B.C. clerk retires amid misconduct controversy
VICTORIA • British Columbia’s top legislative official has retired after a report by a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada says he improperly claimed benefits and used legislature property for personal reasons.
While Beverley McLachlin says legislature clerk Craig James engaged in misconduct, she also noted in her report that there was a “lack of clarity” in authority over expenses and administrative matters that were at the heart of her investigation.
New Democrat House Leader Mike Farnworth told the legislature Thursday that James has retired with a “non-financial” settlement.
Both James and sergeantat-arms Gary Lenz were suspended last November amid allegations of receiving improper benefits and expensing spending on personal items, which they have denied.
McLachlin’s report found four of five administrative allegations against James were substantiated, while she said Lenz did not engage in misconduct. Farnworth says Lenz will remain on paid leave.
McLachlin says James engaged in misconduct in expense claims for suits, luggage and a private life insurance premium for himself.
Her report says he engaged in misconduct by directing the creation of three benefits for his personal advantage: the 2012 retirement benefit, the 2018 resignation benefit and the death benefit proposed in a 2017 letter.
She says James also took alcohol from the legislative precinct without accounting for it and kept a wood splitter and its trailer under his personal control, in the face of clear consensus that there is no reason for the equipment not to be at the legislature.
McLachlin’s report only looked at the administrative allegations made by Speaker Darryl Plecas in a report he released in January.
The Speaker alleged that Lenz and James engaged in inappropriate spending on personal items and foreign trips. His report also alleged inappropriate vacation payouts and retirement allowances.
James said in a statement that he has “had enough.”
“I have been publicly ridiculed and vilified. My family has been deeply hurt and continues to suffer humiliation. In an effort to put an end to that, I have decided to retire, and reach a settlement with the legislative assembly,” he said.
He added that when the allegations were disclosed to him, he provided detailed written submissions and supporting documents to the legislative assembly, but many of them are not referred to or addressed in McLachlin’s report.
“I believe the public has a right to see those submissions and documents, so they can know and understand the whole picture and judge the truth of these matters for themselves,” he said.
Lenz said he felt exonerated and is confident the other investigations underway will find that he did nothing else wrong.