Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth乌鸦传媒檚 order to press on with the Surrey Police Service is akin to replacing the 乌鸦传媒渨inner with the runner-up乌鸦传媒� by overriding Surrey council乌鸦传媒檚 desire under Mayor Brenda Locke to keep the RCMP and enforcing the previous council乌鸦传媒檚 desire, under former mayor Doug McCallum, to install the SPS as the city乌鸦传媒檚 police of jurisdiction.
That乌鸦传媒檚 what Justice Kevin Loo heard Wednesday from lawyer Craig Dennis, representing the City of Surrey in its petition for a judicial review aimed at quashing Farnworth乌鸦传媒檚 July 19, 2023 order to replace the RCMP with the SPS.
The provincial government, Dennis argued, 乌鸦传媒渉as nullified the mandate to keep the RCMP delivered to council by voters.乌鸦传媒�
The five-day hearing began April 29 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
乌鸦传媒淚n purpose and effect, it controls the electorate乌鸦传媒檚 attempt to convey meaning by significantly interfering with the vote, specifically by nullifying the electoral mandate that city council keep the RCMP in Surrey, and in the process it undermined the confidence Surrey residents can reasonably repose in their future elections. Where Canadians perceive elections to be unfair, voter apathy follows shortly thereafter,乌鸦传媒� Dennis argued.
乌鸦传媒淭he Province characterized council乌鸦传媒檚 resolutions as moves to revert to the RCMP. This ignores a fundamental point 乌鸦传媒� the SPS has never become Surrey乌鸦传媒檚 police of jurisdiction. Surrey has only ever sought to keep the RCMP as its police of jurisdiction.
乌鸦传媒淭he status quo then is the RCMP. Surrey乌鸦传媒檚 not meaning to revert to anything,乌鸦传媒� Dennis noted. 乌鸦传媒淪urrey voters delivered a mandate in the 2022 municipal election for keeping the RCMP as Surrey乌鸦传媒檚 police of jurisdiction. Access to the voting platform has already occurred. Far from seeking access to a platform, Surrey seeks to implement that mandate free from provincial interference.乌鸦传媒�
Surrey never displaced the RCMP as police of jurisdiction, he pointed out. 乌鸦传媒淎s public opinion soured to the transition the 2021 citizens乌鸦传媒� initiative first proposed a referendum being held. The 2022 election was then fought not on whether Surrey should revert to to the RCMP but whether it should keep the RCMP as its police of jurisdiction.乌鸦传媒�
This, he said, was the 乌鸦传媒渞aison d乌鸦传媒櫭猼re乌鸦传媒� of Locke乌鸦传媒檚 Surrey Connect slate and was the central issue in the city乌鸦传媒檚 2022 civic election, in which she defeated McCallum. 乌鸦传媒淭his only confirmed what should have been clear to all observers, that the election was centrally about the fate of Surrey policing and Surrey voters had spoken in favour of keeping the RCMP.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淪urrey voters delivered a mandate to keep the RCMP which is inextricable from the vote itself and the integrity of that electoral result, not the policy outcome, is what Surrey seeks to protect from provincial interference,乌鸦传媒� Dennis told Loo.
乌鸦传媒淭his is no small matter for municipal democracy,乌鸦传媒� he said, noting that election results that fail to deliver results are bound to damage public confidence.
乌鸦传媒淲hy vote if policies are not implemented? Why run for office, why participate?乌鸦传媒�
