BUCHOLTZ: Surrey police chief’s firing shows chaos is the new normal
Published 8:00 am Thursday, June 11, 2026
Last week’s firing of Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski confirms that chaos is the new normal when it comes to policing.
This whole long-running mess of a policing transition, which has been going on for almost eight years, must be laid totally at the feet of politicians – past and present, municipal and provincial. They may think they have made wise decisions; this past week proves they haven’t.
Instead, they continue to make things worse.
The losers: Surrey citizens, and the police officers in both the RCMP and Surrey Police who have had their work lives upended due to a steady barrage of questionable decisions. It is amazing that police officers continue to do their jobs under such conditions. Their professionalism is to be admired.
Surrey Police Board made the decision to fire Lipinski. The board did so at a June 1 meeting which board chair Harley Chappell wasa not present at. He and another board member, James Carwana, have since resigned.
Chappell said after resigning: “Unfortunately, I feel the political tentacles and pressures have reached far too deeply into our newly-formed SPS board, and I morally and ethically cannot be part of this moving forward.”
The province recently appointed five new members to the Surrey Police Board in March. They joined Chappell and Carwana, and municipal appointees Coun. Rob Stutt and Archie Johnston.
The inexperience of the majority of the board has led many observers to speculate that Mayor Brenda Locke was behind the decision to fire Lipinski. She denies knowing anything about it. Stutt is part of Locke’s Surrey Connect slate.
While it is difficult to connect all the dots in such a complex issue, it is worthwhile to lay out a basic timeline.
There was little pressure to replace the RCMP with a municipal force until Doug McCallum made it an issue in the 2018 election, which his Safe Surrey Coalition slate won handily, taking eight of the nine council seats. He had pledged to bring the matter up at the inaugural council meeting, which he did. The nine councillors, none of whom (other than McCallum) had previous council experience, voted unanimously to begin the transition. Among those voting in favour were Locke, who at the time was part of McCallum’s slate, and Linda Annis, the lone Surrey First councillor.
McCallum proceeded like a bull in a china shop, sharing little information with other council members. Three eventually left his slate.
Provincial Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth basically gave McCallum a blank cheque to proceed. He did not insist on a referendum, which would have given citizens who pay the bills a voice in the significant change and given the transition some much-needed legitimacy. He did ask former judge and attorney-general Wally Oppal to author a report on the transition, which basically came to the same conclusion.
Locke ran against McCallum in the 2022 election, winning by a very small margin.
Her slate won five of the nine seats and proceeded to try to unwind the transition.
The province said no.
Prolonged resistance by council eventually got the province under Premier David Eby to offer $250 million to Surrey to help pay for the added expense of the transition.
With the RCMP, the federal government helped pay for policing in Surrey. Now, the burden falls totally on the shoulders of local taxpayers. That was the rationale behind the provincial financing.
Surrey Police became the police force of jurisdiction in November 2024. It has gradually assumed policing in all areas of Surrey except Guildford. The force has had many challenges recruiting officers.
Meanwhile, the extortion crisis, rampant gunfire on the streets and several police-involved shootings have put plenty of stress on the police and, in particular, its management.
Deputy chief Todd Matsumoto, who now assumes command, will have his hands full.
Residents who are upset about this latest turmoil need to pay attention and carefully consider the importance of voting in October’s municipal election.
Frank Bucholtz writes twice monthly on political issues for Black Press Media publications.