Special B.C. veterans’ licence plates will remain reserved for veterans. A proposal to expand the program to retired RCMP members has been nixed by the province.
The request for the change came from the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veterans’ Association, but a six-week consultation process by Attorney General David Eby’s office found public support lacking.
“Public feedback to the online survey showed a strong majority of respondents (63 per cent) favoured keeping eligibility criteria the same, while only 36 per cent were supportive of expanding it to include police officers,” a release from the province stated.
The proposal to include retired RCMP officers was fought fervently by the North Shore veteran who founded the program. Retired Lt.-Col. Archie Steacy and the B.C. Veterans Commemorative Association first pitched the program to former premier Gordon Campbell in 2004.
Steacy greeted the news warmly, saying “we’re just so pleased.” He added that he and members of the B.C. Veterans Commemorative Association are grateful to everyone who told the government to leave veterans plates for armed services veterans.
In total, 4,386 government surveys were completed on the question.
