Today in the legislature I rose to ask  government what they are planning to do to increase accountability and transparency in the legislature. In particular, I argued that they’ve been largely silent on the matter of the Speaker’s report, almost acting as if nothing has happened.

I further asked the Premier about the disturbing allegations contained within the report concerning the Clerk’s relationship to the BC Liberals. In particular, I asked how many times since March 2017 the Clerk visited the B.C. NDP party office or an individual NDP MLA’s office in Vancouver or elsewhere in the province.

Below I reproduce the text and videos of the exchange.

Videos of Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: While the official opposition and the government quibble over the bringing in of ride-hailing here, into the province of British Columbia, it could have happened four years ago if my private member’s bill had been debated on this floor. The B.C. Greens stand ready to ensure it and bring ride-hailing here. There is no excuse for delays — no government excuse, no opposition excuse. Let’s get on with it and do it.

Hon. Speaker, it’s been three weeks since the 76-page report that you wrote, containing allegations of misconduct by senior officers of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, was released. To suggest that the public is outraged over the culture of entitlement exposed in that report would be a gross understatement. Yet government has been largely silent on the matter, almost acting as if nothing has happened. Frankly, this is irresponsible and unacceptable.

My question is to the Premier: what is his government planning to do to increase accountability and transparency in this place as a first step to rebuilding public trust?

Answer

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for his question. I would say that every member in this House takes that report extremely seriously. That’s one of the reasons why it was publicly released. It’s one of the reasons why the Legislative Assembly Management Committee has been discussing and looking at ways of dealing with that report.

More importantly, from the government’s perspective, Hon. Member, most recently, we had a letter received, which members of your caucus also received and was made public, from the three key independent officers of this Legislature — the Merit Commissioner, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Ombudsperson — on three important reforms that could in fact take place that would help to restore confidence in many of the activities that this chamber is responsible for.

I have made it clear, on the part of the government, that we will accept every single one of those recommendations, and I also made it clear that every single one of them will be implemented. We have already let the independent officers know that we intend to work with them to implement them, and they have expressed satisfaction with that.

Supplementary Question

A. Weaver: Well, that answer demonstrates exactly the point I’m trying to make: yet another reactive approach from government and no proactive leadership on a file that’s crying out for leadership.

Rebuilding public trust in this institution for British Columbians, listening and responding to external parties is one thing. We need leadership from this government, and it’s sorely missing on this file.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the report is the alleged partisan nature of the Clerk’s office. The report details 39 entries of in-province trips taken by the Clerk since March 2017 for individual meetings. Four of these involved former B.C. Liberal Speaker Bill Barisoff. Four involved the former Premier Christy Clark, all of which occurred after she was no longer Premier. Fourteen were with former B.C. Liberal MLA Geoff Plant. Two were with the B.C. Liberal MLA from Abbotsford West. One was for a meeting at the B.C. Liberal Party offices.

Let me be clear. The Clerk has never once visited the B.C. Green Party, nor any of our MLAs, outside of this Legislature.

So my question to the Premier is this. How many times since March 2017 has the Clerk visited the B.C. NDP party office or an individual MLA’s office in Vancouver or elsewhere in the province of British Columbia, those MLAs being NDP MLAs?

Answer

Hon. J. Horgan: I thank the member for his question and his concern about the report tabled by the Speaker in the break after the last sitting of the House. I agree with him that it’s incumbent upon all of us, all members here, to demonstrate leadership. It’s not one party. It’s not one person. It’s all of us that have to demonstrate to the public that we’re serious and genuine about real reform to make sure that there’s transparency and absolute certainty that the activities of all members of this House, all table officers of this House….

Welcome to the table. I bet you didn’t count on this, did you?

But in all seriousness, the Clerk has never been to my office, whether it be at the Legislature or in my constituency. He has never visited the party office of the B.C. NDP. I have no knowledge of any of the members of my caucus ever having a visit from the Clerk of the Legislature.

Again, the questions of partisanship are in your report. The questions of partisanship are in the public domain. And I will remind members that when the Clerk, Mr. James, was appointed, it was not with the support of the official opposition — the first time in our history that an individual was appointed to head this jurisdiction, to head this table, that did not have unanimous consent. I think we need to start, as we go forward, to ensure that all of us, all 87 of us, are focused on restoring public confidence in the work that we do.

