Bob Mackin
A group collecting signatures for an Elections BC-approved petition to force a referendum on Surrey’s cop swap had a surprise visitor on Sept. 4.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum (right) arguing with Ivan Scott of the Keep the RCMP in Surrey campaign on Sept. 4 outside a Save-On-Foods (photo submitted)
Mayor Doug McCallum, the man behind the drive to replace the RCMP with the Surrey Police Service.
Merle Scott of Keep the RCMP in Surrey said her group was set-up outside the Save-on-Foods store in the South Point mall in South Surrey with permission of store management when McCallum arrived around 10 a.m.
Scott said he told the signature collectors they did not have permission to be on-site and threatened to call bylaw officers to remove them.
“I said you can’t do that, you don’t even know your own laws,” Scott told theBreaker.news. “You cannot kick us off here, you don’t have permission.”
A photograph was taken of McCallum exchanging words with Scott’s husband Ivan Scott.
Merle Scott said McCallum also falsely accused another person of driving over his foot.
She said McCallum was there for approximately 10 minutes, including the time spent inside the store where it is believed he spoke to staff. She wonders why McCallum is so worried about the petition if he is so sure the Surrey Police Service will eventually replace the RCMP.
Scott said McCallum arrived and left in his taxpayer-funded Buick SUV.
A 6:51 p.m., Sept. 5 email sent from McCallum’s personal address said: “You do not know the true circumstances of this incident and it is currently under serious police investigation.”
McCallum did not respond to an email seeking more information and an interview.
Just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 6, his spokeswoman Amber Stowe sent a prepared statement by email attributed to McCallum. It said: “I was verbally assaulted and then run over by a vehicle while out grocery shopping yesterday. It is now under police investigation and I am doing okay.”
Elections BC set Nov. 15 as the deadline to sign-up 10% of registered voters in all of B.C.’s 87 ridings to trigger a referendum. The campaign, registered to Darlene Bennett, is focusing on Surrey ridings only and hopes to sign up enough citizens that the NDP cabinet will schedule a referendum anyway.
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