Don鈥檛 expect a Perry Mason drama when 性视界传媒鈥檚 petition for a judicial review of Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth鈥檚 decree the 性视界传媒 Police Service will police the city goes to court.

鈥淎 judicial review hearing is not a parade of witnesses to be cross-examined on decisions made in 2018, 2019, that sort of thing,鈥� Kyle Friesen, the SPS鈥檚 in-house lawyer, told the 性视界传媒 Police Board on Jan. 19.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of misinformation out there on social media about what a judicial review can do and what it really is, and it鈥檚 definitely not that.鈥�

A court date is not set yet.

性视界传媒 Mayor Brenda Locke announced in November that the city is challenging in court the 鈥榗onstitutionality鈥� of the provincial government鈥檚 decision to replace the 性视界传媒 RCMP with the 性视界传媒 Police Service.

On Oct. 13, the City of 性视界传媒 filed its first petition with the Supreme Court of British Columbia seeking a judicial review of Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth鈥檚 July 19 order to proceed with the SPS. An amended petition to the Oct. 13 filing was then submitted to the court on Nov. 20 with Locke characterizing it as a 鈥渟ignificant step to stop the NDP police service鈥� and a reply to the provincial government鈥檚 鈥渁ttempted police takeover, which would require a double digit 鈥� double digit 鈥� NDP tax hike on 性视界传媒 taxpayers.鈥�

READ ALSO: 性视界传媒 challenging 鈥榗onstitutionality鈥� of B.C. order imposing SPS on city

This latest petition is aimed at the provincial government amending the Police Act to specify that 性视界传媒 must provide policing services through a municipal police department which gave the solicitor general authority to cancel the existing agreement between the provincial government and the City of 性视界传媒 for the provision of RCMP services.

鈥淭he minister鈥檚 decision of July 19 to say yes SPS is now enshrined in the Police Amendment Act of 2023, that鈥檚 Bill 36, so as a result the judicial review petition had to sort-of reformulated by the city to bring up, as the province calls it, novel challenges, the charter rights and other issues like that,鈥� Friesen explained. 鈥淪o in summary, a petition itself does not stop the transition, it鈥檚 full-speed ahead with the parties involved like this.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not an injunction that stops the transition, at all.鈥�

The province鈥檚 鈥渃omprehensive鈥� response was filed Dec. 15 and a case management conference was held on Jan. 4 with Justice Kevin Loo assigned as judicial management judge which will 鈥渟treamline the whole process, a very complex sort of thing,鈥� Friesen said.

鈥淚n this judicial review neither SPS nor the RCMP nor the NPF (National Police Federation) nor the 性视界传媒 Police Union, they鈥檙e not parties to the actual judicial review at this point, so it鈥檚 just the city versus the attorney general of B.C., and also the minister of public safety and the solicitor general,鈥� Friesen noted. 鈥淭he review standard for a judicial review is not 鈥榗orrect鈥� decision, it鈥檚 whether it鈥檚 a reasonable decision made by the minister and the assistant deputy minister of police services. Reasonableness is the test.鈥