Doug McCallum urges NDP to reduce charge threshold and equip police to safeguard surrey residents 

September 12,2025

RED FM News Desk

Doug McCallum is urging Premier David Eby and the BC NDP government to immediately lower the charge approval threshold for extortion and violent crime cases, following Surrey Police’s revelation that B.C. has the highest bar in Canada for laying charges.

At a Surrey Police Board meeting on September 11, SPS officials reported 39 extortion attempts targeting South Asian businesses in Surrey so far this year, with 27 linked shootings.

Despite continuous police investigations, progress has been slowed by the NDP government’s policy requiring every case to be reviewed by Crown Counsel, which sets an unusually high standard of evidence before approving charges. Unlike other provinces where police can lay charges directly, B.C.’s approach delays action, leaving criminals free and putting Surrey families and businesses at risk.

“This is unacceptable. Businesses in Surrey are being terrorized, families threatened, shots fired, and yet police are hamstrung by a system that makes it harder to lay charges than anywhere else in Canada. B.C. is an outlier, and our communities are less safe because of it,” said Doug McCallum.

The extortion campaign against South Asian businesses is not limited to Surrey—it is spreading across Metro Vancouver and even into Alberta and Ontario. In B.C., prosecutions lag because police cannot act quickly under Crown Counsel’s restrictive requirements.

“Surrey Police officers are working seven days a week to protect our community, but the NDP government’s red tape prevents them from acting fast enough to remove criminals from our streets. Immediate reform is needed,” McCallum said.

McCallum is calling on the government to:

• Lower the charge approval threshold so police can act promptly on extortion and violent crime cases.
• Allow Surrey Police to lay charges directly, as is standard in other provinces.
• Prioritize community safety by cutting bureaucratic red tape that protects criminals instead of families.

Additionally, McCallum urged the province to immediately offer a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for extorting Surrey businesses and families.