Straight Talk

Surrey mayor Doug McCallum charged with public mischief in connection with his own police complaint

It's a hybrid offence, which means the Crown can seek an indictable or summary conviction

by Charlie Smith on December 10th, 2021 at 12:03 PM
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      The mayor of B.C.'s second-largest city is scheduled to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on January 25, 2022.

      Doug McCallum is charged with public mischief following a review by special prosecutor Richard Fowler.

      McCallum has been mayor of Surrey since winning the 2018 election. He also served as Surrey's mayor from 1996 to 2005 and formerly chaired the TransLink board of directors.

      The charge is in connection with a police complaint that McCallum filed on or around September 4.

      Under B.C.'s charge-assessment guidelines, there is a two-part test to approve a charge being laid:

      1. There must be a substantial likelihood of a conviction;

      2. It's in the public interest to prosecute the accused.

      The allegation against McCallum has not been proven in court. 

      Public mischief is a hybrid offence. If someone is found guilty of an indictable offence, they are liable to imprisonment for up to five years. But on summary conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $5,000 and/or imprisonment for two years less a day.

      McCallum claimed in early September that he was verbally assaulted and that his foot was run over by a motorist on a trip to a grocery store in South Surrey.

      On September 4, he was seen arguing with the founder of Keep the RCMP in Surrey, Ivan Scott, who was collecting signatures in the parking lot.

      More than a month later, the story took a surprising turn when it was revealed that the RCMP was investigating McCallum.

      The Mounties presented Global B.C. with a production order from B.C. Supreme Court requiring the station to turn over news tapes of an interview that McCallum conducted about the incident.

      McCallum is leader of the Safe Surrey Coalition, which holds four of the eight council seats in addition to the mayor's office.

      A new party called Surrey Connect includes councillors Brenda Locke and Jack Hundial.

      In the wake of the criminal charge against McCallum, Surrey Connect issued a statement urging McCallum to step down immediately as mayor and chair of the board of the new Surrey Police Service.

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