The B.C. RCMP Divisional Headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on Jan. 11. The Surrey Police Service will replace the RCMP as the municipal police service as of Nov. 29.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Surrey has lost its court effort to stop the transition to a municipal police force after the B.C. Supreme Court quashed all parts of the city’s petition for a judicial review.
The court ruled the province was within its rights when it ordered the city to comply last July and created new legislation to back that up. Justice Kevin Loo rejected months of the city’s arguments that the province was overstepping its bounds, saying that all relevant case law in the country makes it clear that Canadian provinces have a right to decide what municipalities can and can’t do.
Justice Loo also rejected Surrey’s argument that the province was interfering with Surrey voters’ “freedom of expression” by not allowing city council to do what it had campaigned on.
The province didn’t interfere with anyone’s right to vote, he noted, but the idea that freedom of expression means carrying out political campaign promises is something completely different and unsupportable legally.
“Expanding the ambit of [the Canadian Charter of Rights] to provide municipal voters with a constitutional right not to have an electoral mandate overridden by provincial legislation would run contrary to well-established jurisprudence regarding provincial authority over the affairs of municipalities.”
The ruling is the latest chapter in what has been an increasingly bitter standoff between Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, elected almost two years ago on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey, and B.C. Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth, who has taken increasingly aggressive steps to ensure the transition.
The move to create a municipal force to replace the RCMP, an effort that started six years ago under then-mayor Doug McCallum, continues.
Mr. Farnworth welcomed the decision Thursday, saying it would help provide certainty for Surrey. The Surrey Police Service will be the force as of Nov. 29.
“People in Surrey want this to be over. I am hopeful that today͛'s ruling is the time to come together to complete the transition.”
But Ms. Locke said she and her council will have to look at the decision in detail and decide whether to appeal. The mayor maintains the province’s decision will cost taxpayers an extra $75-million, forcing higher taxes and affecting the city’s ability to provide needed new services.
“Our biggest concern is the enormous tax burden,” a subdued-sounding Ms. Locke said in a late-afternoon news conference.
Her number is based on a ministry report submitted during the court proceedings. Accounting firm Deloitte said in a report that by 2027, policing costs would be $75-million more for the Surrey force than the RCMP if the number of officers increased by 166. It’s not clear whether that increase will ever happen. The figure is based on two officers per car, as opposed to the RCMP standard of one.
“That $75-million is forever and that will escalate,” the mayor said. “We are looking at a generational decision.”
She did not say whether she regretted having turned down an offer of $250-million from the province in April to cover some of the transition costs but noted that it wouldn’t cover the total bill.
Justice Loo said, in response to the city’s demand for extra money from the province to pay for the transition, that there is nothing in current legislation related to municipalities that requires the province to provide extra money to a city even if it is putting in new requirements that will cost that city more.
The judge agreed the transition and new force will cost more, but he said it was not his role to determine which force would do a “better or more cost-effective job.”
He said Surrey appears able to pay and estimated that total transition and operation costs amount to only 2 per cent to 5 per cent of the city’s budget and would cost about $50 to $120 per Surrey resident in additional taxes.
Ministry lawyer Trevor Bant said Mr. Farnworth and his staff felt they had to take action because there was a concern that, if the city went ahead with its plan to revert to the RCMP, the more than 300 officers hired for the Surrey Police Service would likely leave at a much faster rate than the RCMP could hire, putting the city at risk.
The RCMP has already been struggling to fill hundreds of positions across Canada and ministry staff were concerned that, in order to maintain any kind of reasonable policing levels in Surrey as SPS officers quickly moved on to other jobs, it would need to bring in replacements from other cities in B.C.