Surrey will not be 'bullied' into policing decision, mayor says in response to public safety minister
Should the Province step in and decide the future of policing in Surrey? The question comes as some accuse the city of dragging its heels.
The mayor and council have yet to make a final decision on policing after the province recommended continuing the transition to a municipal force.
“Here we’ve been elected 10 months and we still don’t have a decision of what to do with the Surrey Police Service,’ said Coun. Linda Annis.
“Let’s just move on… We have other issues we need to deal with in Surrey, said Coun. Doug Elford.
“Truthfully, People are getting tired of talking about it,” he added.
B.C.’s public safety minister said he doesn’t want to interfere, but will if it becomes necessary.
“At the end of the day, if a decision isn’t made, government does have the ability to make a decision,” he said, adding however, that the province expects Surrey will make its own decision soon.
“If public safety is being threatened, the province always has the ability to say legislation is required,” Farnworth explained.
'SOMEBODY NEEDS TO MAKE A DECISION'
Meanwhile, Annis said she would support the province stepping in and making the decision if council doesn’t do so soon.
“Somebody needs to make a decision and we need to make a decision in the best interest of Surrey and the province of British Columbia,” she said.
In a letter issued Thursday, Farnworth expressed concerns that Surrey council has not provided a date for when it expects to bring the debate to an end.
He also says he’s worried that council will vote on the matter before reviewing a confidential report that, according to Farnworth, showed the transition to the Surrey Police Service is “the best way to achieve public safety In B.C., especially given the ongoing RCMP vacancy challenges.”
CTV News wanted to speak with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke regarding the policing issue. However, staff said she was unavailable.
Locke did issue a statement, saying in part, “the province has taken over five months to arrive at their recommendations and we are now expected to make a decision in a few weeks.”
“Council will make an informed and responsible decision, but we will not be pressured or bullied into making a hasty one,” the statement continues.
But Annis and Elford say residents are fed-up with the uncertainty.
“We’re singularly focused on this one issue. There’s a lot of other business to be done in Surrey and we need to get on with it,” Annis said.
“Many of my constituents are getting impatient as well. They want a decision and they want it soon,” said Elford.
PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER 'GRAVELY CONCERNED'
On April 28, Farnworth released his recommendation for the city to move forward with the SPS, based on the report by Glen Lewis.
Ninety minutes after that recommendation was announced, Locke—who campaigned on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey—vowed to do just that, but nothing has been finalized since.
On May 12, the B.C. government invited Locke and her council to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to obtain a copy of the report.
“It contains confidential information that outlines police operations, information regarding intergovernmental relations, and information on the federal, provincial, and municipal business lines within the RCMP. The safeguarding of this sensitive information is paramount to public safety,” Farnworth wrote Thursday.
Only half of the council has signed the confidentiality agreement, according to the public safety ministry.
“I am gravely concerned that council may proceed without considering all relevant information available,” said Farnworth.
Locke, however, has argued that her council has already made the decision to retain the RCMP.
“Our decision has not changed,” Locke told reporters at a news conference in April. “The truth is, the original decision to allow this transition to go ahead was rushed and done without due diligence, and Surrey taxpayers have been paying dearly for it ever since," she added.
Transitioning to a municipal service is expected to cost an additional $30 million annually, compared to the cost of operating the RCMP.
In response to the province’s offer of financial support to help the city manage those costs, Locke described the recommendation as one “with strings attached.”
Farnworth is now requesting four things from the city—one of them being for all council members to sign the confidentiality agreement and review the report.
His other requests include a commitment from the city that ‘the mandatory conditions, requirements and financial implications for the applicable police model will be met.”
Farnworth also wants those commitments laid out in a report for council to consider before making the highly-anticipated vote—which he’s requesting a date be set for.
“I look forward to working with you and City staff to resolve this matter promptly. I know we share the same goal of ending the long period of uncertainty for the people of Surrey and ensuring the safety and security of Surrey, and the well-being of those police officers that serve your community,” his letter concludes.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.