The province is restricting the sale, reproduction, and possession of police-issued items.
The Police Identity Management Act also prohibits the sale of marked police vehicles and restricts possession of decals and equipment.
It comes in the midst of the Mass Causality Commission, a public inquiry into the Portapique massacre, the worst mass killing in our country’s history.
A gunman disguised as an RCMP officer killed 22 people over the 13-hour rampage.
Brad Johns, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, says it’s an effort to prevent such a thing from happening a second time.
“The dates of April 18 and 19, 2020, will stay in our collective memory,” he says. “By strengthening our laws around the use of police vehicles, uniforms and other articles, we are taking steps to help prevent such tragic events from happening again.”
Fines can be up to $10,000 or three months in jail, up to $25,000 for a corporation.
The legislation will restrict possession of police items to authorized people, mainly police officers.
It will also require police to have disposal policies in place for uniforms, badges, police vehicles, decals, and vehicle equipment.
That includes a full decommission for all retired police vehicles, with the removal of all equipment, decals, and other markings.
Police are asking anyone who has police items to bring them to a local detachment for disposal.
