Question Period Note: Contract Policing in the City of Surrey, British Colombia

The City of Surrey is transitioning from the RCMP and establishing its own municipal police force.

• The RCMP is Canada’s national police force, providing policing services under contract to all provinces and territories, with the exception of Ontario and Quebec, as well as 155 municipalities, including Surrey, British Columbia.
• These services are provided through Police Service Agreements, under which the costs for RCMP policing services are shared between the provincial, territorial or municipal governments, and Canada.
• On February 27, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia granted approval to create a municipal police board for the City of Surrey, which is the next stage in the plan to transition from the RCMP to a municipal police service.
• The Surrey Police Transition Trilateral Committee is jointly working toward the first assignment of Surrey Police Service officers into the Surrey RCMP Detachment by November 30, 2021.
• Canada is steadfast in its commitment to continue to collaborate with the Province of British Columbia and the City of Surrey to facilitate an effective and efficient transition of police services.
• A transition of this magnitude is unprecedented, and without a roadmap in the Canadian contract policing landscape.
• The RCMP is working hard with Public Safety Canada and other partners to enable the transition as quickly as possible, while ensuring public and officer safety.

In November 2018, the City of Surrey unanimously approved a motion to establish its own independent police service.

Under Article 22 of the Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA) between Surrey and the Province of B.C., Surrey may terminate the agreement on March 31st of any year, on condition that the notice was received 25 months prior to the date of the intended termination.

In May 2019, Surrey’s Policing Transition Plan was developed in consultation with Vancouver Police Department and was approved in principle by the province, along with changes to address an unidentified number of gaps. The Province of B.C. has since taken responsibility for the transition.

In February 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of B.C. approved the establishment of the Surrey Police Service (SPS).

Since that time, the RCMP has been working with Public Safety Canada and the Province of B.C. as part of the Surrey Police Transition Trilateral Committee (SPTTC), at both the Assistant Deputy Minister and Officials levels, to oversee and advance work to facilitate an effective transition for all implicated partners. The Surrey Police Board has been established, and the SPS has hired approximately 150 employees, including their Chief Constable and senior management team.

To transition policing service from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service, the RCMP must transfer, reallocate, redistribute or dispose of all resources and property allocated or acquired under the affected agreement in accordance with new or existing applicable municipal or provincial police service agreements. These activities must be undertaken in coordination with the establishment of the SPS to ensure that public and officer safety is maintained throughout the transition.

The SPTTC has approved a phased and integrated Transition Model to guide efforts. Phase 1 would see SPS officers assigned to work under RCMP command and control, with the assignment of the first cohort of 50 SPS officers to begin by November 30, 2021. Operationalization will occur through a Memorandum of Understanding between Public Safety and B.C., and an Assignment Agreement between the RCMP, SPS, B.C. and the Surrey Police Board. Phase 2 would see RCMP Regular Members assigned to work under SPS command and control. This requires SPS to procure and establish all its own IM/IT systems. New agreement(s) will be required to establish this phase of the transition.

One of the key areas of focus is the identification of risks and liability for the RCMP and Canada, and putting in place effective mitigation measures. For example, the RCMP needs to ensure that it can effectively onboard the SPS officers to ensure public and officer safety. Issues such as liability and indemnification need to be reviewed, to ensure clarity on the circumstances should an SPS officer under RCMP command and control give rise to legal action, or become injured on the job.

The SPTTC aims to have the Joint Human Resources/Deployment Plan completed by December 31, 2021. The plan will set the pace for SPS officers to be assigned to the RCMP, as well as RCMP Regular Member demobilization for next 18 months

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