B.C. says no change needed to federal legislation for Surrey police transition [Video]

B.C.’s public safety minister said Friday that the Surrey’s transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force will not require changes to federal legislation. 

Mike Farnworth’s comments came in response to a letter from the head of the RCMP saying there was no legal basis to allow the Surrey Police Service (SPS) to command RCMP officers.

A four-page letter from Commissioner Mike Duheme to Farnworth pointed out several sticking points over the proposed transition from the RCMP to the SPS.

“By virtue of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, I cannot delegate my powers, duties or functions to non-RCMP members or include SPS officers in the chain of command,” Duheme wrote in a letter dated April 12 that was leaked to media.

It said there were around 180 SPS officers in the Surrey RCMP detachment “with no clear authority to deliver services on behalf of the RCMP at this …