Surrey council91裸聊视频檚 mandate to keep the RCMP is not protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a lawyer representing the provincial government argued.
Lawyer Trevor Bant pressed the point in court May 2 that the 91裸聊视频渆xpressive activity91裸聊视频� of voting is protected, but a mandate resulting from the vote is not.
Justice Kevin Loo is presiding over the City of Surrey91裸聊视频檚 judicial review petition aimed at quashing Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth91裸聊视频檚 July 19, 2023 order that the RCMP must be replaced by the Surrey Police Service. The five-day hearing began April 29 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
91裸聊视频淭he key point again being that the expressive activity of voting is protected by 2B, but the result or mandate resulting from the vote is not an expressive activity, is not protected,91裸聊视频� Bant told Loo. 91裸聊视频淚ndividual rights, it doesn91裸聊视频檛 depend on the content of what91裸聊视频檚 being expressed, and those principles I say are fatal to the City91裸聊视频檚 position.91裸聊视频�
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke announced in November 2023 the City would challenge the 91裸聊视频渃onstitutionality91裸聊视频� of Farnworth91裸聊视频檚 order.
Earlier in the week, lawyer Craig Dennis, representing the City of Surrey, argued that Surrey voters in the 2022 civic election delivered a mandate to keep the RCMP, 91裸聊视频渨hich is inextricable from the vote itself and the integrity of that electoral result, not the policy outcome, is what Surrey seeks to protect from provincial interference.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭his is no small matter for municipal democracy,91裸聊视频� Dennis told Loo, noting election results that fail to deliver results are bound to damage public confidence.
91裸聊视频淲hy vote if policies are not implemented?91裸聊视频� he asked rhetorically. 91裸聊视频淲hy run for office, why participate?91裸聊视频�
In reply, Bant on Thursday referenced a Supreme Court of Canada decision concerning provincial legislative authority over municipalities, 91裸聊视频渨hich of course were created by provincial legislatures and may be un-created at any time.91裸聊视频�
Municipalities and civic bodies such as school boards don91裸聊视频檛 have independent constitutional status, he told the court, adding the Constitution Act assigns to provincial governments 91裸聊视频渁bsolute and unfettered legal power to do with them as it wills 91裸聊视频� very strong language there.91裸聊视频�
Bant underlined a distinction between Canadian representative democracy versus the concept of direct democracy. In the latter, he noted, 91裸聊视频渃andidates would be in a strict sense held to their promises. They would be required to do exactly what they promised to do. And that from a policy perspective, that91裸聊视频檚 actually quite problematic because people who campaign and are elected to office may have very good reason to change their mind once they assume office.91裸聊视频�
The job of elected officials is to do what91裸聊视频檚 right, he said, 91裸聊视频渘ot necessarily what91裸聊视频檚 popular91裸聊视频� or what they promised. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 how representative democracy is supposed to work.91裸聊视频�
Bant cited a Supreme Court document stating that parliamentary government would be 91裸聊视频減aralyzed if the doctrine of legitimate expectations could be applied to prevent the government from introducing legislation in parliament. Such expectations might be created by statements during an election campaign. The business of government would be stalled while the applications of the doctrine and its effects were argued out in courts.91裸聊视频�
