Locke plans to keep RCMP in Surrey despite recommendation
Posted April 28, 2023 11:20 am.
Last Updated April 28, 2023 12:58 pm.
Despite the B.C. government recommending otherwise, the Surrey mayor says her council’s decision to keep the RCMP in Surrey “has not changed.”
“I am profoundly disappointed the people of Surrey have been used as a piece on the Solicitor General’s chessboard,” Locke said in response to the province’s recommendation earlier in the day.
“It is clear to me that the Solicitor General has a position on which force he would like. But politics and not public safety in Surrey appear to be the driving force behind his recommendation,”
BREAKING: Brenda Locke says the choice of police is up to the municipality — she says she and council made the decision to keep the RCMP 5 months ago and “that has not changed”.
Locke says Farnworth is picking politics over public safety with his recommendation.
— Cole Schisler (@SchislerCole) April 28, 2023
She adds she had only received a heavily redacted copy of the province’s report on the recommendations moments before the announcement was made.
“I want to stress that after all the time waiting for a decision from the Solicitor General, what we have received today is a recommendation. That is a recommendation with strings attached,” she said. “At the eleventh hour, there is financial support from the province, so long as our decision is the SPS.”
Locke called Farnworth’s initial decision in 2020 to allow a municipal police force “rushed” and “without due diligence.”
“It took less time for the Solicitor General to green light a brand new police force made from scratch than to arrive at the decision that he did today,” she noted.
The Surrey mayor added that she would be open to consultations with the province, as long as the option to keep the RCMP in the city is still on the table.
On Friday morning, B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth announced that the province is recommending Surrey continue its transition to the Surrey Police Service, citing staffing challenges in the RCMP. Included in the recommendation is the offer of financial support to help alleviate the cost of the transition for taxpayers if Surrey chooses to go that direction.
With files from Cole Schisler
