VICTORIA — Following gun violence that prompted the lockdown of four Surrey schools on Monday, New Democrats have written to Premier Christy Clark, asking that her government take long-overdue action to address the crisis in public safety in Surrey.
“We wrote to the premier calling for urgent intervention in this crisis in September. A month later, we received a response from Justice Minister Suzanne Anton which made clear that the minister was planning to simply stay the course. This year, people in Surrey have endured an average of one shooting a week in their communities. It’s clear to everyone but the premier and her ministers that the status quo is not working,” said New Democrat leader John Horgan.
“Today, we are renewing our call for the premier to step in and do everything she can to end this crisis and address the problem of violence in Surrey,” said Horgan.
In the letter sent today to Premier Clark, New Democrats reiterated calls that the government meet its goal of an additional 100 officers on Surrey streets immediately, even if it means redeploying RCMP resources from other areas, and ensure that a dedicated internal RCMP task force work full time to end this epidemic of gun violence.
“We wrote to you directly for a reason. This is a crisis, and it deserves your attention. We asked you to take decisive action to ensure that 100 additional officers are added to Surrey streets immediately, even if it means redeploying RCMP resources from other areas. We also asked that a dedicated internal RCMP task force work full time to end this epidemic of gun violence,” the letter reads.
“Minister Anton refused the first request, and failed to respond to the second. Concern is not enough. Failure to act is not good enough.”