The battle between the City of Surrey and the province over the beleaguered policing transition in Surrey seems far from over. Every time BC’s Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth moves forward with a concrete step to put an end to this confusing situation, Surrey’s Mayor Brenda Locke comes up with a counter-step to stop the transition.
The latest in this battle is Mayor Locke’s announcement to challenge the Province’s recent amendments to the Police Act in court. This Monday, the Mayor in a press conference announced that the city will amend its original B.C. Supreme Court petition to challenge the constitutionality of the provincial government’s recent amendments to the Police Act.
The City first filed a petition with the Supreme Court for a judicial review of BC’s order of July 19, 2023 that asked the city to continue with the transition to the Surrey Police Service. The province then introduced changes to the existing Policing Act which specified that the City of Surrey must provide policing services through a municipal police department, giving the minister the authority to cancel the existing agreement between the Province and the City of Surrey for the RCMP’s services and providing government the ability to appoint an administrator to assume the functions of the Surrey Police Board to manage the Surrey Police Service.
Last week Farnworth announced the appointment of Mike Serr as the administrator of the Surrey Police Board to assume the functions of the board. All members of the Surrey Police Board of which Mayor Locke was chair were suspended.
Locke in retaliation announced that the city will be amending its original petition and challenging the Province’s amendments to the policing act and suspension of the Surrey Police Board. The change to the legal documents shows the city is also asking the court to quash B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth’s appointment of Serr last week. “This government does not have the right to run roughshod on every local government that doesn’t bend to their will,’’ she said.
“The province continues to take drastic measures to force Surrey into an expensive police transition, now removing civilian and local oversight of policing in spite of the will of voters and their elected government,” said Locke.
“This takeover of policing by the province will cost Surrey taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and result in a double-digit, NDP imposed tax increase.”
Over the next decade, the province’s police transition is estimated to cost at least $464 million with no additional public safety benefit to the residents of Surrey.
Locke said residents could be facing a 20 per cent tax hike to change to a municipal force, adding that the costs would not be a one-time increase but “generational.’’
She said the province had previously said on several occasions that the decision on Surrey policing was up to the city, and that led Locke to run for mayor.
“Now, they have removed civilian oversight on policing and installed another police officer to carry out this expensive, disorganized transition,’’ said Locke.Ironically, the mayor’s only argument for keeping the RCMP in Surrey is to save tax payer’s money. Whereas the Mayor is being criticized for wasting tax payer’s money in procrastinating the policing transition from RCMP to Surrey Police Service. Every counter step to stop the transition is putting an extra burden on Surrey residents as they are paying to maintain two police forces in one jurisdiction.
Farnworth told reporters in the legislature on Monday that the latest legal challenge is a “delaying tactic.’’
“I think all it does is cost taxpayer money and it is a waste of money and a waste of time,’’ he said.
The minister accused the mayor of taking a “cheap political shot’’ at police officers by calling them the NDP police service.
“I think it is disrespectful to those men and women who put their life on the line every single day to protect the citizens of Surrey, whether they are Surrey Police Service members or whether they are RCMP.’’
Surrey Councillor Linda Annis too had called the decision to go to court “more stalling on the part of the mayor, and the wasted time and money are costly roadblocks that get in the way of finalizing the transition to the SPS.”
“Surrey taxpayers are looking for leadership and they’re not finding it at city hall these days,” said Annis. “The province has made the final decision, and the vast majority of our residents simply want to get the transition completed so city council can focus on other important issues such as transit, hospitals, infrastructure, and schools. Instead, Mayor Locke has sidelined these other important issues by continuing her personal fight with the provincial government. This is really a case of political ego running wild, with taxpayers forced to pay the bill.”
