Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Surrey Police to replace RCMP in Fall

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Jul, 2024 03:47 PM
  • Surrey Police to replace RCMP in Fall

A long-running and fractious dispute between the British Columbia government and the City of Surrey over its police department has ended with a cash agreement. 

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the deal sees the RCMP being replaced by the independent Surrey Police Service on Nov. 29 as part of a $250-million, 10-year agreement. 

Farnworth says the deal ensures safety for the residents of the Metro Vancouver city and comes with a guarantee that the local government will not levy a police tax to cover transition costs over the next decade.

It ends a bitter two-year process of name-calling and court action as Surrey's council attempted to go back to the RCMP amid a transition to the independent force. 

The final agreement was reached after Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said last month she accepted a judicial review that ruled the province has the authority to complete the transition from the RCMP to the local force.

Farnworth says Surrey council has accepted the government's $150 million transition offer, including an additional guarantee of $20 million over five years if Surrey Police Service salaries are higher than what the city would have paid RCMP officers.  

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey mayor accepts outcome of judicial review

Surrey mayor accepts outcome of judicial review
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says she still opposes the province's mandated transition to a municipal police force, but she accepts the outcome of a judicial review. The mayor told a council meeting that the city is moving forward with what needs to be done to ensure residents are prioritized in the provincially legislated transition.

Surrey mayor accepts outcome of judicial review

BC's official opposition shuffles portfolios

BC's official opposition shuffles portfolios
B-C's official Opposition has shuffled its shadow cabinet portfolios. A statement from B-C United says former provincial cabinet minister Shirley Bond has been appointed as shadow minister for mental health and addiction.

BC's official opposition shuffles portfolios

Vancouver police arrest five, seize drugs, in Quebec gang investigation

Vancouver police arrest five, seize drugs, in Quebec gang investigation
Vancouver police have arrested five men, and recovered more than 24 kilograms of illicit drugs, after a lengthy investigation into a gang originally from Quebec. A statement from the department says members of the gang known as Zone 43 established operations in Vancouver and were the focus of a 14-month investigation by its organized crime section.

Vancouver police arrest five, seize drugs, in Quebec gang investigation

Two children remain in hospital after Saskatchewan school bus crash

Two children remain in hospital after Saskatchewan school bus crash
Two children remain in hospital for observation after a crash that saw a school bus roll over off a road in rural Saskatchewan. The crash happened Monday afternoon at the intersection of two gravel roads near Rockglen, in the southwest part of the province.

Two children remain in hospital after Saskatchewan school bus crash

Border strike averted after union reaches tentative agreement with Ottawa

Border strike averted after union reaches tentative agreement with Ottawa
Workers at Canada's borders are no longer planning to go on strike this week after their union reached a tentative agreement with the federal government. The Public Service Alliance of Canada said Tuesday it reached a deal with the government for Canada Border Services Agency employees after working "around the clock." 

Border strike averted after union reaches tentative agreement with Ottawa

Delta weekend fire destroys vacant building

Delta weekend fire destroys vacant building
Police in Delta are looking for witnesses after a weekend fire destroyed a vacant building in Ladner. They say there were no injuries caused by the fire, which happened in the 49-hundred block of Chisholm Street and was reported shortly before midnight Saturday.

Delta weekend fire destroys vacant building