Will the policing debate in Surrey impact how voters choose the next mayor?
There have been plenty of news conferences and plenty of promises during the run-up to the October 15 municipal elections in Surrey.
Incumbent Doug McCallum has promised everything from a 60,000-seat stadium to a new pool in North Surrey.
“We are going to build an indoor, full pool right on this particular location at Jack Bailey,” McCallum recently announced.
But the main issue that has loomed large and bitterly divided council over the last four years has not been civic infrastructure.
Replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force was one of McCallum and his Safe Surrey Coalition's key promises in 2018. Halting the transition is one of the planks in at least on of his opponent's platforms this time around.
“We must keep the RCMP in Surrey,” said Coun. Brenda Locke, the mayoral candidate for Surrey Connect.
“The city can not afford to go down this road. The cost is too great. $520 million more it will cost us to keep on moving forward with the SPS (Surrey Police Service).”
Locke and McCallum are among eight candidates running for the mayor’s chair.
In an interview with CTV News, Locke said she is running to "put ethical government back into city hall. I want the citizens of Surrey to feel proud of their city once again and I can tell you, right now, they’re embarrassed.”
Locke has also vowed to make McCallum, who is facing a criminal charge of public mischief, repay the legal fees that the city is now footing the bill for.
When asked for his response to that demand during a news conference, McCallum said Locke is out of line.
“We have a very strong bylaw that indemnifies all of council from their legal fees and its’ been that way for my 16 years on council,” he said.
CTV News had additional questions for McCallum, but he refused repeated requests for a one-on-one interview, ultimately saying he was too busy.
During a recent news conference, however, he said he was proud of his work over the past term.
“There’s no other council, anywhere in Canada or I would say North America that has achieved what we have in the last four years,” he said.
“We’re building SkyTrain, a four-billion-dollar project. We’re changing a whole police force. We’re doing 21 projects. Our council has worked extremely well in the last four years.”
Both candidates have been part of what critics have described as a dysfunctional council.
Locke says if she wins that will change
“People know me. This is my home. I am a collaborative person. That’s what I do,” she said.
When asked at a news conference about a lack of cooperation on council, McCallum said "council’s worked very, very well because we’ve had majority.”
Meanwhile, Locke said Surrey needs a good public safety plan that goes beyond just policing.
“We have one of the worst ratios of firefighters anywhere in Canada. We need to change that. We need better resources for our bylaw people,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.