B.C. announces decision on Surrey police transition, recommends SPS

The B.C. government is recommending that Surrey continue the transition to a municipal police force, citing concerns about the local RCMP detachment's ability to quickly rehire officers if it remains the police of jurisdiction in the city.

The B.C. government is recommending that Surrey continue the transition to a municipal police force, citing concerns about the local RCMP detachment's ability to quickly rehire officers if it remains the police of jurisdiction in the city.

The recommendation is not binding on the city council, however, and just hours after it was announced, Mayor Brenda Locke committed to keeping the RCMP.

"The B.C. Police Act states clearly: The choice of police is under the purview of the municipality," Locke told reporters at a news conference after the B.C. government announced its recommendation.

"Council made that decision. We made it five months ago. And our decision has not changed."

According to the province, the city's decision to continue down that path will not have financial support from the provincial government, and will be subject to several binding conditions to ensure adequate levels of policing are maintained.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced the province's recommendation at a news conference Friday morning, ending one chapter in a saga that has now been ongoing for nearly half a decade, and beginning another.

Farnworth described the decision as "one of the most difficult" he has had to make as B.C.'s solicitor general, and he stressed that the recommendation that Surrey continue transitioning away from the RCMP does not reflect a lack of support for the RCMP in the province.