B.C. judge refuses to seal documents alleging RCMP bullying against Surrey police
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo says court documents detailing alleged bullying and harassment of Surrey Police Service members by the RCMP shouldn't be kept from the public.
Loo refused to seal the material, saying allegations that are “sometimes justified and sometimes spurious,” are tendered every day in court.
His ruling came on the second day of a legal challenge by the City of Surrey against the B.C. Public Safety minister's order to continue a transition from the RCMP to the municipal Surrey Police Service.
Lawyers for the ministry told Loo Monday that an affidavit filed by Surrey Police Union President Rick Stewart contains a “long list of bullying and harassment incidents” that if made public could cause “undue public concern about the state of affairs at the Surrey RCMP detachment.”
Stewart's affidavit says union members claim “the Surrey RCMP detachment is toxic and hostile, and that they have been subject to bullying, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation.”
In a separate dispute, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has filed a complaint to B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner alleging numerous Surrey Police Service officers withdrew their services in order to meet with their chief and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, something the Surrey Police Board has denied.
Locke says in a letter obtained by Global News that the meeting happened last Wednesday at about 3 p.m. and that the incident has “huge implications for public safety.”
The Surrey Police Board issued a statement in response saying it can confirm that a number of officers did attend the meeting with its chief and the solicitor general at its training centre.
However, the officers who were on shift were never ordered to attend nor withdrawn from service, the statement says, and on-duty officers had radios with them and were available for calls.
“Over the course of this policing transition, there have been a number of times when officers with SPS and the RCMP have needed to meet with their leadership team or their union to be briefed on significant developments,” the statement says.
The board says to “suggest that our officers would jeopardize the safety of Surrey residents to attend a meeting is not only disrespectful but hurtful.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2024
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving 'corrective action' for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
'It's over': Minister says B.C.'s decision on Surrey police transition upheld in court
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in the provincial government's favour on the City of Surrey's legal challenge to its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, according to B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Ottawa police investigating death of a gosling in Kanata
Ottawa police are investigating after someone allegedly stomped on a gosling in Kanata. Police say it appears that Canada geese laid eggs in the area, 'and on May 21, a suspect stomped on one of the hatched babies.'