Surrey’s ban of residents from council gets nod from Code of Silence Awards
Posted February 17, 2022 9:39 pm.
Last Updated February 17, 2022 9:40 pm.
The City of Surrey is the recipient of a rather dubious honour from Canadian media organizations.
The Lower Mainland municipality a “dishonourable mention” in the annual Code of Silence Awards.
“The intent of the awards is to call public attention to government or publicly-funded agencies that work hard to hide information to which the public has a right to under access to information legislation,” according to a statement from the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University (CFE), News Media Canada, and the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).
The Code of Silence Awards call attention to government/publicly funded agencies that work hard to hide information to which the public has a right under #ATI legislation.
The “winners” in the law enforcement category will be announced next week: https://t.co/DuGf5edTOc pic.twitter.com/flr4wVou5Q
— Canadian Association of Journalists (@caj) February 15, 2022
Mayor Doug McCallum, as well as the four councillors with his Safe Surrey Coalition, were included in the list of 2021 recipients because of a move that banned seven supporters of the campaign to keep the RCMP in Surrey from attending council meetings.
The ban on attending in-person meetings came into effect in September of last year, after being supported by McCallum and his slate who said it was necessary to “protect council and city staff ” from people who had been “disruptive” and “hostile.” Opposing councillors slammed it as undemocratic, accusing the mayor of abusing his power in order to silence his critics.
RELATED: Surrey mayor, council overturn ban of RCMP supporters from meetings
It was rescinded in December, shortly after six of the seven people named filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court, challenging the move as unconstitutional. Wile some on council urged McCallum to issue an apology, he did not.
Coun. Linda Annis says the award may be tongue-in-cheek, but the issues it points to are serious. She was one of the councillors who opposed the ban — slamming it as undemocratic and accusing the mayor of abusing his power in order to silence his critics.
“It’s an absolute embarrassment for city council and for the residents of Surrey. No council should ever have to bear this, particularly when it’s deserved,” she said.
“We were elected as officials to represent the residents of Surrey and to listen to them and clearly the mayor and his four councillors are not doing that.”
Annis also says she would like to see council make moves to be more accessible to constituents, by doing regular outreach in the community and by giving residents a way to directly provide feedback to council on issues.
Meanwhile, Mayor Doug McCallum declined a request for comment on the award and his government’s record.
The mayor and his coalition have a majority on council, and vote as a block on almost every matter.
Replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force was one of McCallum’s key campaign promises in 2018. Since he was elected, the transition has been controversial. The first officers with the Surrey Police Service were deployed in late November. However, Annis and other opponents of the transition have continued to be critical, saying the move is opposed by the majority of residents, lacks transparency, and is too expensive.
McCallum is currently facing a public mischief charge. That came after a special prosecutor was appointed to look into an incident from September where the mayor alleged an opponent of replacing the RCMP ran over his foot with their car. The charge prompted opponents on council, and pro-RCMP campaigners to call for McCallum to immediately resign.
More recently, McCallum came under fire for a controversial motion that would have halted complaints to the city’s ethics commissioner until after the 2022 election. That motion was withdrawn.
