Vancouver Sun

Former, not current, MLAs ‘broke the law’: Plecas

- LORI CULBERT and MATT ROBINSON

As MLAs returned to Victoria on Tuesday, the spending scandal at the legislatur­e was top of mind, and some action is already being taken to address the Speaker’s explosive report detailing the alleged misuse of taxpayer money.

Also Tuesday, before the NDP’s throne speech was delivered, Premier John Horgan told CKNW radio that he knew of no MLAs who are under police investigat­ion. His comments were in response to Speaker Darryl Plecas telling CTV last week that MLAs “broke the law.”

In an interview with Postmedia, Plecas said he did not necessaril­y know if MLAs were under police investigat­ion, but stood by his earlier comment about law-breaking

MLAs with one caveat: he was not talking about any current provincial politician­s.

“There are MLAs who have broken the law. And I’m referring to former MLAs, not current sitting MLAs,” he said, refusing to elaborate about how many or who.

When asked about an earlier comment by his chief of staff Alan Mullen that people will go to jail at the end of this investigat­ion, Plecas said he would not speculate because he doesn’t know the extent of evidence gathered by police.

“They should go to jail,” he added.

Plecas’ damning report, released Jan. 21, accused suspended clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz of “flagrant overspendi­ng ” that included inappropri­ate expenses, lavish foreign trips that allegedly involved little work, and questionab­le retirement and pay benefits. The document also named two MLAs, both former Speakers, but contained far less informatio­n about those two.

The allegation­s have not been proven in court, and James and Lenz denied any wrongdoing in legal responses they provided last week to the Plecas report. They both want their jobs back.

One of the concerns raised by Plecas was the purchase of hundreds of dollars of items from gift shops during a business trip to the U.K., such as art, monarchy parapherna­lia, and watches, that were billed back to the legislativ­e assembly.

In his response to Plecas, James denied they were for personal use, insisting he bought some for “protocol gifts.”

This included a pair of pricey watches “to be presented to people who provide exemplary service to the legislativ­e assembly, typically at retirement,” which appear to have been purchased from the Palace of Westminste­r.

On Tuesday, one of the highestran­king officials in the legislativ­e assembly, who provided an email statement to be used only for background purposes, said a new protocol gifts policy is currently being drafted. “As most protocol gifts are representa­tive of the legislativ­e assembly or the province of British Columbia, the new policy is unlikely to feature products purchased from other jurisdicti­ons,” said the official.

Receipts for other items allegedly purchased by James from the House of Lords and Windsor Castle appear to include a fine bone china beaker finished in decorative gold, a book on how to greet the Queen, a decorative Buckingham Palace crown, and fancy stationery.

James wrote in his response that his purchases were made for a variety of reasons, which also include “merchandis­e for display or sale in the legislativ­e assembly’s own gift shop.”

In a call to the B.C. legislatur­e gift shop, an employee who answered the phone stated they tend to sell “things that are related to the legislativ­e assembly,” such as items featuring B.C.’s official tartan or its provincial bird, the Steller’s jay.

A purchasing manager typically buys the gift shop’s inventory, which usually does not include British monarchy items, the employee said.

James’ response said some of his purchases were for “stationery to be used throughout the office.” But the official in the clerk’s office said office supplies are typically ordered by procuremen­t officers or purchased from local vendors.

One of the most talked-about items in the Plecas report is the purchase of a $3,000 wood splitter and $10,000 trailer, which both James and Lenz said were “approved” by the legislativ­e assembly’s working audit group, and were to be used for emergency preparedne­ss in the event of a disaster. Minutes for the meetings of the six-person working audit group, which includes James, Lenz and the deputy clerk, are not available online.

But another response to Postmedia from the clerk’s office, also for background informatio­n only, said the wood splitter was part of a larger emergency preparedne­ss request and “approved separate from the Audit Working Group process.”

The employee then added: “As noted in the report of Speaker Plecas, the acquisitio­n and other details relating to the wood splitter are subject to an active police investigat­ion.”

On Tuesday, Plecas said he would not comment on the police investigat­ion, but noted RCMP officers did seize the wood splitter from James’ home after James’ lawyer indicated that his client wanted the equipment off his property.

James, in his response, said he was merely storing the wood splitter at his home until a storage area could be built at the legislatur­e, but added it was inconvenie­nt because he lived “in a strata and not a rural property.” B.C. Assessment records show James does, indeed, live in a strata, but in a 3,600-squarefoot single-family home on a 10,000-square-foot lot in Victoria.

Plecas, who returned to Victoria on Tuesday for the throne speech, said he hoped the legislativ­e assembly management committee would meet today to discuss his new report, which addresses the lengthy responses by James and Lenz to his original report.

 ??  ?? Darryl Plecas
Darryl Plecas

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