The BC Conservatives have slammed both the provincial and federal governments for facilitating a rise in gang violence in British Columbia.Leader John Rustad vowed that, if elected, his party would ensure residents of BC were protected from organized crime."British Columbians are living in fear as gang violence spirals out of control, and the Eby-Trudeau alliance has done nothing to stop it," he said in a press release. "David Eby and Justin Trudeau are two sides of the same coin — both pushing soft-on-crime policies that allow criminals to operate with impunity."Rustad went on to lament that under Eby and Trudeau's leadership, "reckless policies have made our communities unsafe, with innocent families paying the price for their failure.""The Conservative Party of British Columbia will stand up for law-abiding citizens, restore order, and ensure that criminals are no longer allowed to terrorize our neighborhoods," he declared. "The Eby-Trudeau alliance has proven time and again that they are not up to the task of keeping British Columbians safe. It's time for a government that prioritizes the protection of its people over political ideology."Rustad's comments came on the heels of a Brothers Keeper gang-related shooting in Langley that claimed the life of the shooter and injured gangster Barinder Dhaliwal. Shots rang out around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday near 164 St. and 84 Ave."Preliminary indications are that this shooting is linked to the ongoing BC gang conflict," the RCMP said in a statement. "Although no suspects have been identified, this is believed to be a targeted shooting and an isolated event."According to government data, gang-related murders accounted for 46% of all homicides in BC in 2023, up from 21% in 2003. Many of the cases go unsolved, leaving perpetrators on the streets, though officials are hopeful that the creation of the Integrated Gang Homicide Team will help remedy that problem. The unit is set to be fully operational by late 2024 or early 2025.Public Safety Canada also provided BC with $10.9 million for the 2023-24 and 2024-2025 fiscal years under the federal Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence. The money went to anti-gang and crime prevention initiatives throughout the province, with Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, the Organized Crime Agency of BC, and the New Westminster Police Department's Gang Suppression Unit receiving the bulk of the funding.
The BC Conservatives have slammed both the provincial and federal governments for facilitating a rise in gang violence in British Columbia.Leader John Rustad vowed that, if elected, his party would ensure residents of BC were protected from organized crime."British Columbians are living in fear as gang violence spirals out of control, and the Eby-Trudeau alliance has done nothing to stop it," he said in a press release. "David Eby and Justin Trudeau are two sides of the same coin — both pushing soft-on-crime policies that allow criminals to operate with impunity."Rustad went on to lament that under Eby and Trudeau's leadership, "reckless policies have made our communities unsafe, with innocent families paying the price for their failure.""The Conservative Party of British Columbia will stand up for law-abiding citizens, restore order, and ensure that criminals are no longer allowed to terrorize our neighborhoods," he declared. "The Eby-Trudeau alliance has proven time and again that they are not up to the task of keeping British Columbians safe. It's time for a government that prioritizes the protection of its people over political ideology."Rustad's comments came on the heels of a Brothers Keeper gang-related shooting in Langley that claimed the life of the shooter and injured gangster Barinder Dhaliwal. Shots rang out around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday near 164 St. and 84 Ave."Preliminary indications are that this shooting is linked to the ongoing BC gang conflict," the RCMP said in a statement. "Although no suspects have been identified, this is believed to be a targeted shooting and an isolated event."According to government data, gang-related murders accounted for 46% of all homicides in BC in 2023, up from 21% in 2003. Many of the cases go unsolved, leaving perpetrators on the streets, though officials are hopeful that the creation of the Integrated Gang Homicide Team will help remedy that problem. The unit is set to be fully operational by late 2024 or early 2025.Public Safety Canada also provided BC with $10.9 million for the 2023-24 and 2024-2025 fiscal years under the federal Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence. The money went to anti-gang and crime prevention initiatives throughout the province, with Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, the Organized Crime Agency of BC, and the New Westminster Police Department's Gang Suppression Unit receiving the bulk of the funding.
