Close X
Saturday, November 2, 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

COVID-19 restrictions brought in for B.C. region

COVID-19 restrictions brought in for B.C. region
Organized events like weddings or conferences will be limited to 10 people, or 50 people outside, unless everyone is fully vaccinated, which can be verified on the province's vaccine passport.

COVID-19 restrictions brought in for B.C. region

Surrey Hospitals Foundation Appoints Harp Dhillon as New Board Chair

Surrey Hospitals Foundation Appoints Harp Dhillon as New Board Chair
Harp is taking over the role from Ron Knight who is stepping down after 11 years serving as Board Chair since 2010. Harp has been on the Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2014 and served as the Vice-Chair for the past year.

Surrey Hospitals Foundation Appoints Harp Dhillon as New Board Chair

B.C. lays out plan to move away from fossil fuels

B.C. lays out plan to move away from fossil fuels
More than $50 million will be spent to attract industries to B.C. to run their businesses and reduce their carbon footprint by using hydroelectricity. Bruce Ralston, the province's minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, says the plan could lead to lower rates for BC Hydro customer rates, potentially by about 1.6 per cent by 2026.

B.C. lays out plan to move away from fossil fuels

PM: Vaccine mandate priority No. 1 for government

PM: Vaccine mandate priority No. 1 for government
Rounding out his top five priorities include finalizing a vaccine passport for Canadians travelling abroad, and helping to foot part of the bill for provinces that have moved forward with their own proof-of-vaccination system.

PM: Vaccine mandate priority No. 1 for government

33 miners on surface as rescue operation continues

33 miners on surface as rescue operation continues
United Steelworkers, which represents workers trapped at Totten Mine near Sudbury, Ont., said it was pleased with the progress of the operation, which has required miners to scale a series of ladders to climb out.

33 miners on surface as rescue operation continues

Few angry about federal election outcome: Poll

Few angry about federal election outcome: Poll
Just 10 per cent of respondents to the Leger survey said they're happy with the outcome, which produced another Liberal minority government led by Justin Trudeau and only minor changes to the seat counts of all the parties.    

Few angry about federal election outcome: Poll