Article content

As a longtime resident of Surrey, it was with rising horror that I read Randy Shore’s article about what the transition to a municipal police force will mean to our city, and the drain it is placing on the needs of our citizenry.

We’ve read that Coun. Linda Annis has “condemned the plan as a threat to public safety” and rightfully so. No new firefighters, no new police officers are to be hired in 2020, this despite the fact that both departments have demonstrated the need for more recruits, and the fact that our city’s population grows by 1,000 people every month, which demands a need for more safety officers.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Letters, Nov. 26, 2019: Surrey police force transition comes at a great cost Back to video

Even as Mayor Doug McCallum decries the problem of crime, he chokes off the very funds meant to engage youth with productive alternatives to gang life.

Ellie King, managing artistic director of the Royal Canadian Theatre Company, points out in the article that the pittance allotted the arts in the next five years is “disastrous.” Doing the math, the pathetic $850,000 for the five-year plan works out to just over 30 cents a year per person living in Surrey. It’s not enough for a family of four to buy a single burger to share; certainly not enough to run effective arts and athletic programs.