Surrey police board ousts Chief Norm Lipinski as head of force!

Now our former Police Chief

I hear people saying Surrey is the wild wild west.  The gang shootings and extortion have escalated.  The City of Vancouver is smaller in area and has just a few more people than Surrey.  Vancouver has 1,452 sworn police officers.  Surrey has 685 sworn police officers.  We have no dog squad, no gang squad and no helicopters.  Our city is not safe and it's because we were forced with a police force with no business plan and a Police Chief who kept on lying to the mayor!  Let's hope this mess gets fixed.

Here is the press release from the Province of BC stating the Surrey Police Service will make Surrey safer:

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023PSSG0060-001173

This is from the Vancouver Sun:

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski has until Thursday at 4 p.m. to resign or be terminated without cause from his position, Postmedia has learned.

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Lipinski was placed on leave following a meeting on Monday morning with the Surrey police board. He turned in his badge and left police headquarters, according to a source who did not want to be identified because they are not authorized to speak on the matter.

Members of the police board were not available to comment and it is not clear why Lipinski is being forced out. Postmedia was also unable to confirm how much money Lipinski could receive as compensation if he resigns or is terminated.

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Lipinski has been the first chief of the new municipal force since 2020.

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Surrey Police also wouldn’t comment, stating that was up to the police board as the employer of the chief.

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“It’s not for SPS to comment on,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.

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The former chief has over 45 years of experience in policing. Prior to joining the SPS, Lipinski served in several senior roles, including as a deputy chief of the Delta Police Department, as a deputy chief of the Edmonton Police Service, and as an assistant commissioner of the RCMP.

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SPS was started by former mayor Doug McCallum and opposed by current Mayor Brenda Locke.

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Locke ran and won on a campaign to stop the policing transition away from the RCMP to a municipal force. However, the city was forced to continue the transition by the province. Locke took the province to court, but ultimately lost the case after the courts dismissed her petition for a judicial review in 2024.

The BC Conservatives have a new leader

The BC Conservatives have just elected Kerry‑Lynne Findlay as leader, and I’m proud to say I voted for her. If Caroline Elliott had won, I would have respected that too — we live in a democracy, and the majority decides. We’ve had dinner with Kerry and her husband, Brent Chapman, several times, and I’ve always known her to be thoughtful, steady, and respectful. Brent is recovering from cancer. He's had a difficult few months. They are a lovely couple.

Twelve years ago, Brent posted something racist on social media. It resurfaced when he ran for provincial office. It wasn’t right — and he has acknowledged that. But it was also a long time ago. People grow. People learn. What matters is what they do after the mistake.

I watched every leadership debate. Kerry acknowledged that one of the candidates was married to an indigenous woman and it could be a conflict of interest in the debate of DRIPA. Not once did I hear Kerry say anything racist or hateful. That’s why I’m shocked to see such vicious comments online. The internet can bring out the worst in people.

As for Brent’s past remarks about Muslims, he and Kerry have since met with Muslim groups and worked to repair the harm. That matters. Owning a mistake and taking action to make things better matters.

My hope now is simple: that Kerry‑Lynne can bring the party together.  She has real experience unifying people — she did it as Conservative Whip in Ottawa — and I believe she can unite the party here in BC.