Auditor general in dark on scandal
Bellringer won’t sign off on B.C.’s books until she knows allegations
VICTORIA B.C.’s MLAs will face questions this week about the legislature’s annual financial figures, amid a brewing scandal that has seen the suspension of the building ’s two highest-ranking officials.
MLAs on the all-party legislative assembly management committee (LAMC) will meet Thursday for what is expected to be a contentious gathering in which Speaker Darryl Plecas will be on the hot seat for his role in a secret sevenmonth investigation that led to the suspension of the building ’s clerk and sergeant-at-arms. Plecas confirmed Monday the meeting will go ahead as scheduled.
Tied into that drama, MLAs have a key decision to make on their confidence in the legislature’s $80-million financial report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Normally by December, LAMC has approved that financial document and given it to auditor general Carol Bellringer for her review.
But Bellringer said that hasn’t happened. She’s unsure if the delay has to do with the police investigation, or if it is for some other reason.
And even if MLAs do produce the books, Bellringer said she won’t sign off on anything until someone has explained to her whether the allegations in the building involve financial matters.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” Bellringer said Monday. “I literally do not have an idea what the allegation is. So I don’t know if it impacts the statements or not and until I’ve got that in front of me, I’m just not comfortable to sign off. It’s that simple.”
She added: “If we gave a clean opinion and it turned out there’s a problem, my reputation is gone.”
Clerk Craig James and sergeantat-arms Gary Lenz were both placed on administrative leave with pay on Nov. 20, following a unanimous vote of MLAs in the house.
Two special prosecutors are overseeing an RCMP investigation into unspecified allegations against the men, after receiving information from a secret sevenmonth investigation conducted by Plecas and his aide Alan Mullen. James and Lenz have said they don’t know the allegations against them. The RCMP, Plecas, Mullen and the special prosecutors have refused to release any details. No one has been charged, and no allegations have been tested in court.
Bellringer said her office has not received any tips or allegations of impropriety at the legislature.
The legislature’s spending is vote one of the annual B.C. provincial budget, though it is rarely debated by MLAs directly and is instead left to LAMC.
Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson said his MLAs aren’t prepared to sign off on the figures without some explanation from Plecas on what’s going on. Wilkinson said Bellringer attends in camera finance and audit committee meetings, so for her to be in the dark is unsettling.
“We as the Opposition are just as frustrated as the auditor general about the conduct of the Speaker’s office,” said Wilkinson. “Just like her we want the whole truth of these events before we’re ready to approve anything.”
The NDP and Greens have a majority on the committee.
Bellringer’s predecessor, John Doyle, issued a scathing audit in 2012 about the legislature’s finances. James, who had just been named clerk months before that audit, helped lead financial reforms.
But LAMC has met only three times since the May 2017 election.
If the legislature can’t produce an annual financial report, it will be in violation of the law, though Bellringer admitted there are no immediate penalties for doing so.
However, there may be longerterm consequences to the B.C. government’s year-end public accounts, which include the $80-million legislative assembly.
“At some point I’m going to need to know, even just to sign off for the public accounts next year,” said Bellringer.