Surrey councillors continue debate over virtual council meetings

It was a bit calmer at Surrey City Hall Monday night when compared to the dramatic meetings that have occurred over the last month.

Mayor and council continued to consider a motion that would allow meetings to be moved online if deemed appropriate.

Council shared their thoughts on a motion that would let them move their biweekly meetings from council chambers at city hall to a virtual meeting online.

Members of the mayor’s slate voiced their support for the change – with Councillors Allison Patton, Mandeep Nagra, and Doug Elford all citing ‘security concerns.’

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“I will be supporting this and I think as we saw last Council meeting for the protection of our staff and ourselves and any other members visiting. We want to keep it open as much as we possibly can, but not at the risk of safety,” Patton said.

Councillors referenced their concerns after a Surrey City Council meeting was cut to just 7 minutes after chaos erupted in Council Chambers last month. This happened after a few councillors demanded Mayor Doug McCallum step aside from his duties – as he’s been charged with public mischief.

At Surrey City Hall councillors sharing thoughts around having the option to move some meetings online if/when they feel it's necessary. Nagra/Patton/Elford say they support the motion – citing safety concerns. Annis and Pettigrew voted against this. Passed. #SurreyBC #BCPoli

— Tarnjit Kaur Parmar (@Tarnjitkparmar) June 14, 2022

When the mayor declined, members of the audience began yelling and screaming at McCallum, forcing him to call a recess just seven minutes into the meeting.

Despite this, Linda Annis and Steve Pettigrew voiced their disapproval.

“I will not be supporting this,” Annis said. “I feel that we have just a few council meetings left until election time and I think it’s very important that councillors are in the chambers and that we have it open … for the residents of Surrey to hear us debate issues, and for the residents to be able to participate in discussions here.”

The next civic election is set for October 15.

Council will vote on that motion in two weeks.