FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 28, 2026
SURREY, BC — Mike Starchuk today demanded that Mayor Brenda Locke answer five questions about the firing of Surrey’s police chief, after former Chief Constable Norm Lipinski filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia alleging his June 1 dismissal was driven by “extraneous political considerations” at a board meeting “convened through misrepresentations to the chair of the Board.”
The filing is backed by affidavits from the board’s former chair, Harley Chappell, founding board member James Carwana, and the board’s former provincially appointed administrator, Mike Serr. Chappell affirms that board member Larry Thomas, who the filing says spent more than 30 years at the City of Surrey and worked closely with the mayor, asked for the May 29 meeting and assured him, with the board’s executive director present, that no decisions would be made. Carwana affirms he was told it was about collective bargaining. There was no public notice. The board’s own minutes show the public portion lasted seven minutes. At 2:49 pm all staff were sent out of the room, and the board spent 91 minutes in camera on a “confidential personnel matter.” Those minutes are sealed. Surrey Connect councillor Rob Stutt chaired. Chappell found out the following Monday, resigned the next day, and wrote that “the political tentacles and pressures have reached far too deeply into our newly formed SPS board.”
The filing also sets out the mayor’s record. Days after the chief was hired in 2020, she said “the fix was in.” Right after her election in 2022, she said the officers losing their jobs would include “the Chief.” She filed two complaints about him with the police complaint commissioner, and both were dismissed. In August 2024, according to the petition, she told a member of the Surrey Police Service that “we need to get rid of Chief Lipinski.” Every performance review in five years was positive, and the board extended his contract to 2028 last October. Then the province let four board members’ terms lapse, the Premier announced the vacancies “will only be filled by candidates of mutual agreement between the mayor’s office and the provincial government,” and, the petition says, four of the five new members came recommended by the City of Surrey with no public posting. They had been in office less than 10 weeks when the chief was fired.
“I would have kept the RCMP. So would the mayor. The difference is what you do after you lose in the Legislature and lose in court. I said finish the job and let our officers police this city. The mayor kept fighting, and a police board rebuilt by agreement with her office fired its chief at a meeting the chair was told would decide nothing,” said Starchuk. “Surrey is in an extortion crisis. Our officers needed a leader. They got sealed minutes and two resignations.”
Starchuk is asking Mayor Locke to answer five questions, on the record, before October 17:
- Before May 29, did you, your office, or City staff discuss the chief’s employment, or the purpose of that meeting, with any member of the police board?
- Did you know the board intended to fire the chief before it did? When did you learn, and from whom? Would you provide your phone records to verify?
- Which of the five board members appointed in March did your office recommend to the Province, and why were those seats never publicly posted?
- In August 2024, did you tell a member of the Surrey Police Service that “we need to get rid of Chief Lipinski”?
- Will you ask the board to unseal the May 29 minutes and publish the reasons for the firing before voters go to the polls?
The mayor is campaigning on the words “We Are Delivering Change.” According to the filing, the change at Surrey’s police board is a chief fired without notice or a chance to respond, a resident’s question about who moved the motion answered with “I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” a request for a written explanation ruled “out of order,” a motion barring the chief constable from criticizing the board or municipal and provincial officials, and a union president warning that the instability and political interference are hurting recruiting and day-to-day policing.
“If the mayor had nothing to do with this, she can say so today in one sentence and answer five questions. If she won’t, Surrey can draw its own conclusion,” said Starchuk. “A police chief should never have to keep the mayor happy to keep his job. This October, put out the fire at City Hall and elect a team that will let Surrey’s police do their job.”
The petition (Lipinski v. Surrey Police Board, Supreme Court of British Columbia No. S-267236, Vancouver Registry) and supporting affidavits were filed September 28, 2026 and are available from the court registry. The allegations have not been tested in court.
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About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic party running a full slate of candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election. Led by mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk – a former firefighter and Chief Fire Prevention Officer, former City Councillor, and former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale – Imagine Surrey is committed to making Surrey the City of Champions by delivering: safe streets, fast commutes, smart investments, lower costs, and strong services.
Council candidates: Yousef Aldabainah-Barakat, Chandan Chahal, Perminder Chohan, Narima Dela Cruz, Ashiyana Hanif, William Li, Dr. Margaret Mubanda, and Kevin Wilkie.
Contact
Trevor Loke, Campaign Manager
604-838-5178
[email protected] / [email protected]