Editor:
I am having a hard time understanding how the mayor of Surrey is going to get a response from all the citizens of Surrey with regard to his proposed change from RCMP to Surrey Police. Not the few thousand who voted for him. That means there’s over 500,000 people without a voice.
My thinking is he doesn’t want to know.
If you don’t have access to a computer to be able to check the City of Surrey website or read the Peace Arch News, you have no information at all.
They are holding consultation events which, unless you know when and where they are, you can’t give your input. Citizens are being informed about the events only on the city website.
I was unaware of the event in Crescent Beach until I read about it in the Peace Arch News, by then it was too late. You also have to consider the people who don’t have access to transportation to be able to attend the events.
All the citizens of Surrey have access to the police, if needed, and everyone has the right to express their feelings about any changes being made.
Also, a good portion of the citizens pay taxes and we have the right to decide how they should be spent, not on some whim the mayor might have that will cost us all millions more a year, if there is no federal money available.
This is not good management by the mayor of our city.
We need a referendum. Until that happens, the mayor cannot say the citizens of Surrey agree to his proposed change.
Hilary Thomas, Surrey