I know that each member, regardless of their political stripe, regardless of their former vocation, came to this place with a good conscience to make life better for their neighbours. I know that in my heart, and I know that we can demonstrate that to the public if we work together and not hector each other on who was right and who was wrong and whose fault it is. There’s a problem here. We all have to fix it.

The 4^th session of the 41^st parliament opened today with the Speech from the Throne. As noted in our accompanying press release (reproduced below), while we are pleased that the Throne Speech recognized the important work that has been achieved on the priority initiatives outlined in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the B.C. Greens and the BC NDP, we are concerned by the apparent lack of broader vision outlined in this speech.

I’ll be responding to the Speech from the Throne tomorrow and look forward to expanding on these initial comments then.

Media Release

B.C. Green Caucus responds to the Throne Speech
For immediate release
February 12, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – The B.C. Green Caucus responded today to the 2019 Speech from the Throne.

“We are pleased the Throne Speech recognized the important work that has been achieved on the priority initiatives outlined in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the B.C. Greens and the BC NDP,” said Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party. “In particular we are glad that it highlighted the importance of CleanBC as British Columbia responds to the challenges and opportunities offered by climate change.

“However, we are concerned by the apparent lack of broader vision outlined in this speech,” said Weaver. “Trying to be all things to all people leads to contradictory legislation and puts the focus on short term policy instead of long term outcomes.

“Although we are pleased to see CleanBC highlighted, the government’s praising of LNG immediately undercut its point,” Weaver added. “Economic opportunity and ecological stewardship are not mutually exclusive, but this government is focusing on short term investments that will exacerbate climate change, impacting our economy, environment, and the wellbeing of our communities for years to come.”

This year’s Throne Speech referenced important investments in childcare and education, addressing affordability, and improving transportation services. These issues are all important to British Columbians, but issues that were overlooked in the speech underscored the government’s focus on short-term gains rather than establishing a long-term vision for British Columbia.

“British Columbians need to be able to trust that their government is prepared for the future. Investing in education and childcare is central to a healthy and prosperous future for BC,” said MLA Sonia Furstenau. “This government has taken important steps towards improving the services that children and families depend on, yet there was no vision articulated for how to create immediate solutions to the urgent issue of the over-representation of Indigenous children in government care.”

British Columbia’s ecology is critical to the identity and economy of our province. The government must act as a steward of sustainability to ensure the long-term well being of our province.

“Wild salmon have immense cultural, economic, and ecological value for British Columbians. I am glad that this was recognized in the Speech from the Throne,” said MLA Olsen, whose advocacy on wild salmon led to the establishment of the Wild Salmon Advisory Council last year. “With the work of the Wild Salmon Advisory Council now complete, I expect government to get to work and actually start implementing its recommendations – starting with habitat protection and restoration.”

The B.C. Green Caucus anticipates that CleanBC will be fully funded in the government’s budget next week and will continue to hold government to account to ensure that a long term vision is articulated for British Columbians.

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Media contact
Macon McGinley, Press Secretary
+1 250-882-6187 |macon.mcginley@leg.bc.ca

On January 23, 2019 I issued news release calling on BC Liberal MLA Linda Reid (Richmond South Centre) to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker until such time as whistleblower allegations contained within Speaker Darryl Plecas’ bombshell report were investigated. I am very pleased that today she did indeed do just that. Below is the press release my office issued in response.

Media release

Andrew Weaver statement in response to MLA Linda Reid stepping aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker
For immediate release
February 12, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, issued the following statement in response to MLA Linda Reid’s resignation as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House:

“Over the past few months allegations of systemic financial wrongdoing have emerged at the B.C. Legislature. These allegations suggest a culture of entitlement and are already compromising British Columbians’ trust in their democratic institution.

“Last month I called on MLA Reid to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker as all parties work to restore public trust. I felt strongly that it was inappropriate for MLA Reid to continue to serve as Assistant Deputy Speaker until the allegations of the Speaker’s report could be fully addressed, given the higher threshold of trust required by the role.

