“I was literally shocked that I got told I couldn’t have the information” — Surrey Coun. Mike Bose.
Surrey Coun. Mike Bose recently asked the city’s finance department what he thought was a simple, but timely question: What are the details of a contract between the city and a U.S. real estate advisory firm on a major redevelopment project?
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Bose said he was told by city staff that the information he was seeking isn’t available publicly and he should file a freedom of information request.
“I was literally shocked that I got told I couldn’t have the information,” said Bose.
In February 2024, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke announced a plan to create an entertainment district on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and that the city would be undertaking a feasibility study to engage the community about future plans for the area.
Bose said Monday in a news release that the city had engaged Hunden Partners, a Chicago-based firm, “to carry out stakeholder engagement for an arena, and long-term plans for the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.”
He said he approached the city’s finance department to ask about the number and value of contracts signed with Hunden. When he was told he needed to file an FOI, he said it was a “slap in the face” and that councillors “need to know everything there is to know about our city and its business.”
In recent weeks, major Canadian companies have cancelled corporate conferences in the U.S. and individual households have shifted their vacation plans and grocery shopping habits in response to the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexing Canada as a 51st state.
“As a local government, we’re asking, and all governments of Canada are asking, people to shop at home, travel within our country. I think local governments and all levels of government need to be leaders by example,” said Bose.
In a statement Monday, the City of Surrey’s finance department said current statistics show that more than 99 per cent of the city’s business with suppliers, since 2020, has been with Canadian companies and only 0.58 per cent were with ones from the U.S.
Out of the city’s 11,130 vendors, 97 per cent, or 10,836 over the past five years, were Canadian. Suppliers from the U.S. totalled 247, while the combined total of suppliers from other countries was 47.
The city didn’t reply to a question about the breakdown by dollar value of procurement goods and services from the U.S.
In response to Bose being told to file an FOI about the city’s relationship with a U.S. real estate firm, Amy Jugpal, communications and media relations lead, said: “The city has established processes for council members and the public to obtain information and documents. In some cases, council members may need to request an FOI to obtain information and documents. The nature of the documents sought determine the process that must be followed.”
University of B.C. political science lecturer Stewart Prest said the response from the city strikes him as inappropriate.
“It’s one thing if there are legitimate privacy concerns with a given file. In those cases council, as a whole, will have in place a mechanism to navigate those concerns,” said Prest.
“To tell a councillor to file an FOI request is quite different, an attempt to limit accountability of the civil service to the council. The city staff works under the political oversight of the elected council, and must be accountable to them. It’s notable that response is coming to a councillor in opposition to Locke’s governing coalition as well — a further indicator that this is an attempt to reduce accountability to council and, by extension, the public.”
Bose’s Surrey First colleague in council, Linda Annis, agrees that he should be able to get information about the company that has publicly been conducting a feasibility study on the Cloverdale fairgrounds.
“They have been interviewing stakeholders, and so on. I think it’s very important if a councillor asked for information, that they get it,” she said.
Bose said constituents are asking these questions.
“People that I’ve talked to are dismayed by the new reality and really want to make sure that we’re staying home. I think that all levels of government need to really start asking these questions about what we are procuring from our closest neighbour that has turned hostile and make sure we’re spending our dollars at home. People are worried about prices. It’s just getting worse. Businesses are worried.”