A report regarding the suspended legislative officials has been released, sighting "flagrant overspending" as the cause of the suspension.
The 76 page report, written by Speaker of the House, Darryl Plecas, outlines his concerns and recommended actions regarding Sergeant-at-Arms Garry Lentz and Clerk of the Legislature Craig James, who were suspended with pay on November 20th.
The legislative officials were suspended due to alledged overspending that Plecas had either personally observed, or had heard in interview, which were backed up by official documents and records. The allegations include:
• flagrant overspending on luxurious trips overseas with questionable business
rationales;
• expensing of all manner of personal purchases to the Legislative Assembly,
totalling tens of thousands of dollars over a period of less than two years;
• inappropriate payouts of cash in lieu of vacation, which appear to total in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars;
• lack of oversight or appropriate protocols in the awarding of employment
benefits, and evidence of attempts to obtain highly questionable further benefits,
collectively representing actual or contingent liabilities to the Legislative
Assembly totalling in the millions of dollars;
• using working time to make day or overnight trips away from the Legislative
Assembly, at the Legislative Assembly’s expense, for what appear to be other
than legitimate work purposes;
• instances where thousands of dollars of alcohol and equipment may have been
misappropriated from the Legislative Assembly;
• various concerns relating to management of employees, including potentially
retributive or otherwise unjustified terminations; and
• taking steps to conceal information which could indicate improperly claimed
expenditures.
Plecas brought the matters to the RCMP, who have since opened an investigation.
After reviewing the report, members of the Legislative Assembly Members Committee made several motions, all of which were agreed upon unanimously.
- Mike Farnworth, NDP MLA for Port Coquitlum, and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General:
"I move that the acting clerk undertake to develop the scope and terms of a comprehensive financial audit, to address matters contained in the report by the speaker, for the consideration and approval of the committee. Once the committee has approved the scope and terms of the audit, an auditor general from another Canadian jurisdiction shall be invited to undertake the work, the resulting audit report shall be made public."
- Sonia Furstenau, House Leader for the Green Party:
"I move that the acting clerk develop a framework for a workplace review of the legislative assembly department, subject to criteria to be determined by the committee, in order to address matters raised in the report by the speaker."
- Mary Polak, Liberal MLA for Langley:
"I move that the committee urge all House Leaders to consider the serious allegations raised in the report by the speaker. Invite a written response by the Clerk and Sergeant-At-Arms by Friday, February 1st. And determine what action, if any, the Legislative Assembly should take with respect to the motion adopted on November 20th, 2018, regarding the Clerk and Sergeant-At-Arms."
The report can be viewed online here.
Plecas says British Columbia taxpayers deserve a Legislative Assembly that is accountable, transparent, and fiscally responsible, and based on what he has witnessed and investigated, that was not the case.