Surrey council launches external investigation into 3 councillors' alleged misleading statements

Surrey council has voted at a closed-door meeting to launch an external investigation into three city councillors, two of whom criticized staff after being forced to file a freedom of information request to access city files.

A statement from the city said the investigation was ordered over concerns the councillors may have violated city policies by disclosing confidential council information to the public and misrepresenting city staff directives. 

It said the closed-door meeting was held on Friday to address recent public statements made by councillors Mike Bose and Linda Annis regarding the city's contract with Hunden Strategic Partners Inc., a Chicago-based real estate consulting firm hired to advise on two new entertainment districts in the city.

Bose and Annis released a statement to the media last week that Bose had requested details of the contract from the city's finance department. The councillor said he was reportedly told that he would need to file a formal freedom of information (FOI) request to access the documents, something Bose described as a "slap in the face."

"I thought that information I was asking for would have been available to me," he told CBC News.

Both the councillors from the opposition party Surrey First are recommending the city cancel its contract with the U.S.-based company over ongoing tensions between Canada and the United States.

"We need to buy Canadian; we need to support our Canadian businesses," Bose said. "We're asking our residents to do that; we need to show leadership and be doing that ourselves."

Mayor Brenda Locke says that Hunden was hired in 2024, well before the current U.S. tariff environment, and that "all contractual arrangements have been conducted lawfully."

"Any suggestion by councillors Bose and Annis that our professional staff acted improperly by directing information requests through the FOI process is unfounded," she said in the city's statement. 

Locke also criticized councillors for involving city staff in political disputes.

"Any councillor who deliberately drags our dedicated staff into partisan agendas will be called to account for misrepresenting the facts," Locke said. 

The city's investigation also involves Coun. Doug Elford, who was also directed to file an FOI request when he inquired about the salary details of two city employees.

"This includes misleading information provided to the media by Councillor Elford that staff should have simply handed him information regarding the salaries of staff members, implying that staff were obstructing him due to his position," the mayor said.

Councillors say they aren't in the wrong

Annis says in the six years she has served as a councillor she has never been asked to file an FOI to access information.

"Councillors should be entitled to look at any information," she told CBC News. "They can't necessarily share it with the public, but they should be able to look at anything. That's the way they can make the best and most informed decision."

The councillor also maintains that she hasn't broken any privacy laws in talking publicly about the city's involvement with Hunden.

"I'm completely astonished that [the mayor] thinks we have breached any code of conduct issue around leaking information from closed council," she added. "It's widely known that [the company] is doing business with the city."

LISTEN | Surrey councillors pitch waterfront entertainment district: 

On The Coast9:49Surrey city council considers new waterfront entertainment district

The area near Scott Road SkyTrain and the Pattullo Bridge could become a new entertainment hub, if Surrey city council has its way. Councillor Mike Bose tells host Gloria Macarenko more about that.

University of B.C. political science lecturer Stewart Prest says requiring a councillor to file an FOI request raises accountability concerns. 

"I honestly don't understand how the Surrey city staff can … expect councillors to be able to represent their constituents effectively without access to the information they need to evaluate … the actions of the city," he said. 

Prest says the situation also points to deeper issues within council, particularly in how different political groups communicate.

"There is a sense of an inability to have an effective working relationship between Brenda Locke, her governing majority, and opposition members of council," he said.

City discloses contract details

The city has disclosed a summary of the Hunden contract, revealing that about 55 per cent of the consulting work remains to be completed. 

The Chicago consulting firm has been conducting feasibility studies for a new 12,000-seat stadium and two new entertainment districts — one in the city centre and another in Cloverdale.

Bose said he was glad the contract was now public but maintained that city councillors should not have to file FOI requests to access city business information.

The city also released a legal opinion from a local government firm, outlining the limits of council members' access to municipal records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), the Community Charter, and city bylaws.

According to the legal opinion, individual council members do not have unrestricted access to city records, especially those that are confidential or privileged. If they seek records outside of a formal council request, they must go through the same FOI process as the public.

City to continue contract with U.S. firm

Locke says the city has no plans to cancel its contract with Hunden Strategic Partners.

"Ending it prematurely would not only waste taxpayer dollars but could also expose the city to legal liabilities," Locke said in a statement Tuesday.

She noted the two Surrey First councillors had previously backed Hunden's hiring and understood the legal constraints around contracts.

Locke said U.S.-based firms make up a small share of Surrey's business, with 99 per cent of contracts since 2020 going to Canadian companies.

"Only 0.58 per cent of vendors are U.S.-based," she said. "The city continues to update its procurement policies to favour Canadian businesses where it makes sense to do so."