Ralston hosts anti-crime forum Saturday, speaks at rally Sunday

"Surrey needs action on crime now," says Surrey Whalley MLA Bruce Ralston, who took part in two anti-crime events this past weekend.

Ralston hosted a forum on Saturday (Feb. 21) at the Olympia Restaurant which included presentations from the RCMP and community leaders. On Sunday (Feb. 22), he was a guest speaker at the highly-publicized anti-crime rally at Surrey Central Plaza.

The Olympia Restaurant was packed on Saturday as restaurant staff moved aside some of the tables to accommodate the large crowd. That forum was the third in a series of crime forums hosted by Surrey-Whalley MLA Bruce Ralston and the Surrey RCMP Crime Prevention Team.

Ralston said these forums "are a good opportunity for people to express their frustration with the current wave of gang-related violence but also to establish contacts with the RCMP and learn more about their programs."

Ralston and the RCMP Crime Prevention Team have partnered on crime forums over the past year "as a way of bringing people in the community together to look at solutions and connect with the services available in their community, including Blockwatch programs to combat property theft and other crimes."

He said he hopes future forums will continue to attract people in the community who are demanding that positive steps be taken to make our neighbourhoods safe."

On Sunday, Ralston told the rally, "Darkness has gathered around us. Our region has been called the gang capital of Canada. Unfortunately, that's right. Enough is enough. We want to be known as the family capital of Canada," he said.

That rally, organized by young Surrey residents Trevor Loke and Paul Hillsdon, featured speakers from all three levels of government.

Ralston has been a vocal critic of the recent provincial budget which, he says, ignored the Premier's recent campaign promises about anti-crime spending.
The budget contains no mention of the $68 million Campbell promised for more anti-gang police and prosecutors, or the $185 million promised to build added prison cells for convicted gangsters. In fact, the budget has been reduced, he said.

"If you look at the three-year projections, the budget for prosecutors, court services and corrections is reduced over last year. There's nothing in there specifically about new police officers.

"If you're serious about these campaign promises to reduce crime, you'd expect to see it in the budget," he said.

Ralston, who is also NDP finance critic, said he suspects the Campbell government will pay for any anti-gang initiatives on a bit-by-bit basis from its contingency fund.

He said the entire budget is full of wishful thinking. "It cobbles together a lot of promises, but when you look at the numbers, those promises are not supported."

Ralston also said the Liberal government has failed to support victims of crime."The Campbell government abandoned victims of crime when they gutted BC's Victim Service program and eliminated awards for pain and suffering.

"Under their watch, victims have fallen through the cracks, and the BC Liberals continue to ignore common sense solutions that would help victims and their families in their recovery."

The Surrey Whalley MLA said the NDP Official Opposition has introduced legislation that would provide grief leave and job security for victims of crime and their families and has proposed to extend Employment Insurance benefits to victims recovering.

"British Columbians deserve a government that will care for those in need and provide real support for victims of crime. We have called on the Campbell government to show some leadership and work with the federal government to extend these important benefits to victims and their families, but the appeal has fallen on deaf ears."