RCMP Responsible for at Least 3 Deaths in Surrey So Far in 2019: Few Public Details

Jeff Shantz


RCMP in Surrey have been involved in the deaths of at least three people so far in 2019. In all cases little information has been provided publicly and police have not been held to any sort of public account. In the case of the RCMP shooting and killing Nona McEwan and Randy Crosson, police initially put out information that was misleading and implied that one of the victims (Crosson) had killed the other (McEwan).


RCMP shot and killed Nona McEwan and Randy Crosson in a situation described by police as a hostage taking on March 29, 2019. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) later revealed that RCMP had shot and killed both victims.


The (IIO) is also investigating after a woman fell to her death in the presence of RCMP officers on August 13, 2019 in Surrey. The IIO report that RCMP responded to an apartment complex in the 14000 block of 103A Avenue regarding a woman on the edge of a ninth floor balcony. Police entered the building, and, at some point, the woman fell. She died on the scene. No other details have yet been released publicly.


The latter case was the second IIO investigation of RCMP in a matter of days. Police shot a man on 135A Street in Whalley on August 14.


This has happened in a context in which RCMP have secured more resources over years under multiple moral panics around gangs and homelessness. Discussions of policing in Surrey have largely been uncritical and police and pro-police business associations (like the Surrey Board of Trade) dominate the public narrative.

Platforming Fascists: Surrey Board of Trade Host Maxime Bernier (People’s Party of Canada Leader)

Business has provided the base of support for fascism historically. Fascists provide the bare force of violence to smash working class movements and community solidarity in times of crisis (including political legitimation crises). So it is in no way surprising that the Surrey Board of Trade is hosting People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier for a “town hall” on September 25, 2019.

Bernier’s PPC has been associated with, identified as, a fascist formation, not only because of its positions and statements, which express xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, and anti-migrant sentiments—but because some party members and candidates have connections with fascist organizations and groups, or have been members of those groups themselves. Bernier himself has associated with identified fascists.

Details of the Surrey Board of Trade townhall with Maxime Bernier are as follows:

Name: September 25, 2019 - Fourth Business Town Hall with People's Party of Canada Leader, Maxime Bernier

Date: September 25, 2019

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM PDT

Location:

Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel 15269 104 Ave, Surrey

The event is listed as free to attend. Community members who oppose racism, xenophobia, and fascism in our community, and do not appreciate the Surrey Board of Trade providing a platform for racists, xenophobes, and fascists in our city (no matter how much businesses benefit from fascism) might wish to show up to let them all know where we stand.