The showdown between Surrey council and the province over policing continues, while taxpayers continue to throw more money away.
They are spending money they don’t have to support two police forces, and to pay for the ongoing argument between Mayor Brenda Locke and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
On Friday, Oct. 13 (the day chosen is definitely symbolic), the city announced it had filed for judicial review of last July’s provincial announcement that Surrey Police Service would proceed. The announcement by Farnworth came months after Locke and the majority of council voted to end the transition from Surrey RCMP to the SPS, and later refused the province’s offer of $150 million to help with the transition.
The war of words between the two sides should have ended when the province ordered that the transition continue. However, each side has continued to blame the other for the ongoing cost escalation and chaos. No one appears capable of clearly explaining how much the transition will cost, and assuring taxpayers that their interests are being taken care of.
The referral to B.C. Supreme Court takes the matter to a new level. The court action comes as the province introduces legislation to change the Police Act to try and ensure that no such standoff over police transition occurs again. Farnworth said he wanted to be sure that, once a council makes a decision to change police forces, it could not be reversed.
The intransigence by both sides may get sorted out by a court decision, but that seems unlikely, given how each step seems to lead to yet another dispute.
It’s very much like two kids who just don’t like each other. Adults may try to step in to sort things out, but when they are not looking, the battles break out again.
Credit must go to the managers and members of the two police services, who seem to be able to do their jobs amid all the chaos. Their training, which teaches them to keep cool heads while others cannot, is definitely paying off for Surrey citizens who need police services.
Where this will all end is impossible to predict. Some feel that the Police Act changes will put an end to the squabbling. Maybe.
Taxpayers upset about the needless waste of money will likely vent their wrath on the nearest politician whose name is on a ballot. As the municipal election won’t take place until 2026, that target is likely to be the NDP candidates who seek election next fall in the expected provincial election.
There will be 10 MLAs elected in Surrey next year, up one from the current nine. If by some chance policing did become the number one issue and government MLAs and candidates are targeted, it would have a significant effect on the overall outcome. There will be 93 seats in the B.C. Legislature after the next election.
Whether enough taxpayers will see the waste of funds and the unseemly quarrel about policing changes as their prime motivation when voting remains to be seen. That election is set for next October, under B.C.’s fixed election dates.
Frank Bucholtz writes twice a month for Black Press Media.