Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Group calls for vote on Surrey, B.C., police force

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Nov, 2021 05:22 PM
  • Group calls for vote on Surrey, B.C., police force

SURREY, B.C. - A group opposing the planned transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force in Surrey, B.C., says it has collected close to 43,000 signatures from residents calling for a referendum on policing in the city.

Darlene Bennett launched the campaign with the group Surrey Police Vote over concerns about rising costs associated with starting a new municipal police force, which was a key pledge in Mayor Doug McCallum's election campaign in 2018.

The city council voted in favour of the transition in 2018, the public safety minister approved the creation of the Surrey Police Board last year, and Surrey's budget for 2021 showed the transition was $18.5 million more than the original $45-million cost estimate.

Amber Stowe, media relations lead with McCallum's office, says the mayor would not comment on the petition before Elections BC delivers the final result.

A statement from the Surrey Police Union says the 42,942 signatures collected by the Surrey Police Vote initiative falls far below the legislative requirement of 10 per cent of voters from all 87 electoral districts in B.C. in order to trigger a referendum.

Bennett said upon launching the petition that the initiative would not campaign across the province, rather it would focus on the nine electoral districts in Surrey in hopes of demonstrating the need for a regional referendum to the provincial government.

B.C.'s Referendum Act gives provincial cabinet the power to order a referendum in a particular region, campaign strategist Bill Tieleman said in a statement on Monday.

The petition's signatures represent about 13.5 per cent of about 318,000 registered voters in Surrey's nine districts, according to a 2017 tally from Elections BC.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canada marks Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Canada marks Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Singing and drumming were scheduled to ring out at 2:15 p.m. from Kamloops where the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced in May that ground-penetrating radar had detected what are believed to be 215 unmarked graves at the site of one of the largest former residential schools.

Canada marks Day for Truth and Reconciliation

813 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

813 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 6,185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 177,729 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 340 individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.  

813 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

Detailed GHG plan coming in 'months': Wilkinson

Detailed GHG plan coming in 'months': Wilkinson
Wilkinson is in Milan this week for meetings with his global counterparts to set the final agenda for negotiations that will take place at the full United Nations climate change meetings in Glasgow in early November.

Detailed GHG plan coming in 'months': Wilkinson

Alberta, Saskatchewan urged to shut down

Alberta, Saskatchewan urged to shut down
Dr. Alika Lafontaine said if the province doesn't strengthen public health measures to extinguish a relentless fourth wave then the health-care system will burn to the ground.

Alberta, Saskatchewan urged to shut down

DARPAN 10 with Teri Mooring

DARPAN 10 with Teri Mooring
This year almost 100 percent of the cases are of the Delta variant, so we haven’t been given a clear rationale as to why Kindergarten to Grade 3 students were excluded this year.

DARPAN 10 with Teri Mooring

Burnaby RCMP seize significant amount of drugs and unregistered restricted “ghost gun” as part of trafficking investigation

Burnaby RCMP seize significant amount of drugs and unregistered restricted “ghost gun” as part of trafficking investigation
The investigation led to the seizure of an unregistered restricted handgun, which is also known as a ghost gun, with ammunition. The seizure is significant because the untraceable nature of the gun components, which do not have serial numbers.

Burnaby RCMP seize significant amount of drugs and unregistered restricted “ghost gun” as part of trafficking investigation