Surrey removes LRT signs after complaint by mayoral candidate

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – The City of Surrey has taken down signs promoting Light Rail Transit, just weeks again of civic elections across the province.

The move comes after Elections B.C. says it received a complaint about the signage.

“Our role in local elections is to administer the campaign financing and advertising rules under the local elections campaign financing act,” explains Elections B.C. spokesperson Andrew Watson. “The [Local Elections Campaign Financing Act] regulates election advertising during the campaign period for a local election.”

The campaign period for this year’s municipal election runs from Sept. 22 until Oct. 20th. Watson says within that time frame, the act regulates election advertising, which is defined very broadly.

“…As the transmission to the public, by any means during the campaign period, of a communication that promotes or opposes, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate, or a communication that takes a position on an issue with which a candidate or party is associated.”

Once the complaint was received, Watson says the signs were reviewed. While he admits they don’t directly or indirectly support a candidate or party, they do “directly support LRT in Surrey,” he explains.

“The LRT versus SkyTrain debate has been one that’s taken place as part of the campaign in Surrey.”

With that in mind, Elections B.C. asked the city to take the signs down, which was done on Friday afternoon, Watson says.

The signs cannot be put up until the election is over, after Oct. 20th.

In a statement to NEWS 1130, Deputy City Solicitor Philip Huynh with the City of Surrey says the signs were put up earlier this month.

“As with all fully approved multi-government funded project notification signs were installed following the funding announcement by Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Horgan on September 4th,” he says. “The signs included logos of all funding partners (Federal Government, Provincial Government, TransLink, and City of Surrey). While the project notification signs were planned months in advance, they were not installed until after the funding for the project was fully announced and secured on September 4th.”

“At the direction of Election BC, the City of Surrey has voluntarily complied and has removed all the signs for the duration of the election period. Our funding partners have been notified,” the statement adds.

Promotion of LRT ‘unfair’ ahead of election: candidate

Meantime, the person behind the complaint says he’s pleased with the take down of the LRT signs.

Doug McCallum is Safe Surrey Coalition’s mayoral candidate and is against the project, favouring a SkyTrain expansion instead.

He believes the promotion of such a project ahead of the upcoming election is unfair.

“We’re glad that, at least at this stage, that we can get these signs down because it’s a clear message out to Surrey,” he tells NEWS 1130. “One group wants to do light rail, and the Safe Surrey Coalition wants to do SkyTrain.”

McCallum says there hasn’t been enough public support to allow the light rail project to move forward.

“They’re trying to ram this down Surrey residents, and Surrey residents don’t want Light Rail. They want the same thing the rest of Metro Vancouver has got. They want SkyTrain, and they want it now.”

If elected, McCallum says he would scrap LRT lines through Newton and Guildford, and replace them with extra buses instead.

He claims the city knew it wasn’t allowed to put the signs up, but did so anyway.