B.C.’s Opposition leader is calling for a bipartisan effort to create transparency in the legislative assembly in the wake of an expense scandal, but the premier scoffed at that, saying the Liberals questioned the Speaker’s legitimacy before the release of his bombshell report.
BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson said he’s deeply concerned by the allegations of misspending outlined in the report, which focused on the actions of suspended clerk of the legislature Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz.
“It’s a grave concern when we see allegations of grossly excessive spending, with no justification. People are entitled to be offended by that.”
Wilkinson asked for co-operation from Premier John Horgan on three proposals: That all staff in the legislative assembly post their expenses online, a practice currently required of MLAs; that a ban be imposed on foreign travel unless approved six weeks in advance by the legislative assembly management committee; that the auditor general do a thorough review of the legislature’s accounting procedures.
“People have to trust the institutions of government and when it’s in doubt like it is today, we need to completely clean house,” Wilkinson said. “So I’m asking Premier Horgan to join me in a non-political effort to stop the sniping over who said what to whom, and clean house around here so that people can trust this institution once again.”
In response, Horgan criticized Wilkinson for calling Speaker Darryl Plecas “rogue” and “out of control” in December before Plecas had released the serious allegations contained in his report.
“And so today for the leader of the Opposition to say: ‘stand with me’ and defend the indefensible is not something I’m prepared to do,” said Horgan, who accused the Liberals of creating a culture of entitlement during their 16 years in office.
James and Lenz have been suspended with pay since Nov. 20, when they were escorted out of the legislature by police amid a criminal investigation. The two men have said allegations against them are “false and untrue.”
The speaker’s chief of staff, Alan Mullen, said the RCMP are considering further allegations that aren’t contained in the report, which detailed lavish trips overseas, money spent on mother-of-pearl cufflinks, $1,000 suitcases and the puzzling purchase of a $13,000 wood splitter and work trailer.
Horgan also highlighted sections of the report that suggest James was closely aligned with the BC Liberal party, with documents showing he expensed two dozen trips around the province to meet with members of the BC Liberal party, including three meetings with Christy Clark after she left office.
“To see in the report that Mr. James expensed visits to see a former premier after she left this place, or a former speaker after he left this place, and allegations of truckloads of alcohol being delivered to a former member of this legislature is absolutely appalling to the people of B.C.,” Horgan said.
Plecas’s report alleges that in the summer of 2013, James instructed three legislature employees to load his pickup truck with more than $10,000 worth of liquor that had been purchased by the legislative assembly. James was reportedly going to deliver the alcohol, a chamber desk and chair and some personal items to the Okanagan home of former speaker Bill Barisoff. Barisoff told the Times Colonist no liquor was ever delivered to his home.
Horgan said James was “imposed” on the people of British Columbia when he was hand-picked by the Liberals for the clerk’s position, over two people more senior to him.
Following the retirement of longtime clerk George MacMinn in 2011, the Liberal government under then-premier Christy Clark installed James as clerk without the endorsement of all MLAs. The position is a lifetime appointment to ensure the clerk is free from political influence.
The Opposition NDP wanted the clerk’s job posted publicly so applicants could be selected by a bipartisan committee. Horgan spoke out about the appointment at the time and said at a press conference Monday that the appointment was “unprecedented in British Columbian history.”
Horgan said he believes all offices in the legislature should be subject to Freedom of Information laws, which currently don’t apply to the legislative assembly. The exception, he said, is for whistleblowers, who should be able to come forward without fear that their concerns will be made public.
