Surrey Police Union's bid to join court fight dismissed
The union for members of Surrey's new police force will not be allowed to take part in the court case to decide the future of policing in Surrey because the issues it raises about alleged bullying and intimidation by outgoing RCMP members would hijack the case, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
The Surrey Police Union had applied to take part in an upcoming hearing into a petition by the City of Surrey asking the court to quash the province's order for it to continue the transition to the Surrey Police Service from the RCMP. A five-day hearing is scheduled to take place April 29.
The union's application laid out, without citing specifics, a “toxic and hostile” environment in the RCMP detachment described by more than a dozen of the 220 SPS officers who work there.
Fourteen union members had filed a group grievance alleging 50 instances of “bullying, harassment, discrimination and intimidation” and the union said there were also outstanding health and safety violations and it wanted those issues to be considered during the city's petition to the court against the province, the decision released Wednesday said.
The union argued in its submission to the court that it has a direct interest in the proceedings because if the city's petition is successful, the union will be eliminated, Justice Kevin Loo wrote in his decision.
The city opposed the union joining the action.
Loo ruled the issues the union raised would change and expand the scope of the court hearing, “thereby commandeering the proceedings” and force the two parties to respond to the issues that aren't relevant to their dispute.
If the union were added as a party or intervener, its claim would “effectively hijack the proceedings by increasing the number of issues and the overall scope of the litigation” and would increase costs and delays in a matter that needs to be determined quickly.
About 220 SPS officers are working in the RCMP detachment with about 515 RCMP officers as part of the transition to the municipal force ordered by the province.