Mayor George Harvie says more transparency is needed in light of recent developments regarding the Delta police and their hiring of a public relations firm to handle crisis communications into an incident last summer regarding Chief Neil Dubord’s wife.
Late Friday afternoon, the City of Delta issued a statement to the Optimist from Harvie.
“I would first state that I am making this statement as the Mayor of Delta, not as Chair of the Delta Police Board,” said Harvie. “I am also not speaking on behalf of Delta Police Board members. I have always been adamant that Delta taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent. The recent events regarding expenditures for external public relations and communications contracts by senior executive Delta Police members, although within existing rules, do not meet the high standards of Delta taxpayers.
“Under existing rules, any expenditure under $50,000 that fits within the budget does not have to go to council or the Police Board for approval. As Mayor, I will be making a motion at our next meeting asking Delta council to take steps to increase transparency by requiring any external contracts for public relations or communications services, regardless of value, to be brought to council for discussion and approval.
“Although the Police Act limits Mayor and Council's ability to provide direction to the Police Board, I will also ask council to request the provincially-appointed Delta Police Board to consider doing the same.”
The statement from Harvie comes days after the DPD issued their own statement regarding a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) from media into details of the public relations firm hired following an incident in June 2020 involving Lorraine Dubord.
DPD Deputy Chief Harj Sidhu said on Wednesday that in compliance with restrictions set out in the FOI Act, the DPD did not release the contract, as it involved a third party – the consulting firm.
“In the interests of transparency however, I can disclose that the full value of the contract was approximately $42,000 – including funds paid after the FOI request was received,” said Sidhu. “The DPD works hard to be fiscally responsible and is continuously looking for efficiencies and costs savings while maintaining safe communities. In 2020 the DPD had a budget surplus of approximately $975,000 which will be returned to the City and ultimately the taxpayers of Delta.”
He said anyone interested in learning more about the DPD’s budget can find a detailed accounting of the department’s expenditures, which is included in every Police Board agenda package, available on the DPD website at: https://deltapolice.ca/delta-police-board/agendas/.
“The cost of the consulting firm, as indicated above, was managed within the DPD’s 2020 budget,” he added. “No additional funds were sought from the City. The contract with the firm was set up by former Deputy Chief Norm Lipinski, and he consulted directly with the firm. The terms of the contract were to assist the DPD with communications regarding a complex and unusual set of circumstances.
“The DPD and its officers and staff continue to be fully cooperative and transparent with the ongoing external Vancouver Police Department (VPD) investigation into related matters concerning Lorraine Dubord. As previously reported, this investigation has civilian oversight through the Office of the Police Complaints Commission (OPCC).”
The OPCC last month announced that it was extending the timeline for its investigation. It is expected that the OPCC investigation report will be released sometime in March.
On Wednesday morning, Coun. Lois Jackson told the Optimist that she planned to bring forward a notice of motion at next Monday’s council meeting, adding she does not want to comment on the case itself, but instead questions whether the hiring of a public relations firm is something over-and-above what a department would do for anyone.
“Is this over-and-above and, if so, should we be doing over-and-above things for special people? I don’t know. I support our police, having been chair of the police board for 20 years, and the chief is not even involved. As an elected councillor, I want to know more about this and just want answers,” Jackson said.
The incident in question took place on June 6, 2020 when Richmond teacher and Surrey resident Kiran Sidhu was making her way back to her parked car after a socially-distanced picnic with friends at Centennial Beach in Boundary Bay.
Unfamiliar with the beach area, and with the tide coming in, Sidhu said she was forced to climb onto rocks, which are on public property, to get to where her car was parked.
As Sidhu walked across the rocks, which were along the Dubord’s fence line, she said Lorraine Dubord yelled at her over the fence from her back yard to get down, but with the tide coming in, Sidhu said she was unable to do so.
Both Dubord and Sidhu exchanged words and Dubord left their altercation only to return moments later where she allegedly sprayed Sidhu with a garden hose.
Surrey RCMP investigated the incident and recommended charges against Dubord of one count of uttering threats for allegedly threatening to push Sidhu off the rocks and one count of assault for spraying her with the hose.
An RCMP investigation was initiated after Sidhu was not happy with how DPD handled her case and after she logged a formal complaint with the department.
The BC Prosecution Service in September announced that rather than charges, Dubord would face alternative measures.
“If the person alleged to have committed an offence in this case enters into and successfully completes an Alternative Measures agreement there will be no prosecution,” spokesperson Dan McLaughlin told the Optimist last September. “Under the terms of this policy, subject to certain limitations, Crown Counsel are encouraged to consider alternative measures in every case where the successful completion of an alternative measures program can achieve the most important objectives of a court prosecution.”
Lorraine Dubord did issue an apology when the story broke late last June, provided exclusively to the Optimist, for “the way the situation was handled.”
