SURREY Mayor Brenda Locke said in a statement on Wednesday: “Solicitor General [Mike] Farnworth’s decision to continue with the transition to the Surrey Police Service is 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.

“It has also been disingenuous of the Provincial Government to present Council options on how policing in Surrey will proceed. 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.

“What is equally frustrating is the amount of time it has taken for the Solicitor General to arrive at this point. His 8-month delay has now cost Surrey taxpayers more than $60M.

“Today, the Minister tried to justify his decision to continue the transition to the Surrey Police Service under his authority in the Police Act. However, the Minister’s selective interpretation of the Police Act is of great concern. In addition to his authority to ensure adequate and effective policing under Section 2, the municipality is given the authority under Section 3(2) to choose the model by which they will police their municipality.

“The Province has never produced a plan on how it intends to maintain public safety through the transition, nor have they ever directly met with us to outline their concerns with our plan.

“In the coming days, I will be meeting with my Council colleagues and City Staff to explore our options. I will also be asking for a face-to-face meeting with the Minister to understand how he intends to compensate the significant tax burden that will be placed on Surrey residents and businesses as a result of his decision to continue with the Surrey Police Service.

“Until I have the opportunity to have those meetings, I will not be commenting further.”

VANCOUVER Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement: “We respect the Solicitor General’s decision to keep the Surrey Police Service as the primary law enforcement agency for Surrey. We appreciate the Minister for bringing this matter to a close.

“We share the Solicitor General’s commitment to improving public safety outcomes in our region and are ready to contribute to these efforts in any way necessary.

“It’s time to move forward on policing in the Lower Mainland – we hope to work collaboratively with Mayor Locke and the Surrey Police Service to address the pressing public safety challenges facing the Lower Mainland.

“The City of Vancouver is proud to be home to a world-class police service. The Vancouver Police Department has always stood ready to support the region’s law enforcement needs and will continue to do so as we look to the future.“

SONIA Furstenau, Leader of the BC Greens, said in a statement:

“Today Minister [Mike] Farnworth exercised statutory authority under the Police Act to ensure adequate policing in Surrey by setting a plan in motion to move forward with the Surrey Police Service. 

“This prolonged debate has come at a tremendous cost to Surrey residents, British Columbians, and public safety. Moving forward I urge the Minister and all involved to ensure the process remains transparent and meaningfully engages with the concerns of the community. 

“The announcement today mentioned that the province is concerned about providing oversight of policing services in Surrey. I think it’s important that provincial oversight of policing is enacted throughout British Columbia. This was a need identified by the all-party Special Committee to Reform the Police Act, whose recommendations the BC NDP have been sitting on for 14 months.  

“The committee explicitly recommended an all-party oversight committee to ensure that a transformation of policing in B.C. is democratic and de-politicized. They also recommended that B.C. move away from the RCMP and create a provincial police service.

“If there is anything we have learned from Surrey’s experience, it is that policing reform must remain evidence-based and de-politicized. The BC NDP said today that they plan to amend the Police Act in the fall. It is essential that those amendments implement the recommendations of the Special Committee.”