OTTAWA - The Conservative government, under attack from the New Democratic Party in Parliament in recent weeks over a string of gang-related shootings in Surrey, is providing 100 additional RCMP officers to the city to fight crime, it was announced Tuesday.
Ottawa says it is also providing $3.5 million over five years to fund an anti-gang program in Surrey aimed at youths age 11-19.
The Surrey School District will deliver the program to roughly 400 youths in conjunction with the city and the Surrey RCMP detachment.
“Gang violence is a serious concern for many Canadian families, especially in Surrey,” Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said in a statement.
The 100 new officers will “tackle the senseless gang violence and protect the families in our communities in Surrey.”
The government has been funding gang prevention programs in Surrey and other cities since a $33.6 million, five-year program was announced shortly after the Conservatives took power in 2006.
It was then renewed shortly before the 2011 federal election.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the $3.5 million was from that pot of money or was a new injection of funds.
Conservative MP Nina Grewal, the MP for Fleetwood-Port Kells, said in a statement that the anti-gang project provides “at-risk youth with life and resiliency skills to help them move away and keep them from violence and the gang lifestyle.”
