It’s been a turbulent week in civic politics in Surrey, BC, with Mayor Doug McCallum in the middle of it all.
McCallum delivered a speech on the state of the city on Wednesday, just two days after a full council meeting was interrupted amid calls for his resignation.
The mayor ignored the calls, but announced on Wednesday that he would step down as chairman of the Surrey Police Board until after the October municipal elections.
McCallum is due to stand trial on suspicion of public outrage just over two weeks after voters had to go to the polls. He is charged with felony criminal mischief following a police report stating that Debi Johnstone was hit by a car in a parking lot, one of seven opponents of his plans for a McCallum-banned municipal police force. at board meetings.
The indictment relates to allegations of false statements with intent to deceive police officers.
The allegations have not been verified in the courts but have led voters and some city councilors to demand his resignation as mayor.
TARGET | Doug McCallum City State Address:
McCallum says he has no plans to leave City Hall. Withdrawal from the next police board meetings has nothing to do with his pending court case, it all has to do with a recent recommendation of the Special Committee on Police Law Reform that mayors should not chair municipal police boards, he said.
The mayor spoke with CBC’s The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn on Thursday morning about the controversy surrounding him and recent events at Surrey City Hall.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Why did you decide to step down as chairman of the police board?
I haven’t stepped aside as chairman, I’m not allowed by the Police Act, I just won’t chair the next two board meetings. About six months ago, I removed all the committees on which I was on the police board because the board is very effective and can be managed without me.
What’s the difference between being sidelined and absent from meetings?
I am still the president of the police and I still have all the authority that this entails for this job, I will only be absent.
You say this has nothing to do with your criminal abuse charge, so why are you absent?
Two reasons. One, that I’ve been withdrawing from police board meetings. The second is that a provincial legislature suggests that being mayor and chairman of the board are in conflict and I have been saying this since day 1.
You get into a very big conflict because the City Council is funding the police board, which is taking that money and offering services. In fact, I have contributed a lot to this recommendation [that mayors should not chair municipal police boards] and firmly believe that mayors and presidents of police boards are in conflict.
At some point, did other members of the police board ask him to step down or retire?
I will not enter any of the confidential information we have at our meetings.
Global News reported that the same police board asked you to stop presiding. Is that correct?
I won’t comment on camera discussions yet.
So you’re saying you’re on the sidelines because you recognize that there’s a conflict?
Yes.
After the election, will you be chairing the police board again?
I probably won’t because I strongly believe in it. But unfortunately, because of the Police Act now, I have to be president and I have to carry that authority. This is the law and I must obey it.
Surrey City Council. Linda Annis, pictured in February, says McCallum should step down as mayor because his passing job is shifting the focus of running a city. (Enzo Zanatta / CBC News)
Several councilors have asked you to step down as mayor until the public prosecution of the wrongdoing you face is settled in court. You have declined so far. Because?
I will not comment on the position, but I will also remain mayor. There is no legislation that says I can’t and I have had great support from the community asking me to continue and run the city, and I intend to do so. We have over 42 major infrastructure projects underway and our city is the fastest growing in Canada.
Do you understand, Mayor, why voters may be concerned that an elected official should remain in office with criminal charges pending against them?
I understand people’s feelings, but in Surrey it’s just a very small group called Keep the RCMP. When I hit the streets, I have huge support to continue. I don’t want to go into any comment on the court case, but I feel very strongly that I can stay and that most want me to do so.
People protesting against Mayor Doug McCallum in Surrey, BC Provincial Court on January 25th. (Ben Nelms / CBC News)
You recently cut off the speakers at a public hearing, and in September the Surrey council banned seven pro-RCMP people from attending council meetings. Is it an acceptable way to relate to your audience?
These seven are part of the Keep the RCMP group and have been constantly harassed for the past three years. They have more than a dozen ongoing police investigations against them for harassment. They have to sit down and also listen to other people in the city. They only want it in one way, but most in any democratic city is how a city works and they really chose us to change our police.
But don’t you have an obligation to relate to people who disagree with you as well?
If they are polite and follow the rules and do not swear and do not interrupt. These people do not listen and shout. If people follow the procedures, I listen. We’ve developed the infrastructure and traffic by listening to people and saying that if you choose us we will.
Do you think you still have the majority support of Surrey voters?
Yes.
What do you think voters think about your court date after the election?
I would love to have it now, but the courts are full. We tried to get in earlier and if I had my wish it would be tomorrow.
CBC News asked Mike Farnworth, the Department of Homeland Security and Attorney General, to verify whether McCallum’s interpretation of the Police Act is accurate. The act says that the mayor of a city council is the president of a municipal police board and, in case of absence or impossibility to act, that the board must choose another one among them.
According to Farnworth, under current law, the mayor is not required to resign from the police board and it is a decision McCallum “obviously made himself.”
The Early Edition13: 05 Mayor Doug McCallum on the latest developments at Surrey Town Hall.
He told us about Doug McCallum following calls for his resignation as mayor of the city of Surrey and his decision to temporarily retire from municipal police board meetings.