Surrey Police Board confident police transition will continue despite election of pro-RCMP mayor

The Surrey Police Board says it's confident the city's police transition from the RCMP to a municipal force will continue despite the election of a pro-Mountie mayor — but worries that delaying the process will only cost the city more money.

Mayor-elect Brenda Locke, who defeated mayor Doug McCallum in Saturday's municipal election, pledged to keep the RCMP in Surrey during her victory speech Saturday.

McCallum made replacing the Mounties with a civic police force a major initiative during his four-year term.

Police board executive director Melissa Granum said in an interview Sunday that the board wants to meet as soon possible with Locke, who now becomes the board's chair, to update her on the transition process.

Granum says the Surrey Police Service (SPS) has already hired about 350 staff employees, with more than 150 police officers, including a chief.

"All we can do is continue to focus on our work and trust the original decision was not made lightly and was certainly not made with the anticipation that it would become an election issue every four years,'' said Granum.

"We have every confidence in the fact we will keep going ahead."

On Monday, Locke said she is prepared to meet with the board immediately and discuss next steps.

"Right now the city has a $70 million deficit this year ... and the majority of that is due to the transition, so we need to stop that now before we continue to spend more and more money," Locke said on the CBC's The Early Edition.

'We are too far down the road'

SPS spokesperson Ian MacDonald says any decision to change course will require the approval of the provincial government, which approved the transition to a municipal police service in 2019.

"Through this transition, we have had to constantly check in with both provincial, federal and even local oversight to ensure we are hitting our landmarks and that the transition is going smoothly," MacDonald told The Early Edition on Monday.

"We have had nothing but glowing reviews about how we're doing."

He said the city has already spent approximately $100 million on the transition and he's concerned that prolonging the decision will only cost more money.

"If this transition gets dragged out for months and months while the mayor-elect allegedly is going to put together some kind of counter case to it ... We are too far down the road and this is the best fit for Surrey," said McDonald.

"We are a significant part of public safety in the city."

Former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal, who was chair of the Surrey police transition task force, said prior to the election that going back to the RCMP would be a complicated process. 

The municipality would have to get approval from the solicitor general and make a case for the RCMP.

During the campaign, Locke and her party Surrey Connect said sticking with the RCMP would save the city $521 million over the next four years.

Locke said she is prepared to go to the province and demonstrate how the RCMP is a better fit for Surrey. She also said that the personnel the SPS has hired would be transferred to their previous agencies or would join the Surrey RCMP. 

Capital costs, such as vehicles and technology, would be absorbed into Surrey RCMP.

According to the Ministry of Public Safety, decisions around contracting RCMP services are subject to RCMP agreements and federal government policies.

"Government cannot speculate on the potential actions of incoming mayors or municipal councils before they have even taken the oath of office, or the formal steps the city of Surrey might take regarding the Surrey Police Service," said a ministry spokesperson on Sunday.