Witness says she told mayor he had a scaly face

SURREY, B.C. - The first witness at the public mischief trial of Surrey, B.C., Mayor Doug McCallum says she swore at him and told him he had a scaly face during a "heated debate" outside a grocery store.

Debi Johnstone has told provincial court she recognized McCallum while she was stopped at a crosswalk there in September 2021, just before she was about to start collecting signatures for a petition aimed at seeking a referendum to keep the RCMP in Surrey.

She is part of a group opposed to McCallum's plan to ditch the RCMP in place of a municipal police force, a promise that deeply divided Surrey between those who sought to maintain the Mounties and those who wanted them out.

Johnstone says she was in her car when she told McCallum to resign and that she would be the one to bring him down.

McCallum, who lost his bid for re-election two weeks ago, has pleaded not guilty to the public mischief charge filed against him last December.

The court heard McCallum complained to the RCMP on the day of the exchange, saying Johnstone had nearly pinned him at the back of his car and then ran over his foot.

Crown attorney Richard Fowler has said surveillance video from outside the store will be played in court.