On June 24th the City of Surrey issued a press release stating: “The full report on the public engagement process is being compiled by staff. When finalized, the full report will be forwarded to Council and the public in mid-July.” The report was completed, but it was never forwarded.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

SURREY – Outspoken Surrey councillors Jack Hundal and Brenda Locke accuse mayor Doug McCallum of hiding unfavourable report of public input into the unnecessary city police force the mayor and his team have been pushing despite the fact that it will raise taxes by 5 percent in the city.

According to a press release from Locke and Hundal, the City of Surrey held 23 public engagement events regarding policing in the spring of 2019. Apparently McCallum, aka “Doug Paaji”, didn’t like what the public had to say.

Citizens submitted a total of 11,103 survey responses that were promptly buried in a report that was deemed confidential. For all intents and purposes residents’ opinions about the Surrey Police Force have been classified and dismissed.

On June 24th the City of Surrey issued a press release stating: “The full report on the public engagement process is being compiled by staff. When finalized, the full report will be forwarded to Council and the public in mid-July.” The report was completed, but it was never forwarded.

Somehow it became too hot to release and the report was classified as confidential.  This begs the question: how can public feedback be confidential?    The same press release also quoted Mayor Doug McCallum.

“It is clear to me that the people of Surrey are ready for the switch to a city police department and it is my desire to deliver on their wishes,” Hundal said.

“We challenge McCallum to release the report and let citizens read it for themselves so they can actually see what they really wished for. This is a critical choice for Surrey. This is not the time to be hiding information. Public Safety is too important and mistakes will have numerous consequences that will impact the quality of life for generations. This is not a game Mr. Mayor,” added Hundal and Locke.

The June 24th press release provides a small glimpse into the raw data to back up McCallum’s claims of high support, but the selected data can be applied almost equally to the Surrey Police Force and the RCMP. It doesn’t help choose between them - it merely points to common sense objectives that both of them should work towards going forward.

Locke and Hundal say citizens of Surrey don’t need to be censored and sidelined. Public Engagement is a two-way process and you can’t just shut it off when you don’t like what you’re hearing.