Surrey city council approves first step in obtaining own Charter

The Surrey city council has decided to move forward with obtaining its own charter Monday.

During a council meeting, councillors discussed how its own Charter would help reshape how the city manages growth and development as it is set to become B.C.’s largest city.

Councillor Linda Annis says it’s time to start “thinking like a big city.”

“We’ve got between twelve and fifteen hundred people moving to Surrey each and every month,” she said.

Mayor Brenda Locke says she’s “very convinced” this is something Surrey needs not only because Surrey is going to be the largest city in B.C.

“We are going to be the economic engine… We are going to be the first city to hit a million people, and we need every tool we can get,” she said.

The mayor says this move is not meant to take the province’s power away, but rather to work more closely with the province.

“For the province and for the city of Surrey, and I see this as a very progressive move for Surrey, and I know that it will deliver for us in spades, moving into the future,” Locke said.

The city’s request to have its own charter will now go to the province.

Vancouver is the only municipality in B.C. that has its own Charter.