FIVE THINGS

B.C.’s ombudsperson released a scathing report Thursday into the government’s wrongful firing of eight public health researchers in 2012, and the subsequent suicide of one of them. Here are five things to know about his report:

1 The researchers didn’t deserve to be fired

Ombudsperson Jay Chalke reviewed more than four million documents and interviewed 130 people to make his conclusion. “The ministry did not have sufficient evidentiary basis to dismiss any of the employees for just cause,” he wrote. “We determined that none of the dismissed employees engaged in conduct sufficient to support their terminations.”

2 Though the scandal is politically charged, there was no political interference

Chalke put Premier Christy Clark, Health Minister Terry Lake and Finance Minister Mike de Jong under oath for questioning and concluded that although they were aware of the case, they didn’t direct the civil service’s actions.“There was no political interference in the dismissals,” he wrote.

3 The whistleblower who made the original allegations was wrong

The ministry official, named Alana James, alleged contracting irregularities, conflicts of interest and other breaches. “The complainant was uninformed and her assertions were mostly wrong,” wrote Chalke. That didn’t stop the unfounded accusations from snowballing into an unfair and one-sided government investigation, said Chalke.

4 It was improper for government to claim the fired researchers were under police investigation

Not only because it was unfair to the researchers, but also because it was wrong, wrote Chalke. “The RCMP was not investigating and never did,” he wrote.

5 The fired researchers deserve compensation

Chalke recommended grievance payments of up to $125,000 a person, formal apologies and $500,000 to create a university scholarship in memory of Roderick MacIsaac, the university student who was fired improperly and then killed himself. Government agreed Thursday to all the recommendations.