McCallum would pull Surrey out of Metro Vancouver if elected

Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum is vowing to pull the city out of the Metro Vancouver regional government if he and his Safe Surrey Coalition get a majority elected on council.

“No studies. No task force. We are getting out,” said McCallum. “Metro Vancouver is a huge, sprawling bureaucracy that taxes Surrey families and answers to nobody. It is out of control, it is ineffective, and Surrey gets nothing from it but the bill. We will keep the basic core services. Water. Sewer. Waste. The services that have to stay connected will stay connected. Everything else ends. Surrey is big enough to run its own affairs. We will keep our money in Surrey, spend it on Surrey, and answer to the people of Surrey. Nobody else.”

McCallum made the pledge Wednesday when he unveiled a full slate of Safe Surrey Coalition candidates, which include:

• Former Surrey city councillors Laurie Guerra and Allison Patton
• public administration professional Suhana Gill
• community leader Meera Gill
• former Surrey Now-Leader editor Beau Simpson.
• They join Couns. Mandeep Nagra and Doug Elford, whose candidacies were announced in April.

McCallum committed that one of his first acts as mayor will be to bring in an independent forensic auditor to examine the city’s recent land transactions, and to root out possible waste, abuse and fraud across city hall.

“My priority is a city hall that is efficient with your money, and that starts with rooting out waste, abuse and fraud,” said McCallum. “Look at what has been happening under the current Mayor. Major land deals done behind closed doors. Public assets traded away with no explanation. Prices that make no sense to anyone who knows this market. And taxpayers still have no answers. So we will get the answers. I will bring in an independent forensic auditor to go through the City’s recent transactions line by line, and to determine whether there was waste, whether there was abuse, and whether there was fraud. Wherever the findings lead, they will be made public, and if the auditor finds evidence of wrongdoing, it will go straight to the police.”

• Laurie Guerra has called Surrey home for 31 years. A small business owner and former Surrey City Councillor, she helped deliver the cancellation of the LRT, the advancement of SkyTrain and the establishment of the Surrey Police Service, and is a long-time advocate for families living with autism.
• Allison Patton is a naturopathic doctor who has served South Surrey for 25 years. As a former Surrey City Councillor, she chaired the Agriculture, Environment and Investment Committee and championed new schools, road improvements and community infrastructure across South Surrey and Cloverdale.
• Suhana Gill is a born-and-raised Surrey public administration professional and a recipient of the Surrey Board of Trade’s Top 25 Under 25 award. She is running to be a strong, accessible voice for Surrey’s rapidly growing youth population.
• Meera Gill has dedicated nearly 30 years to public service and more than three decades to Surrey community volunteerism as Founding President of the Our Global Village Charitable Foundation, supporting seniors, youth, women and vulnerable communities.
• Beau Simpson served 15 years as an award-winning editor of the Surrey Now-Leader, holding local decision-makers accountable. A 16-year Cloverdale resident, he leads leasehold resident relations for the Tsawwassen First Nation.