Close X
Monday, November 25, 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

2425 COVID19 cases over 4 days

2425 COVID19 cases over 4 days
85.1% (3,943,729) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 77.6% (3,594,929) received their second dose.

2425 COVID19 cases over 4 days

B.C. residents can now get vaccine card

B.C. residents can now get vaccine card
Dr. Bonnie Henry says residents will need to provide their personal health numbers, dates of birth and vaccination dates for their first and second doses to securely download their vaccine cards.

B.C. residents can now get vaccine card

Woman on a mobility scooter suffered injuries in a collision with a dump truck

Woman on a mobility scooter suffered injuries in a collision with a dump truck
The woman was pinned under the dump truck, and bystanders and the driver of the dump truck assisted her with emergency first aid. This file remains under investigation.

Woman on a mobility scooter suffered injuries in a collision with a dump truck

Canada welcomes fully vaxxed foreign nationals

Canada welcomes fully vaxxed foreign nationals
To be eligible, travellers must have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last vaccine shot and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.

Canada welcomes fully vaxxed foreign nationals

Trudeau says throwing rocks is 'unacceptable'

Trudeau says throwing rocks is 'unacceptable'
The London stop is the latest Liberal tour event to be sidetracked by the arrival of what Trudeau called an "anti-vaxxer mob" but the first where he was physically assaulted.

Trudeau says throwing rocks is 'unacceptable'

Details of B.C.'s vaccine passport to be released

Details of B.C.'s vaccine passport to be released
The province had confirmed that a vaccine card system would begin Sept. 13, requiring proof of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in order to enter restaurants, movies, ticketed sporting events and many other non-essential venues.

Details of B.C.'s vaccine passport to be released