Small claims warrant of arrest for Mayor Hurford cancelled

Court documents from Nov. 20 show that Mayor Armand Hurford’s warrant of arrest was cancelled after he voluntarily attended court.

The original warrant stemmed from Hurford not appearing at a payment hearing in small claims court between his former business, Republic Bicycles, and Trek Bicycle Canada on Tuesday, Nov. 14 in North Vancouver. After the warrant was issued, the Small Claims Rules stipulated that Hurford could voluntarily contact the registrar and attend court at a later date which would cancel the warrant.

Since Hurford appeared on Nov. 20, court documents show the warrant has been cancelled and a new in-person payment hearing has been scheduled for January 2024.

The Squamish Chief has reached out to Hurford for comment regarding this update but did not receive a reply by press deadline.

After an interview with Global News that aired on Nov. 19 on the legislation that removed density limits on affordable housing, Global asked about the warrant and Hurford called it an “oversight.”

“In a public role, I suppose this is part of what happens when something like that occurs,” he said.

In response to an inquiry about the Nov. 14 payment hearing, Hurford wrote to The Chief in an email, “In November 2022, I closed Republic Bicycles after 16 years in business. Over the last year we’ve been in the process of winding down the company. Efforts are underway to resolve any outstanding issues. It is not appropriate for me to comment further on this at this time.”

These court appearances are in relation to a previous default order granted on July 25 that required Hurford and Republic Bicycles to pay about $26,700 for 10 unpaid invoices dated between September 2021 and July 2022 to Trek Bicycle Canada. The original notice of claim from Trek said the invoices were for “various bicycles and bicycle components.”

Neither Hurford nor legal representatives for him or Republic Bicycles attended the default order hearing in July. At the time, legal representation for Trek said they had not heard from Hurford or representation since he was served notice, which is why they were seeking the default order.

The District of Squamish wrote in an email to The Chief that inquiries about the payment hearing and warrant could be directed to Hurford directly, as “they are personal and not related to District business.” 

They said the same thing in July when asked about the default order. 

Republic Bicycles was located on Government Road in Brackendale. No new business has since moved into the location.

Please note that this story has been updated a few times as the situation developed.