B.C.'s second-largest city requesting charter to expand local powers

The second-largest city in British Columbia will ask the provincial government for a municipal charter – which would dramatically expand local powers – following a unanimous city council vote Monday.

Councillors approved a motion directing staff to work with B.C. officials to develop and enact a Surrey Charter, similar to the one already in place in Vancouver.

The initial concept for the charter would exempt Surrey from recent provincial housing legislation aimed at increasing density, plus give local officials the authority to enact an Empty Homes Tax and otherwise "expand revenue sources," according to a city news release.

Following the vote, Mayor Brenda Locke said she will be writing a letter to B.C. Premier David Eby insisting that her constituents "be treated fairly, and treated like Vancouver residents are treated."

"We are in an election right now, and certainly I think it's time we have this discussion in Surrey," Locke said. "In fact, it's past time that we had this discussion."

Vancouver has been governed by its own charter since 1953, but Surrey – like nearly all other B.C. cities – falls under the province's Community Charter.

Surrey's elected officials have argued the Community Charter fails to address challenges faced by larger municipalities, noting their city is projected to be the largest in the province by 2030.

But municipal affairs lawyer John Alexander suggested the push for a charter – particularly from Locke, who has been at war with the province over the city's policing transition – could be more about politics than policy.

"I don't see the public policy argument that would support a plethora of different pieces of legislation for different cities, no matter if they're big or small," Alexander told CTV News.

Yet voters in the four provincial ridings located either entirely or partly in Surrey "could very well swing" the October election, the lawyer said.

The initial concept for Surrey's charter would also allow the city to increase maximum fines for bylaw infractions and provide broader authority to both regulate and support businesses, including through grants, according to the news release.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Nesbit and Shannon Paterson