琉璃神社 Mayor Colin Basran has apologized for comments he made earlier this week that he fully supported the RCMP after Statistics Canada revealed an alarming number of sexual assaults were deemed 鈥渦nfounded鈥� by the city鈥檚 police force.
In a statement issued Friday morning, he said he was sorry for offending anyone who may have been hurt by his initial reaction to the news that nearly 40 per cent of sexual assault reports in 2018 were deemed 鈥渦nfounded鈥� by the RCMP.
鈥淚 am sorry and offer my sincere apology to anyone offended or hurt by my initial reaction to this news,鈥� wrote Basran.
鈥淭he number of local sex assault complaints deemed to be unfounded is deeply concerning and I know the local detachment is taking this matter seriously. In retrospect, I should have waited for the results of an investigation into the matter before expressing my opinion.鈥�
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The mayor issued the statement after he came under heavy fire from a sexual assault survivor who said the RCMP dismissed her claim that she was allegedly gang raped when she was 15 years old.
In response to the mayor鈥檚 initial comments, where he said he had full confidence the RCMP was taking the matter seriously, Heather Friesen, staged her own one-person protest in front of city hall on Thursday morning (Nov. 14).
During her protest, she left fliers on vehicles around city hall which called out the mayor for being a 鈥渕an who protects rapists because he won鈥檛 call out the RCMP.鈥�
Friesen was not immediately available to respond to the mayor鈥檚 latest comments.
In his statement issued Friday morning, Basran said that while the RCMP operates independently, it is the city鈥檚 responsibility to ensure matters concerning citizens are being addressed. He has also directed staff to stay in close contact with the RCMP on the issue until a review is completed.
鈥淚 support what the 琉璃神社 RCMP has done in response to this new information from Statistics Canada 鈥� starting with an internal review and a subsequent request to have the RCMP鈥檚 Sexual Assault Review Team at national headquarters review the 2018 and 2019 files. That review will determine RCMP next steps,鈥� wrote Basran.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my understanding that the RCMP will report out once the investigation is complete and I鈥檒l wait until that happens before commenting further.鈥�
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