The government of British Columbia, as part of a series of announcements since its new premier David Eby took office, announced an investment of 230 million dollars over the next three years to fill vacancies within the province's police forces and enhance specialized units.

This investment comes within a plan to enhance the safety of local communities, as clarified in the press release issued by the Ministry of Public Safety in the New Democratic Party (BC NDP) government in the largest province of Western Canada.

This funding also aims to provide "adequate police forces, especially in rural and isolated communities and Indigenous communities, as well as various specialized groups that investigate a variety of complex, violent, and organized crimes and combat them," according to the statement.

The aforementioned amount is also planned to be used to recruit and qualify 277 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the federal police) working in the province, particularly to fill vacancies in rural detachments.

The Eby government added that this amount will also provide support to prosecutors and oversight officers who handle files of violent or high-risk offenders.

For his part, the leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party (BC Liberals), Kevin Falcon, wrote on social media that every day that passes without filling the vacancies in the province's police forces is an additional day in which public safety is at risk.

Also, Liberal MPP Eileen Storko, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, said this funding was long awaited, adding that it was strategically set aside awaiting David Eby’s ascent to power in the province.

"We are happy with this funding, but as is the case with other announcements that Premier Eby has made successively in the past week, what made them take all this time?" Storko wondered, whose party forms the official opposition in the Legislative Assembly in Victoria.

David Eby officially took office as Premier of British Columbia on November 18 of this month, about a month after assuming the position of leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party governing in Victoria, succeeding John Horgan who resigned for health reasons.