The original ice rink would have cost less, and already been open for more than a year: Councillor Linda Annis 

Surrey, B.C. (July 12, 2022): Shortly after taking office in 2018, Doug McCallum cancelled the Cloverdale Sports and Ice Complex, only to bring it back again at a cost of $11 million more than the original. Now, his $55 million version will not open until 2024.

“The parents, skaters and teams who were looking forward to the new ice complex were rightfully disappointed and angry when Doug McCallum cancelled the original project,” said Councillor Linda Annis. “Now, a more costly version is back, but it will not be ready until 2024, or later if there are additional delays. This project represents poor management and little regard for taxpayer dollars, and frankly it defines Doug McCallum’s approach to city finances, including the police transition, which is more than a year late, with no real accounting of costs as the clock ticks on and expenses climb.”

Annis said the original rink, promised by then Mayor Linda Hepner, was in the works when McCallum abruptly shut it down.

“Shutting down the project, then bringing it back meant obvious delays and increased construction costs,” added Annis. “If Doug McCallum had stuck with the plan, Cloverdale families would already be skating on the two sheets of ice, for millions less than the one that’s been given the go ahead now. It’s a sloppy and incompetent way to plan pools, parks, rinks and community centres in a city that’s growing by a thousand people a month. But it reflects the fact that the mayor has just one thing on his mind and that’s his police force, regardless of the cost, or timing. In fact, it is the only part of the city that is not held to any sort of accountability or expectations. Meanwhile, he’s treating taxpayers like ATM machines, even as his infamous 2.9 per cent tax increases proved to be more myth than reality.”