B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Public Safety and Solicitor General Minister Mike Farnworth says the City of Surrey has turned down the provincesa国际传媒檚 final offer that was on the table to help aid the citysa国际传媒檚 police transition.

sa国际传媒淲e put solutions on the table to prevent transition-related tax increases and still, the city rejected it. Since the city has rejected financial support for the people of Surrey, the province will use the $150 million to support the transition directly until it is completed. Any additional costs that end up getting passed on to the people of Surrey are the result of the failure of the mayor and council,sa国际传媒� Farnworth said in a statement Tuesday (April 9).

Farnworth said Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke wrote to him last week advising him that the council agreed in principle to the financial commitment, according to Farnworth.

sa国际传媒淚t is clear that the mayor and council ultimately chose divisiveness and uncertainty,sa国际传媒� he continued.

sa国际传媒淭he city rejected an agreement that included a 10-year financial commitment: $150 million over five years, plus added assurance that if SPS officers were more expensive than RCMP officers in 2029, the province would cover the difference every year for another five years to 2034 sa国际传媒� up to $20 million per year. This agreement would have given people certainty that there would be no reason for police-related tax increases for at least a decade.sa国际传媒�

The minister said that Surrey council has sa国际传媒渇ailedsa国际传媒� city residents by not agreeing to the provincesa国际传媒檚 offer.

The City of Surrey issued a statement Tuesday evening (April 9) attributed to Locke that said she did not agree with Farnworthsa国际传媒檚 statement.

sa国际传媒淚t is the citysa国际传媒檚 position that the Province provided no firm financial commitment that would provide redress to Surrey taxpayers for the full cost of transitioning to a police force they did not vote for,sa国际传媒� reads the statement.

Locke stated that the province did not agree to sa国际传媒渁 number of reasonable commitmentssa国际传媒� that the city put forward. A few examples include the provincesa国际传媒檚 failure to develop a plan for the new police force, a transition plan or a completion date, and failure to commit to a completion date for the transition.

sa国际传媒淒ue to the Provincesa国际传媒檚 failure to address these crucial commitments, accepting the offer would be to the detriment of our residents and overall public safety in Surrey,sa国际传媒� Locke stated. sa国际传媒淎s Isa国际传媒檝e said all along, I will stand up for the best interests of our taxpayers. Itsa国际传媒檚 important that the public have all the details, and hear the truth, and Isa国际传媒檓 glad all will be revealed as court proceedings begin on April 29.sa国际传媒�

Surrey petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworthsa国际传媒檚 decree on July 19, 2023, that the Surrey Police Service will police the city. Justice Kevin Loo will preside.

Several city councillors voiced their opposition to Lockesa国际传媒檚 decision.

Coun. Linda Annis said the decision was a sa国际传媒渟erious slap in the facesa国际传媒� to Surrey residents.

sa国际传媒淭he police transition is holding city hall hostage, and until the transition is on track and moving forward, almost every other issue and priority in Surrey is on hold,sa国际传媒� Annis said.

Coun. Mandeep Nagra and Coun. Doug Elford emphasized the urgency of transitioning to the Surrey Police Service.

Nagra said, sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 clear that Mayor Lockesa国际传媒檚 refusal to accept reality and embrace the Surrey Police Service is driven by political motives to serve her RCMP backers rather than the best interests of our community.sa国际传媒�

At a press conference in Victoria Tuesday afternoon, Farnworth said he was disappointed with the citysa国际传媒檚 decision.

sa国际传媒淚 think the people of Surrey will be disappointed because the people of Surrey want an end to this,sa国际传媒� he added.

The transition to SPS will continue, Farnworth said, adding that the date for the completion of it will be announced soon.

sa国际传媒淥nce again, they have demonstrated they want to continue this conflict rather than working together to complete the transition and keep people safe,sa国际传媒� Farnworth said.

sa国际传媒淚n January of this year, the City of Surrey asked the Province to negotiate an agreement to help them to complete the transition to the Surrey Police Service (SPS), resolve the conflict, provide certainty and support the people of Surrey.sa国际传媒�

Farnworth said he was surprised when the city approached the province.

sa国际传媒淚n the interest of moving forward, we negotiated in good faith to provide the city with the reassurance they told us they needed. Unfortunately, itsa国际传媒檚 clear that Mayor Locke and Surrey city council would rather drag this out for years to come, instead of working together to do whatsa国际传媒檚 best for people and businesses in Surrey.sa国际传媒�

Locke re-iterated at Mondaysa国际传媒檚 meeting that council sa国际传媒渉as resolved to stay with the RCMP. If we are mandated to continue with the police transition we are facing an increased cost of a half a billion dollars over the next decade compared to the cost of the Surrey RCMP.sa国际传媒�

She said the 2024 budget does not include sa国际传媒渁 variety of anticipated but unknown costssa国际传媒� if the city continues with the transition to the Surrey Police Service.

sa国际传媒� with files from Tom Zytaruk