Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the Surrey Police Service will replace the RCMP as the citysa国际传媒檚 police of jurisdiction on Nov. 29, 2024 and the transition will be complete within two to two-and-a-half years.
Meantime, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke accused Farnworth of engaging in sa国际传媒渁lmost a vendettasa国际传媒� against Surrey residents sa国际传媒渁nd I donsa国际传媒檛 know why. I still donsa国际传媒檛 know why wesa国际传媒檙e doing this. I wish he would tell us because as far as I can see, there is no good reason.sa国际传媒�
At a press conference Tuesday in Vancouver, Farnworth revealed this sa国际传媒渕ajor milestonesa国际传媒� in what has to date been nearly six years of acrimonious debate over the issue. sa国际传媒淭he BC RCMP will continue to operate in Surrey providing temporary support to the Surrey Police Service until the transition is completed.
sa国际传媒淚n the coming weeks, I will be issuing a notice to the City of Surrey that will terminate the citysa国际传媒檚 municipal police unit agreement with the Province for the use of the RCMP as its police of jurisdiction. At the same time, the Surrey RCMP municipal unit will be removed from the Provincesa国际传媒檚 policing agreement with the federal government. This will effectively transfer responsibility for the delivery of policing and law enforcement in Surrey from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service.sa国际传媒�
Locke called it sa国际传媒渃oncerningsa国际传媒� that Farnworth did this three working days before the City of Surreysa国际传媒檚 petition to quash Farnworthsa国际传媒檚 order to replace the RCMP with the Surrey Police Service goes to court, set for a five-day hearing starting Monday, April 29 before Justice Kevin Loo in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
sa国际传媒淚f he had a plan, he probably should have done something about it five years ago,sa国际传媒� she told the Now-Leader. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 still no plan. For the City of Surrey, wesa国际传媒檙e in court on the 29th, thatsa国际传媒檚 where the truth will come out, and wesa国际传媒檒l see whatsa国际传媒檚 going to be next. I look forward to the truth being told to the public. I think the political speak that has come from the minister to date, itsa国际传媒檚 obvious to me that this is very personal to him, and I donsa国际传媒檛 know why he wants to saddle the City of Surrey and the taxpayers of Surrey with this extraordinary fiscal bill thatsa国际传媒檚 going to happen.sa国际传媒�
On the coming court case, Farnworth said it wonsa国际传媒檛 have an impact on the transition. sa国际传媒淚t is not about overturning the decision that was made, and we are confident in our position, and if it were to go the other way, it would bring it back to what is the law of the province today, and the law of the province today is Surrey will be policed by the Surrey Police Service.sa国际传媒�
Deputy RCMP Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said that, now the pathway for the transition has sa国际传媒渂een identified,sa国际传媒� the RCMP is committed to sa国际传媒渨orking closelysa国际传媒� with the provincial government, Public Safety Canada, the SPS and City of Surrey sa国际传媒渁s we identify in advance necessary work to reach this next milestone in November.sa国际传媒�
Chief Constable Norm Lipinski of the SPS called Farnworthsa国际传媒檚 announcement sa国际传媒渧ery exciting.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 know this has been a long road and has not been easy for any of us,sa国际传媒� Lipinski said. sa国际传媒淗owever, I think we can all agree that completing this transition is good for both Surrey residents and all policing staff who serve Surrey.sa国际传媒�
On April 22, Surrey council gave third-reading approval to a 2024 budget that includes a six per cent property tax hike, a one per cent increase in the roads and tax levy, and a secondary suite fee increase on top of costlier utility rate fees
The policing transition, as expected, surfaced in Mondaysa国际传媒檚 budget debate, and subsequent press releases were issued by all sides on council. Locke issued a statement Monday night charging that the Surrey Police Service sa国际传媒渋s putting a financial strain on our ability to deliver new projects, not to mention SPS exceeded its budget by more than $22 million in 2023.
sa国际传媒淭oday, our general manager of finance confirmed once more that the City has not received any of the promised or publicly committed funding from the Province for policing, nor have we received any formal funding commitment. If we are mandated to continue with the police transition, we are likely facing, at a minimum, over half a billion dollars over the next decade compared to the costs of the Surrey RCMP. Times are tough, and I will not artificially inflate taxes when families are struggling to pay for mortgages, rent, food and other essential expenses. My priority is meeting the needs of our residents while being as fiscally prudent as possible.sa国际传媒�
Surrey First councillors Linda Annis and Mike Bose voted against the 2024 budget.
sa国际传媒淭he mayor turned down the $250 million offered by the province to help offset the police transition over the next 10 years,sa国际传媒� Bose said. sa国际传媒淭he province is continuing to put up the original $150 million commitment to cover the next five years, but it will be managed by the province and the Surrey Police Service, not the city. That means $30 million in revenue from the province is not part of this yearsa国际传媒檚 budget, reinforcing just how shortsighted it was to turn down the provincesa国际传媒檚 financial support.sa国际传媒�
Annis said considering having two police departments costing Surrey $8 million monthly, sa国际传媒測ousa国际传媒檇 think we would have accepted the provincesa国际传媒檚 $250 million and completed the transition as quickly as possible. Thatsa国际传媒檚 not happening, and our taxpayers are paying the price for this mismanagement and lack of vision. Itsa国际传媒檚 frustrating to think that the police transition continues to sideline every other important issue in the city, with no real thought about how wesa国际传媒檙e preparing Surrey for its future.sa国际传媒�
Safe Surrey Coalition councillors Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra also voted against the budget. Their press release charges that Lockesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渕ismanagement of taxpayer dollars is staggering.
sa国际传媒淭he $136 million squandered on futile political battles with the Province could have been a lifeline for our community, easing the burden of rising living costs and inflation. Instead, Mayor Locke has chosen to prioritize personal vendettas over the welfare of Surreysa国际传媒檚 residents, betraying the trust placed in local government,sa国际传媒� it states. Nagra further remarked that sa国际传媒渨hen you look at the bottom line of your property tax bill and add up all the taxes, residents will see a 10.5 per cent property tax hike.sa国际传媒�
