The City of Surrey is one step closer to replacing its RCMP detachment with a new municipal police force.
B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum released a statement this morning, announcing that a “joint project team has been struck.”
In a joint statement, they said that a joint project team, led by former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal, will be struck “to ensure all key issues are addressed and all complex details are in place to facilitate orderly transition.”
The motion to create a city-based police department was first approved by the Surrey City Council on November 5, 2018.
The city released its proposed transition report in June, with a proposed start date of April 1, 2021 for its force.
Opponents argue it will cost $19 million more than Surrey currently pays for the RCMP, and for about 40 fewer officers.