Surrey Ethics Commissioner Investigation Report: Complaint M0323

Surrey, BC – The Surrey Ethics Commissioner has delivered his report on the conflict-of-interest complaint against Councillor Rob Stutt regarding a vote on November 14, 2022. The Commissioner finds that the potential for a conflict of interest appears to have been eliminated as Councillor Stutt’s family member is no longer a member of the Surrey RCMP and makes no specific recommendations or further measures that Surrey Council should take in relation to the complaint.

“I am disappointed that misinformation continues to be spread in a partisan campaign to discredit certain members of Council and the Surrey RCMP,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “In his report, the Ethics Commissioner found that Councillor Stutt acted in good faith and was fulfilling a promise he made to voters. The Commissioner goes on to note that since the family member was already in the process of transferring and is no longer a member of the Surrey detachment, the potential source of conflict of interest appears to have been eliminated. I want to note that the latest vote on this matter on June 15, which can now be made public, had six Council members voting in support of continuing with Surrey RCMP as the Police of Jurisdiction and three Councillors opposed.”

The family member is a RCMP Officer, who at the time of the filing of the complaint, had been in the process of transferring out of Surrey RCMP to another detachment well before the 2022 civic election. While the Ethics Commissioner found that Councillor Stutt had contravened section 21 of the Code of Conduct by participating in the discussion and voting on the police transition question at the November 14, 2022 Council meeting, the Commissioner states that Councillor Stutt did not have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the matter under consideration and that he had acted in good faith as his intention was to fulfill a promise he made to voters during the 2022 City Council election.

The Ethics Commissioner also determined that a second family member employed at the Surrey RCMP (Civilian) Support Services Division does not give concern about improper influence or bias.

The Surrey Ethics Commissioner Investigation Report was made public on June 20, 2023 and can be read here.