War of words heats up as Surrey's mayor calls 'hidden' document a 'bombshell'

The ongoing battle over policing in Surrey took another turn Wednesday, as Mayor Brenda Locke shared details of an independent report she said shows a municipal police force would cost $75 million a year more than the RCMP.

The ongoing battle over policing in Surrey took another turn Wednesday, as Mayor Brenda Locke shared details of an independent report she said shows a municipal police force would cost $75 million a year more than the RCMP.

The report, by accounting firm Deloitte, was commissioned by the province and completed a year ago. Locke says she received the report as an exhibit forming part of an upcoming court case, adding it sets out several cost scenarios depending on different numbers of Surrey Police Service members versus RCMP.

“This imposed transition will cost Surrey taxpayers nearly a quarter of a billion dollars over the next 10 years,” Locke told reporters at a news conference.

The scenario with the $75 million difference is driven largely by higher Surrey police salaries than RCMP and is based on a comparison of 900 Surrey police officers and 734 Mounties.

Locke says requirements for two Surrey cops per car mean more SPS officers would indeed be needed than RCMP, but still called the data “surreal.”

“It is clear that the city and Surrey taxpayers have been deliberately misled,” said Locke “It is clear that there has been a complete lack of transparency throughout this process.”

On the other hand, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth didn’t mince words about Locke’s analysis of the report.