Deployment date approved for first officers from Surrey's new police force
The committee overseeing Surrey's transition away from the RCMP has approved a deployment date for the first 50 officers from the city's new municipal police force.
Those initial Surrey Police Service members will be assigned to roles within the Surrey RCMP detachment as part of a phased transition process approved by municipal, provincial and federal officials.
The officers will be "assuming operational policing duties" by Nov. 30 at the latest, the Surrey Police Service said in a news release.
"This is an exciting time for the Surrey Police Service as we prepare to deploy our first officers into policing operations this fall," Chief Const. Norm Lipinksi said in a statement.
"We look forward to working with the Surrey RCMP during this phased transition as we work together to ensure the continuing safety of Surrey residents."
The first group of Surrey Police Service officers being deployed will be followed by others throughout 2022 and 2023, authorities said.
The new municipal police force has been actively recruiting for months, despite calls from the union representing RCMP officers to pause the effort earlier this year as the gang conflict in B.C.'s Lower Mainland was escalating with a number of brazen public murders.
The decision to transition away from the RCMP has been controversial from the start, with many Surrey residents adamantly opposed to the idea.
Last year, a survey commissioned by the RCMP union found most residents were against spending money on the transition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BC Liberals also promised to hold a referendum on the transition as part of the party's failed 2020 provincial election campaign.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.