Surrey ethics commissioner: Councillor weighed in on policing decision, despite conflict of interest

Surrey Councillor Rob Stutt was found to be in a conflict of interest during a vote on retaining the RCMP, according to the city’s ethics commissioner.

Surrey Coun. Rob Stutt was found to be in a conflict of interest during a vote on retaining the RCMP, according to the city’s ethics commissioner.

The ethics commissioner says it received a complaint on February 27, 2023 about the vote that happened on November 14, 2022.

At the time of the vote, one of Stutt’s children was an active member of the Surrey RCMP, while another child was employed by the city’s RCMP Support Services, according to the report.

“While Councillor Stutt had acted in good faith, and had participated in the meeting with the intention of fulfilling a promise he made to voters during the 2022 city council election, the potential for bias arising from a personal interest in a mater is determined objectively, from the point of view of a reasonably well-informed person,” the report reads.

The findings now put the policing saga back on the table.

According to some of the other councillors, if Stutt had not voted, the motion would have failed with a 4-4 vote.

“This egregious act by Councillor Stutt and the willful negligence of Mayor Locke are an affront to the principles that govern our council. The hardworking taxpayers of Surrey deserve better, and we will not rest until SPS becomes the police of jurisdiction,” said Couoncillor Doug Elford in a press release.