January 27, 2026
Parteek Singh Mahal
In a historic move to address a violent surge in organized crime, Surrey City Council on Monday unanimously approved a motion to declare a state of emergency. Mayor Brenda Locke is now formally calling on the federal government to intervene, stating that the wave of extortions targeting South Asian businesses has reached a scale that local policing can no longer contain.
The crisis has escalated rapidly in early 2026. According to the Surrey Police Service (SPS), there have already been 36 reported cases of extortion involving 21 different victims and eight shootings since the start of the year. Mayor Locke argued that the coordinated intimidation tactics and violence “exceed the capacity of municipal government and conventional policing responses.”
Speaking with RED FM, Mayor Locke highlighted the severity of the methods being used by criminals, noting that some business owners are seeing “a Molotov cocktail thrown at their door.” She emphasized that the problem has moved beyond the scope of local law enforcement. “This is an international layer that no local police can manage on their own,” Locke told RED FM, adding that while local officers are busy with traffic and domestic issues, the city is grappling with a “massive crisis” that requires national authority.
While clarifying that the city itself does not have the legal power to invoke a state of emergency, she remains firm that the federal government must use its authority to address what she describes as a “profound” threat to the community.
“The city does not have the ability or the, the city does not call for state of emergency. I’m asking the federal government to use their authority to do that. It needs to be a national, this is a national crime and this is transnational, the federal government should do something about this,” she told RED FM.
The Mayor’s motion includes a “catalogue of requests” aimed at the federal government. She is calling for the appointment of a dedicated “Extortion Commissioner for Violence Against Canadians” to lead a federal response. Her plan also demands the immediate deployment of more RCMP organized crime units and intelligence resources to Surrey, along with fast-tracked removal proceedings for non-citizens convicted of extortion or firearm offenses.
Additionally, Locke is pushing for legislative changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to expand detention powers and prevent refugee claims for those linked to organized extortion. She also wants the government to release identifying information of those charged or deported for these crimes to serve as a deterrent. “It needs to be a national (response)—this is a national crime, this is transnational,” she told RED FM.
Mayor Locke is scheduled to travel to Ottawa next week to present her case to the Pacific caucus and federal ministers. In the meantime, she has instructed city staff to report back to council within 30 days on the development of the crisis.
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