when the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (under our soon-to-be premier David Eby) flagged an alarming number of complaints against RCMP from the local community — “o many complaints [against the RCMP] we had to add an extra day to hear them all.” But Insp. Tim Shields of the RCMP's "E" Division said at the time, “We know the majority of people in Terrace appreciate that the community has been returned to the community.”
That type of approach may be exactly what Ottawa wants after the events that precipated the need for a new police chief in the first place. From what I can tell, the largest controversy he faces coming into his role is the way he was selected.
Other news
Backwoods building boom: The Prince George Citizen has a roundup of new cabins and trails constructed in the backwoods over the past few months.
In other construction news, it looks like that Nechako Corners project at the intersection of Foothills and North Nechako is going to be “coming soon” for at least two more years.
The B.C. government is allowing bars and pubs to extend their hours so people can watch the World Cup — Canada vs. Croatia, for example, is airing at 8:00 am local time. Which Prince George spots do you figure will be open for this? I’m guessing the Black Clover.
And finally, the city of Prince George is opening bookings to try out the new downtown pool later this month. Registration opens at 9 am.
Just a friendly reminder that registration for the soft opening of the Canfor Leisure Pool opens tomorrow at 9 am! Head to our website princegeorge.ca/register to book a swim between November 9 and 13. Registrations are no longer needed starting November 14. #CityofPG