FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 4, 2026
SURREY, BC — Mike Starchuk today committed to restore the Surrey Crime Prevention Society’s City funding in Imagine Surrey’s first budget and lock it in with a four-year funding agreement. Imagine Surrey is the only party to commit to four years of stable and unpoliticized funding to the organization, which had its funding fully cut under Mayor Brenda Locke.
The Society’s volunteers, aged 15 to 29, run community safety patrols, Speed Watch, and graffiti cleanup in Newton, Guildford, Fleetwood, and City Centre. In April 2024, City Hall suspended the Society’s grant without telling the organization.
Mike Starchuk will restore the funding to Surrey Crime Prevention Society in the first Imagine Surrey budget. A four-year funding agreement will be approved in an open council meeting.
“I finished 32 years in the fire service as Surrey’s Chief Fire Prevention Officer. The cheapest emergency is the one that never happens,” said Starchuk. “These are young people who give up their evenings to keep an eye on your street. City Hall cut them without a phone call and gave some of it back behind closed doors. They will get their full funding back in our first budget and have it locked in for four years.”
“I’ve mentored young people in this city, and I’ve seen what these programs do for a 16-year-old who needs somewhere to belong,” said Chandan Chahal, Imagine Surrey council candidate and youth mentor with a background in public safety who previously volunteered with the Surrey Crime Prevention Society. “Stable funding means the Society can plan a year ahead instead of wondering whether the cheque is coming.”
“The Society worked with the RCMP and it works with the Surrey Police Service. The transition is decided and it has to be finished, and the volunteers should never have been the casualty,” said Starchuk. “This October, put out the fire at City Hall and elect a team that treats prevention like the job it is.”
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About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic party running a full slate of candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election. Led by mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk – a former firefighter and Chief Fire Prevention Officer, former City Councillor, and former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale – Imagine Surrey is committed to making Surrey the City of Champions by delivering: safe streets, fast commutes, smart investments, lower costs, and strong services.
Council candidates: Yousef Aldabainah-Barakat, Chandan Chahal, Perminder Chohan, Narima Dela Cruz, Ashiyana Hanif, William Li, Dr. Margaret Mubanda, and Kevin Wilkie.
Contact
Trevor Loke, Campaign Manager
604-838-5178
[email protected] / [email protected]