Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum backtracks on ethics bylaw amendment

A motion that was set to be voted on at a Surrey council meeting on Monday night was pulled last minute by the Surrey mayor himself, Doug McCallum.

A statement from McCallum was posted to the City of Surrey Twitter page explaining the sudden change.

“The work of the Ethics Commissioner is valuable, and the misinformation circulating about the bylaw is unfortunate.”

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“I will be introducing a motion to remove from tonight’s Regular Council Public Hearing agenda item H 15, the bylaw to suspend the processing and investigation of new complaints by the Surrey Ethics Commissioner in the period leading up to the 2022 Local General Election,” reads the statement from McCallum.

“If the motion is approved by Council, I will ask the Ethics Commissioner to bring a report to a future open Council meeting for consideration on how to improve the bylaw.”

The statement adds that the goal is to “strengthen the bylaw to ensure the Office of the Ethics Commissioner is not used for partisan purposes during the election period.”

News about the bylaw amendment was made public after Surrey City Council’s January 31 meeting agenda was posted online.

The proposed amendment was going to “suspend the processing and investigation of complaints by the Surrey Ethics Commissioner.” Many chimed in online in response to the proposal, including councillor Linda Annis.

Government should be transparent to residents. That’s why we need an Ethics Commissioner at all times, not just when it’s convenient. Putting it on hold, puts ethics on hold. If you want to hide your ethics, you don’t want to be accountable to voters. Ethics can’t be put on hold.

— Linda Annis (@LindaAnnisBC) January 30, 2022

The Surrey Ethics Commissioner is a neutral, independent officer who oversees the conduct of elected officials.

The office was established in February 2020, and the role of the office is to keep elected officials accountable.

Mayor’s Statement: Mayor McCallum to introduce motion to remove agenda item on Ethics Commissioner bylaw amendment. Read the full statement:

— City of Surrey (@CityofSurrey) January 31, 2022

McCallum is currently wrapped up in a legal case involving a public mischief charge in relation to an incident that occurred at a Save-On-Foods parking lot last year.