A resident of Surrey, B.C., has started a petition calling for the city to not cover the mayor’s legal fees after he was charged with public mischief.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,200 people had digitally signed the online campaign, which argues Doug McCallum should pay for his own legal defence as his claim that he was struck by a car back in September is challenged in court.
“He admitted in other interviews to the media that he was on personal business, and as taxpayers, we shouldn’t be paying for legal fees for somebody who’s done something on their personal time,” said David Langlands, who launched the petition this week.
McCallum was charged with public mischief on Dec. 10 in relation to his widely-publicized claim that on Sept. 4, a woman ran over his foot with their car in a Save-On-Foods parking lot.
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He told reporters at the time that she’d been canvassing for signatures to oppose the city’s planned transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force, and that she “clipped my knee and my bottom leg and ran over my foot at the same time and then took off.”
He said he finished his shopping, then went to be X-rayed at Peace Arch Hospital where he was told the soft tissue in his foot was “very badly bruised” from the vehicle strike.
The mayor has declined to comment on the public mischief case while it’s before the courts.
Earlier this week, the city confirmed it will pay for McCallum’s legal fees as per the terms of its indemnification bylaw.
McCallum has retained one of the priciest defence lawyers in Vancouver: Richard Peck, who also defended Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou from a United States extradition request.
City councillors, including Linda Annis and Brenda Locke, have said taxpayers should not front the cost, as the mayor has vocalized that he was out on his own personal time when the alleged incident occurred, and therefore, not acting in an official capacity.
If McCallum is convicted, he may have to repay the city for legal fees, but Locke told Global News she could not find an instance where the municipality has successfully recouped legal costs from someone.
Said Langlands: “We are the citizens of Surrey. Our input should matter, so hopefully the city will listen to us and understand this is a personal matter for Mr. McCallum.”
According to the Criminal Code of Canada, public mischief includes “making a false statement that accuses some other person of having committed an offence.”
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