Surrey earns 'dishonourable mention' in Code of Silence Awards for barring people from council meeting

The City of Surrey has earned itself a "dishonourable mention" inthe Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy,forbanning severalpeople from city council meetings last year.

The tongue-in-cheek awardis presented by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University, and News Media Canadawith the intent to call public attention to governments, government departments, andpublicly funded agencies that deny access to information, to which the public has a right underaccess-to-information legislation.

The awards are given annually in four categories, including the municipal government category, in which the city earned its distinction.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and councillors Doug Elford, Laurie Guerra, Allison Patton and Mandeep Nagrawere named in the Tuesdayannouncement,for trying to "bar seven senior citizens from attending City Council meetings," according to CAJ president Brent Jolly.

Jollyrefers to an incident in September 2021, when a motion was passed by the council banning sevenmembers of the Keep the RCMP in Surrey groupfrom attending council and committee meetings. The banwas later rescinded without explanation or apology.

"The jury felt the actions demonstrated by this recognized group of individuals was both heavy handed and fundamentally undemocratic,"Jolly adds.

CBC reached out to the mayor and all four councillors named in the mentionbut noneof them were available to comment.

"Attempting to silence debate on important subjects such as this one in the future of policing in Surrey, and to avoid public scrutiny on a matter of public interest is always worth being called out," Jolly said.

Surrey councillor Linda Annis says she feels embarrassed for the city and its residents, but that thiswas an important mention,asking the right questions aboutlack of transparency and public engagement.

"[The mayor]doesn't allow people to come and speak freely at City Hall. He was cutting people off ... routinely during our council meetings when people were calling in virtually," she said, adding this behaviour hasn't gone unnoticed by the public nationwide.

Annis says there are specific concerns around police transition that is underway, including the total cost of the transition and thetimeline.

"It all goes back to the start with the Surrey Police Service. No one knows how much it's going to cost or what it's going to look like."

Annis says the pandemic is no longer a good enough excuse to keep people from council meetings or town-halls, and that every council member needs to do better in being transparent withtheir dealings.

CBC British Columbia has launched aSurreybureauto helptell your stories with reporterKiran Singh. Story ideas and tips can be sent tokiran.singh@cbc.ca.