McCallum seeks Surrey Police Board replacement after chief appointment

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has called on the province to replace the Surrey Police Board after it appointed Todd Matsumoto permanent chief constable shortly before the new city council took office. The appointment and McCallum’s objection are documented. His allegation that the board acted for political reasons remains a contested claim, not an established finding. [1][2]

What is confirmed

The police board announced Matsumoto’s appointment effective October 30. Its official release says he had served as interim chief since June and was selected following a national search led by an executive search firm, with community and stakeholder engagement. Board chair Perm Jawanda expressed confidence in his leadership. [1]

The release also quotes Surrey Police Union president Sgt. Ryan Buhrig describing Matsumoto as “the right person for the job.” McCallum’s criticism was directed at the appointment process and the board: the Surrey Now-Leader quoted him saying Matsumoto would have his support. [1][2]

McCallum made his demand while mayor-elect on October 30. The City of Surrey confirms he was sworn into office on November 2. A November 4 Facebook post still calling him “mayor-elect” therefore uses an outdated title. [2][3]

A genuine dispute about timing and independence

McCallum argued that announcing the appointment on the last business day before the incoming council’s inauguration excluded that council from meaningful involvement. He called for the entire board to be removed and replaced through a public process. [2]

CityNews reported his allegation that the appointment was decided at an October 22 meeting without a specifically listed public agenda item. NewsForBC reviewed the board’s published agenda: its opening two pages do not list a specific item to appoint a permanent chief. They do include “Decisions Approved in a Closed Session,” a human-resources committee report and a later move to closed session. That supports a narrow observation about the public agenda—not a conclusion about every action taken or whether legal requirements were met. [4][5]

McCallum’s characterization of board members as political allies of former mayor Brenda Locke is an allegation. The formal appointment structure is more precise: the board describes nine positions, seven appointed provincially and two through city council. The board is an independent civilian oversight body, not simply a committee controlled by whichever mayor is in office. [6]

His statement also cited two vacancies since June. That is a dated claim about the board at the time of his statement; it should not be treated as a newly verified membership count after the council change. [4]

What the Police Act actually says

Section 26(1) of B.C.’s Police Act assigns the appointment of a chief constable to the municipal police board. A newly elected council does not directly inherit the chief-selection decision. [7]

Section 69 makes meetings public by default but permits specified portions to be held privately, including for labour and personnel matters. Section 69(3) requires minutes and reasons for such a private portion to be promptly submitted to the minister. [7]

A closed personnel discussion is therefore not automatically unlawful. Equally, the existence of an exception does not establish that this board complied with every applicable requirement. The relevant closed-session resolution, reasons and records would be needed to assess that question. No finding of illegality is established by the material reviewed here.

The earlier chief’s court challenge

The dispute follows the removal of founding chief Norm Lipinski in June. The Surrey Now-Leader reported that he filed a B.C. Supreme Court petition on September 28 seeking to overturn his dismissal and alleging political motivation and procedural failures. Those are his claims, not court findings. [2]

NewsForBC has not obtained the complete court file or located a ruling resolving that challenge in this review. No presiding judge is identified in the sources relied on for this article. A separate, unpublished court-monitoring note records those limits rather than assigning a judge or suggesting judicial misconduct.

The 2023 intervention was real—but separate

The province did suspend all Surrey Police Board members in November 2023 and appoint Mike Serr as administrator. Its contemporaneous statement tied that action to advancing the policing transition, under the Police Amendment Act, 2023. That historical intervention does not itself establish grounds for another suspension or prove the current political allegations. [8]

Bottom line: There is a real governance dispute deserving scrutiny. The appointment, timing, board’s stated search process and McCallum’s removal demand are documented. Whether the board acted improperly requires more than the timing and a closed meeting alone.

Sources

Reporting limits

The post and its edited graphic were inspected. Neither the graphic nor commenters’ claims are used as proof or republished. McCallum’s statements are attributed through identified news reporting, not an independently obtained signed original. The board’s account of its search is its official position, not an independent audit. The public agenda was downloaded and read; the meeting video, confidential hiring records, private-session minutes and full court file were not reviewed. No new provincial removal decision was located in the searches performed; that is not a definitive live government-status check. No interviews or outreach were conducted.

The masthead is site branding, not incident photography.

Source note · Source list · Original Facebook lead