More is at stake here than the political drama of a council majority simply striking out at seven Surrey residents by asking a judge to prohibit them from attending council meetings.

Former Surrey mayor Bose Bose says itsa国际传媒檚 a test case which, if the City of Surreysa国际传媒檚 petition to the court is successful, will have serious ramifications for democracy at the civic level in Canada.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 an outrageous overkill,sa国际传媒� Bose told the Now-Leader. sa国际传媒淲hat have these seven senior citizens done? Theysa国际传媒檝e done absolutely nothing; theysa国际传媒檙e being accused of all kinds of things.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淭his thing is totally out of hand,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 understand for the seven to respond, they would incur tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs. Nobodysa国际传媒檚 going to do it pro bono.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚n my opinion this is a test case that deals with the powers of council to prohibit participation. Itsa国际传媒檚 draconian,sa国际传媒� Bose said. sa国际传媒淭he respondents need to have legal representation. Itsa国际传媒檚 far more than a case where Isa国际传媒檓 putting on a square-foot addition to my house without permits and in violation of a zoning bylaw. For this matter to be fairly adjudicated, the respondents need to respond, and they need to have adequate legal counsel to respond properly. Itsa国际传媒檚 a serious matter and it needs to be seriously adjudicated.sa国际传媒�

A petition to the court was filed by Lidstone & Company on behalf of the City of Surrey on Oct. 18, at the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Vancouver, asking the court to prohibit seven Surrey residents sa国际传媒渇rom physically attending City of Surrey Council and Committee meetings in person, until Council determines otherwisesa国际传媒�sa国际传媒�

The respondents named in the petition are Annie Kaps, Debbie (Debi) Johnstone, Colin Pronger, Ivan Scott, Merle (Meryl) Scott, Marilyn Smith and Linda Ypenburg. They have 21 days to respond.

sa国际传媒淭he respondents are regularly opposed to the policy decisions of the Citysa国际传媒檚 Mayor and Council and have regularly made this opposition known through written correspondence and submissions to Council and City staff, as well as attending and appearing at Council meetings,sa国际传媒� the petition states, and alleges that sa国际传媒渙n numerous occasions, the political opposition of the respondents has exceeded the bounds of respectful opposition.sa国际传媒�

Bose argues the City of Surrey has an obligation to indemnify the seven respondents for their legal costs sa国际传媒渋f theysa国际传媒檙e serious about expanding the scope of denying citizens participation. This is no ordinary case.sa国际传媒�

The Safe Surrey Coalition majority on city council passed a motion during a land use meeting on Sept. 19 designed to sa国际传媒減rotect the democratic processsa国际传媒� by banning some speakers from attending public hearings in council chambers and to ensure sa国际传媒渁 safe and respectful environmentsa国际传媒� for council and staff.

Coun. Brenda Locke, who is seeking election for Surrey mayor in next yearsa国际传媒檚 election as the Surrey Connect candidate, says she and other councillors were sa国际传媒渂lindsidedsa国际传媒� by that motion because it also authorized staff to take further steps including seeking court orders.

sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 really realize that because we didnsa国际传媒檛 have a copy in front of us,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淎s I said, we were all blindsided.sa国际传媒�

Locke said despite researching the issue she has sa国际传媒渘ever found a council anywhere in Canada that has done this, so I would assume that there will be a lot of eyes watching to see how this moves forward.sa国际传媒�

Coun. Jack Hundial, also of Surrey Connect, called the citysa国际传媒檚 petition to the court sa国际传媒渇rankly uncalled for. Theresa国际传媒檚 no reason to do this and itsa国际传媒檚 just another huge black eye for the city, the city doesnsa国际传媒檛 need it. I think a huge overreach by government. Really, peoplesa国际传媒檚 rights a freedoms.sa国际传媒�

Mayor Doug McCallum could not be reached for comment. Coun. Doug Elford, of the Safe Surrey Coalition, said Friday said hesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渘ot quite suresa国际传媒� what precipitated the court petition beyond the original council resolution. sa国际传媒淚 have put a call into legal right now, waiting for a call back,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 have answer for you right now. Isa国际传媒檝e got my feelers out on this to find out what precipitated the reasoning for it, and thatsa国际传媒檚 where wesa国际传媒檙e at.sa国际传媒�

Ivan Scott, one of the seven respondents, said Friday he hadnsa国际传媒檛 been served yet. Fighting the petition will no doubt be costly, he said.

sa国际传媒淭his is just another typical way that hesa国际传媒檚 trying to intimidate us, bully us and try and shut us down and restrict any type of resistance to anything he does,sa国际传媒� Scott said of the mayor, sa国际传媒渁nd especially the Keep the RCMP in Surrey campaign.sa国际传媒�

Scott hopes a lawyer might take on their case pro bono considering itsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渁bsolutely in the public interest.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e just a group of volunteers here,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hey should indemnify us if theysa国际传媒檙e going to fight their own citizens. In a case like this, they should in actual fact guarantee our legal costs, or stand for them anyway. That should be in the interests of the public. To just nail meal is not really in the interest of the public.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚f there was somebody who is interested in us and looking at this as a pro bono, wesa国际传媒檇 happily talk to him,sa国际传媒� Scott said.

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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