Linda Hepner gives victory speech after she was elected Surrey mayor on Nov. 15, 2014.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
British Columbia's second-largest city, which is growing at the rate of 1,000 new residents a month, wants to gain greater control over its affairs by joining Vancouver to become the only cities in the pronvince with their own charter.
Currently, Vancouver is the only city with the authorization to pass bylaws on such matters as noise and land use, to purchase and sell property, collect certain taxes, approve expenditures, take on debt and hire and fire employees. Vancouver's charter was passed in 1953.
Beyond Vancouver, all B.C. communities are governed by the Community Charter, which gives them powers of regulation, requires annual reporting to citizens and even clarifies rules for council meetings.
But Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner says her city – which, at 315 square kilometres, is bigger than Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby combined – does not need the "hand holding in certain areas" that applies to smaller communities in B.C.
"We've asked for a charter in the past – haven't gotten a lot of momentum," she said. "There are elements of sophistication in cities that don't happen in smaller, rural areas. Just being able to advance things without Victoria approval – and we will define what they are – will be useful."
During a state-of-the-city speech Wednesday, Ms. Hepner said her administration is forming a working group with the B.C. government to consider the concept. She said she expects to announce "significant progress" at next year's speech.
The Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that it had not been formally approached about the idea by the City of Surrey, so "it would be premature to comment."
But a spokesperson for Ms. Hepner said in response that her office had been speaking directly with the office of Premier Christy Clark.
Ms. Hepner was vague about how a charter would apply to her city of about 500,000, located southeast of Vancouver. She told reporters after her speech that the lack of clarity will continue until "the working group has established itself and I can define, through that group, where some of the opportunities are."
Surrey's bid for a charter comes as the city has been positioning itself as a major urban power in B.C. – one projected to eventually have a larger population than Vancouver. Still, Ms. Hepner rejected the suggestion that her administration wanted a charter simply to be on par with Vancouver; instead, she said it was "just the next step" for a growing city like Surrey.
Carey Doberstein, an assistant political science professor at the University of British Columbia, said the idea seems a mix of symbolism and substance.
"[It's] symbolic in terms of positioning Surrey as a similarly significant force as Vancouver in the Lower Mainland, and substantive in the sense that as Surrey continues to grow and urbanize, council faces new policy problems and governance issues and may require additional policy flexibility to meet those needs," he wrote in an e-mail.
He said the province sets the rules for city operation in B.C., but a Surrey charter would loosen the reins of provincial control without entirely cutting them.
"New tax sources may be made available, but nothing like opening up the potential for a municipal income tax. And perhaps more flexible mechanisms to take on debt for capital expenditures. But it would amount to an evolution of autonomy, not a revolution," Mr. Doberstein wrote.
"A Surrey charter would not solve the problems the mayor and council face in Surrey, just as it has not itself solved any problems in Vancouver. On big issues of crime, housing and homelessness, and traffic and transit, Surrey would remain inside a box designed by the provincial government."