Stopping transition to local force 'could create a policing void in Surrey,' B.C. argues

The B.C. government has filed its response to Surrey's court challenge of the forced transition to a municipal police department, arguing it should fail on several grounds.

The response from the attorney general and public safety minister, filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday, says in part that any request for a judicial review of the province's order for the city to transition away from the RCMP should be considered moot.

That's because of the Police Amendment Act, introduced in October, which writes the transition into law.

But the province's response goes on to argue that all of Surrey's other arguments for halting the policing change should be rejected as well.

It states that when Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth ordered the city in July to continue the transition to the Surrey Police Service (SPS), he did so out of concern for public safety.

"The minister found that the city's proposed u-turn could create a policing void in Surrey and have spillover consequences throughout British Columbia," the response says.

"In reaching his decision, the minister did not compare the efficacy of the SPS and the RCMP. The minister's decision was grounded in the unique facts of this unprecedented situation."

The City of Surrey's petition, originally filed in October and amended in November, had asked for a judge to quash Farnworth's July decision, declare the Police Amendment Act unconstitutional, set aside an order in council appointing an administrator for the Surrey Police Board and suspending the previous board, and issue a declaration that the province can't force a transition without providing resources to make it happen.

No constitutional guarantees for majority opinion

The legal battle is just the latest front in the ongoing war between Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and the province. Locke had campaigned in the 2022 election on a promise to keep the RCMP in Surrey, and reverse her predecessor Doug McCallum's actions to introduce the SPS.

The province's response to Surrey's petition says that re-staffing the RCMP could create public safety risks throughout the province, because the city had asked for Surrey to be prioritized over other municipalities for filling job vacancies.

And while Locke has claimed that the transition to the SPS would be too costly for Surrey taxpayers, the province's response says that any additional costs are a direct result of Surrey's original decision to make the switch in the first place.

In its petition, the city had claimed that the Police Amendment Act creates an unconstitutional limit on voters' freedom of expression, because the majority cast their ballots in the 2022 civic election in favour of candidateswhopromised to bring back the RCMP.

B.C.'s response counters that freedom of expression is an individual right, and even if it could be proven that policing was the driving motivation for Surrey voters, there are no special privileges or greater protections granted to an opinion that is shared by the majority.

The response argues that the Charter "does not provide a constitutional guarantee that the majority's point of view on a given issue will be implemented."

None of the arguments have been tested in court, and no date has been set for the petition to be heard.