Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke speaks during a news conference about the city's municipal police force transition, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 28, 2023. The City of Surrey says it will file a petition with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a judicial review of the provincial government's order that forces it to transition to an independent police force. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
SURREY, B.C. – The City of Surrey says it will file a petition with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a judicial review of the provincial government’s order that forces it to continue the transition to a municipal police force.
The city was in the process of reverting to the RCMP when the provincial government ordered it to resume the shift to the Surrey Police Service.
The court filing is the latest in a series of years-long disagreements over which force should police the city east of Vancouver.
Surrey was in the process of moving to the municipal force from the RCMP when Brenda Locke was elected as mayor on a promise to stop the transition.
Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s solicitor general, ordered the process stopped earlier this year, citing public safety as a concern and noting the RCMP had 1,500 vacancies.
Locke says in a statement that the city is going to court because it can’t accept the extraordinary burden that taxpayers will face because of the province’s order.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2023.
