Surrey Double Homicide Exposes Years of NDP Inaction on Public Safety

Macklin McCall, Critic for Solicitor General & Public Safety, is demanding the BC NDP government answer for the deadly gang violence in Surrey over the weekend that left two people dead and two others seriously injured.

On Sunday evening, two men were shot and killed in an underground parkade on 133B Street near 70B Avenue. Earlier that morning, two more men were shot outside a gas station at 72nd Avenue and 152 Street, both transported to hospital with serious injuries. A vehicle was found burning near 144 Street and 84 Avenue shortly after the homicides.

This tragedy is the inevitable consequence of a public safety crisis years in the making. In the past two years alone, Surrey has recorded 96 reported extortion's, 16 shootings, and 2 arson's, resulting in 51 victims.

“Surrey has been sounding the alarm on violent crime for years. Families are afraid, businesses are under threat. This government has had every opportunity to step up on public safety and has repeatedly chosen not to,” said McCall.

The NDP’s record on policing follows a consistent pattern of under-investment.  

Since 2012, the NDP has not added a single provincial RCMP officer,” said McCall. “A visible police presence is one of the most effective deterrents to violent crime. This government’s failure to invest in public safety was a choice, made repeatedly, year after year.”

McCall noted that the conditions enabling this violence extend well beyond Surrey. “This government stood by as violent crime persisted in communities across the province. That prolonged inaction sent a signal: that criminal activity could expand without consequence,” said McCall.

"When a government allows criminal networks to operate unchecked for months before acting, it does not contain the problem. It emboldens it," said McCall. 

"Surrey residents and people across the province are now dealing with the consequences of the NDP’s failure. Two men are dead. That is the cost of this government's inaction, and it is a cost British Columbians should never have been asked to pay"