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The RCMP at the crossroads

Mounties are assigned to contract policing in roughly 150 municipalities, all three territories and in every province except Ontario and Quebec.

As the storied police service turns 150, some communities are wondering if it’s time to pull the plug on the Mounties.

Photo: Reuters / Valerie Zink

RCI

As the storied police service turns 150, some communities are wondering if it’s time to pull the plug on the Mounties

A fleet of vehicles for the fledgling Surrey Police Service gathers dust in a windowless room in a hidden warehouse.

Parked side by side, the vehicles are all emblazoned with the SPS motto — Safer. Stronger. Together — and outfitted to hit the streets of the British Columbia city.

They just can’t respond to any calls yet. For now, they — along with the fate of Canada’s newest police force — remain in the dark.

So we’re in this dilemma, said Chief Constable Norm Lipinski, head of the Surrey Police.

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