Surrey mayor demands respect during tense police board meeting

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke now finds herself chairing a board for a police agency she wanted to dissolve.

Tension was almost sure to be felt in the room during the police board’s first official meeting Wednesday since the province ordered the city to move on from the RCMP.

Tense moments, and a few awkward ones as well, stood out during the meeting, with the mayor at one point explicitly detailing she will not tolerate disrespect.

“If you wish to debate me on policing issues, I will not only tolerate it, but I welcome it,” Locke told the board.

“Name the time and the place, and I will advocate my position as forcefully as you might challenge it. But I will not, however, disrespect you, nor will I ever [allow you] to disrespect me.”

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Locke continued from there, and in one exchange emphasized that when two directors commended the professionalism of Surrey Police Service Chief Norm Lipinski, they were speaking for themselves and not on behalf of the board.

The first police board meeting comes in a policing saga that has spanned years in the City of Surrey.

The three-year-long controversy came down to a final say from B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, who directed the city to move forward with its municipal force on July 19.

The Surrey Police Service (SPS) was chosen by Farnworth after he reviewed documents from the city, following its council vote in June to stick with the RCMP.

“People’s safety, in Surrey and across the province, is non-negotiable. The city has failed to meet the requirements I placed to prevent a situation where there are not enough police officers to keep people safe in Surrey,” Farnworth said at that time.

The police transition has been a years-long tug-of-war first put in motion by former Mayor Doug McCallum. After his initiation of the transition, current Mayor Brenda Locke moved ahead with her plan to keep the RCMP.

About an hour after Farnworth announced his decision, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke issued a statement, calling it “disappointing, misguided, and based on inaccurate assumptions.”

“What has occurred today is the undermining of a local government duly elected by its residents. The actions of the Solicitor General should serve as a warning to the autonomy of all municipalities in B.C.,” Locke said.

“It is very clear the City of Surrey never had a choice in this matter. We had a choice so long as we chose Minister Farnworth’s option,” she said.

–With files from Hana Mae Nassar and Greg Bowman