Group fighting to keep RCMP in Surrey pushes on, despite evaporation of referendum hope

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – The defeat of the BC Liberals in the provincial election means there won’t be a referendum on Surrey’s police transition.

That doesn’t mean the fight is over for a group trying to keep Mounties in that community.

“We will evaluate and analyze all of our options, and we’re in this to the finish,” says Paul Daynes with Keep the RCMP in Surrey.

He tells NEWS 1130 the BC NDP’s win on Saturday doesn’t change anything for the group, which has been vocal about its opposition to the police transition from the start.

“They have no offices, they have no police chief, and they have, to date, no budget. So they’re still in the early stages of the transition process,” he explains.

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However, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, who approved the police transition plan in February, says the switch to a municipal force will happen and ultimately is a city choice.

“The police act is very clear that policing is a municipal responsibility,” he explains, adding the police board is in place in Surrey and the search for a police chief is ongoing.

“My understanding is that there has been a number of very high qualified candidates, so the police board is doing that,” Farnworth says, stressing each step is overseen his ministry.

"We're in this to the finish." The group fighting to keep the RCMP in Surrey insists the provincial election result isn't the final say on the police transition plan. Listen to @NEWS1130 as we also hear from Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, who insists the process continues.

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) October 27, 2020

Farnworth’s responsibility in his capacity as solicitor general is to ensure the legislation is followed and that Surrey has a safe and effective police force in place, he explains.

Dayne, however, is convinced the process can be stopped.

“There’s a lot of processes they have got to go through. They’ve got to actually assure the provincial government police services branch and the citizens of Surrey that public safety is not going to be compromised,” noting the city is still in its early stages.

“We, as an advocacy group, believe we have the overwhelming support of the majority of people in Surrey,” he says, pointing to a survey with tens of thousands of signatures calling to keep the RCMP in Surrey.

“So we’re here, we’re vocal, we’re going to be standing up, speaking out, we’ll do everything we can to delay this process until the next municipal election. As a broad statement of faith and commitment, we believe the RCMP are our family, friends, neighbours, protectors, and we will never stop fighting to keep them here in Surrey, where they’ve been for 70 years,” Dayne adds.

The BC Liberals had vowed to pause and hold a referendum on the police transition if they were elected in the provincial election, which was held Saturday.