“Her decision to step down is an important step, but only one of many that must be taken by all parties to address the alleged abuses of power that have gone on for far too long. The B.C. Green Caucus is committed to ensuring a culture of transparency and accountability in B.C. politics.”

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Media contact
Macon McGinley, Press Secretary
+1 250-882-6187 |macon.mcginley@leg.bc.ca

Yesterday British Columbia’s Information & Privacy Commissioner, Ombudsperson, & Merit Commissioner issued a joint letter recommending several legislative changes to increase transparency and accountability in the BC Legislature.

In particular, they suggested:

• Revisions to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act so that it applies to the Legislative Assembly. The letter states over 2900 public bodies are currently covered by this Act.
• Amendments to BC’s not yet in force Public Interest Disclosure Act, to have it apply to the Legislative Assembly. The Act is expected to come into force later this year for government ministries and independent statutory offices. Under the Act employees can report wrongdoing either within their organization or to the Ombudsperson and are protected from reprisal for doing so.
• Revisions to the Public Service Act to provide the Merit Commissioner the mandate to conduct an independent audit of staffing appointments to and within the administration of the Legislative Assembly. The letter also calls for the ability of the Merit Commissioner to conduct reviews of processes leading to any just cause dismissals of administration staff

Below is the press statement we released in response to the public letter.

Media Statement

B.C. Green caucus c
For immediate release
February 5th, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Greens, and Sonia Furstenau, House Leader of the B.C. Green Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the joint letter published today by B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ombudsperson, and Merit Commissioner. This letter calls for changes to improve transparency and accountability in the Legislative Assembly.

“The recent events at the Legislature, particularly the allegations outlined in the Speaker’s report, have exposed a long-standing culture of entitlement in the B.C. Legislature. British Columbians have lost trust in their democratic institution and its ability to act in the public interest,” said Andrew Weaver.

“That is why measured, independent responses are essential. We need to address the structural framework that allowed the alleged wrongdoing to continue for so long. British Columbians deserve better than knee-jerk attempts to save face. The recommendations of the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ombudsperson, and Merit Commissioner set a meaningful direction for a path towards improving checks and balances in the Legislative Assembly.”

“As the B.C. Green representative on the Legislative Assembly Management Committee, I look forward to discussing these recommendations with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle,” said Sonia Furstenau. “As the letter highlights, the disappointing allegations in the Speaker’s report also offer an opportunity for us to do better. I anticipate that these recent events will usher in a new era of transparency in B.C. politics.”

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Media contact
Stephanie Siddon, Acting Press Secretary
+1 250-882-6187 | stephanie.siddon@leg.bc.ca

Today I issued a statement (reproduced below) calling on BC Liberal MLA Linda Reid to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the BC Legislature. This was put together after Monday’s release of Speaker Darryl Plecas’ bombshell report and Tuesday’s whistleblower allegations contained within that report.

Media Release

Andrew Weaver statement calling for MLA Reid to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker
For immediate release
January 23rd, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, issued the following statement calling for MLA Linda Reid to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House:

“Last night one of the key whistleblowers referenced in Speaker Darryl Plecas’ report about fiscal wrongdoing in the B.C. Legislature came forward publicly to shed light on the culture of entitlement that he allegedly witnessed. This whistleblower was allegedly dismissed for questioning the expense claims of B.C. Liberal MLA and Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House Linda Reid.

“It is for that reason that today I am calling for MLA Reid to step aside as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House. Our focus at this time must be on restoring public trust in our democratic institutions. I cannot see how that is possible when one of the individuals named by this whistleblower is still holding a position of power and oversight in the Legislature.

“Restoring public trust must be every MLA’s priority at this moment in time. Positions such as Assistant Deputy Speaker have an even higher threshold for trust given the responsibility they hold in serving the entire legislature.

“I do not ask for this lightly. MLA Reid is the longest serving member of the Legislature. However, in light of the numerous and serious allegations of the Speaker’s report, as well as the candor of this key whistleblower, I feel strongly that it is inappropriate for MLA Reid to continue to serve as Assistant Deputy Speaker until such a time that these allegations can be fully addressed.”

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Media contact
Stephanie Siddon, Acting Press Secretary
+1 250-882-6187 | stephanie.siddon@leg.bc.ca