SURREY, B.C. — Surrey City Council will make another attempt Wednesday to hold its regular weekly meeting after a shouting crowd forced an almost immediate recess of the Monday night gathering.

A social media post from Coun. Jack Hundial says he opened the meeting with a motion asking Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum to immediately step aside because court documents raise questions about McCallum's statements to police regarding an alleged assault.

Hundial says the mayor refused to leave, and the councillor posted video of a clapping crowd disrupting the proceedings, forcing a recess until Wednesday night.

A statement from Coun. Linda Annis says the recess — after barely seven minutes — came as the "public audience's contempt for Doug McCallum just boiled over," while Hundial tweeted the "public has spoken."

McCallum did not comment after the meeting but is due to deliver his State of the City address Wednesday morning, outlining Surrey's latest accomplishments.

The mayor was charged with public mischief earlier this year and has a trial set for October after RCMP investigated his claims that he was hurt during an altercation with opponents of his move to replace the Surrey RCMP detachment with a municipal police force.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2022.

The Canadian Press