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Liberals accuse NDP of misusing constituency funds
Norm Macdonald says claim “categorically false”
The BC Liberal Government is accusing the Official Opposition NDP of misusing constituency funds for political purposes and the NDP are firing back that the Liberals are trying to distract voters from the ethnic vote scandal.
A BC Liberal Party press release headlined “(Norm) Macdonald diverted constituency dollars to NDP slush fund, says Auditor General Report” charges that the Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA joined other members of the party in a “scheme that saw money intended to serve local constituents in Columbia River-Revelstoke funneled into a central partisan slush fund. Legislature rules specifically prohibit the use of constituency funds for political use.”
The draft report from the Auditor General initially found: “Our review of supporting documentation underlying expenditure amounts charged to this account indicates that funds accruing to this account were being used for partisan purposes and not for goods or services consistent with the original purpose of the constituency office.”
“The scheme involved over $460,000 from NDP constituency offices across British Columbia being diverted to conduct political outreach for the BC NDP,” the Liberal press release states. “On Tuesday, NDP Caucus Chair Shane Simpson admitted the money was used for political actions even though the MLA Handbook explicitly states constituency office funds are “not to be used for political purposes.
“Each of the 36 NDP MLAs paid a series of kickbacks diverted into a central fund that was controlled by the BC NDP Caucus instead of going towards helping local constituents. Local constituency offices have an enormous workload and offer vital services for the local community. Typical casework involves helping local constituents with Medical Services Plan issues, Pharmacare, welfare eligibility, and access to other provincial services,” the Liberal press release outlines.
Angered by what NDP insiders are saying is an attempt to throw voters off the scent of Liberal scandal revolving around the ‘ethic vote,’ MLA Macdonald said the charges are “completely and categorically false.
“Yesterday (March 13), I received a request from a local journalist (e-KNOW) to comment on allegations that had been made by the local BC Liberal candidate and his colleague, the BC Liberal MLA from Kootenay East. These allegations relate to the use of Columbia River – Revelstoke constituency funds and contained statements that were completely and categorically false,” he stated in a March 14 release.
The Liberal government MLA leading the charge is Macdonald’s nemesis from the southern section of the East Kootenay, MLA and cabinet minister Bill Bennett.
“Less money in NDP constituency offices means less help for those in the community who need it,” stated Bennett. “This was money meant to help constituents and it was taken away. This wasn’t a simple mistake – it was a well organized plot and they only stopped when they got caught.”
Bennett, who initiated the charge against the NDP after he was handed a “leaked” draft report from the Auditor General by a member of the media, is calling on MLA Macdonald to explain why he participated in the scheme, allowing local constituency funds to be funneled into a central partisan slush fund for Adrian Dix and the BC NDP.
Bennett said in a backgrounder provided to Columbia River-Revelstoke candidate Doug Clovechok, “the scheme commenced in 2006 and ended in 2011. Money for constituency offices is held in trust by MLAs and is intended, in accordance with the “Members Manual” to be used for the operations of an MLA office. Each NDP MLA agreed to pay $200 per month into the secret fund; that is the only way the money can be moved because it is payable only to the MLA. This means that every NDP MLA agreed to short his or her constituents by $2,400 a year, money that should be used to serve constituents, helping them solve problems, to pay staff, rent, premises, etc.”
Continuing in his backgrounder to Clovechok, Bennett stated, “The NDP admitted today (on CFAX radio) that Gabriele Yui was paid from this fund. Gabrielle Yui has been an NDP candidate three times, including in 2013; he campaigned against the HST and did political ethnic outreach work and collected $372,000 of public money (Public Accounts document).
“This means that the NDP have been using public money, money belonging to individual constituency accounts, to pay a political operative. The Auditor General also stated in the leaked report that the NDP failed to balance their Caucus budget (they over-spent) and the Auditor General said also that the NDP “concealed” this fact by using money from the secret account to show a pseudo balance.”
With all that in mind, Bennett asked, how can voters trust the NDP to run the province?
“The NDP cannot balance a $2 million caucus budget; how will they ever balance a $43 billion provincial budget?
“I have referred to this account as “secret” and the NDP dispute that. However, the public would have never discovered the existence of this account, but for the leaked Auditor General report because it is covered by ‘legislative privilege.’ It existed since 2006 and no one had any knowledge of it,” Bennett stated in his backgrounder to Clovechok.
“This reminds us that the old sleazy political culture of the NDP is alive and well. It reminds us of the Nanaimo Bingo scandal where an NDP organization paid $1,000/month to a Catholic charity and got a monthly kick back of $900/month. When Sister Margaret had the temerity to ask about this, the NDP cut her charity off completely. Former NDP MLA Dave Stupich was convicted under the Criminal Code of this scheme and the NDP promised to pay back the money but never did.
“Adrian Dix was adviser to the NDP premier. House Leader John Horgan worked for the same NDP government as a ministerial assistant. Jenny Kwan was a minister in the same government. They clearly still subscribe to the same cynical, sneaky political culture. They have not changed,” Bennett concluded.
Macdonald noted the Auditor General has been satisfied that nothing untoward was occurring, and removed mention of the ‘slush fund’ in his final report.
The so-called ‘leaked’ draft report stemmed from a normal course of events, where parties are given the draft to review and to answer any questions or concerns. The matter was initially raised over the fund because of a yearly carry-over of compiled funds the NDP were utilizing, NDP officials explained.
“Unfortunately, we have come to expect this kind of politics at the wider provincial level. But here in the Kootenays, we pride ourselves in ensuring that we make political decisions based on mutual respect and a reasoned debate of ideas,” Macdonald said, adding, “When Kootenay political figures resort to personal attacks and untruths in an attempt to improve their own political fortunes, it degrades us all.”
Turning things back on the Liberals, Macdonald suggested timing can be everything and noted that on the same day his party received a copy of the “scathing report on the BC Liberal Ethnic Outreach scandal where the Premier’s own deputy minister outlined a lengthy record of misuse of government resources. This scandal has already resulted in the resignation of the Premier’s Deputy Chief of Staff and the Minister of Multiculturalism,” he said.
A report compiled by John Dyble, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary and BC Public Service head, has found two government officials (Brian Bonney and Kim Haakstad) took part in serious misconduct by engaging in a multicultural outreach plan where the Premier’s Office, Liberal Caucus and Multiculturalism Ministry collaborated by using taxpayer funds to help the Liberal Party garner votes in B.C.’s ethnic communities. Former Vancouver broadcaster Pamela Martin, director of outreach for Premier Clark, is also named as someone who engaged in misconduct, but in a lesser extent.
Clark has stated she will take the recommendations made in the report seriously and will take immediate action.
Continuing, Macdonald noted, “These are facts. But in an effort to distract people in this area from those facts, the BC Liberals have attempted to create the belief that there is another scandal.
“I have been accused of transferring money from my constituency office to the party. And the claim has been made that the Auditor General revealed this practice in an Auditor General’s report. Not one word of these accusations is true and both Mr. Clovechok and Mr. Bennett know it.
“We are about to head into a local election campaign that I had hoped would be an opportunity for voters to discuss their hopes for their province. And I had hoped that all the candidates in this constituency would choose to focus on presenting their own vision for the province.
“I can do nothing about the behavior of my Liberal opponent, but I can assure voters that my campaign will be about giving voters a positive and practical choice in the next election. When we ask for the support of the electorate, that is the very least we can do,” Macdonald concluded.
See below for more on the John Dyble report :
https://www.scribd.com/doc/130420733/Review-of-the-Draft-Multicultural-Strategic-Outreach-Plan
To view the Auditor General’s report go to:
https://www.bcauditor.com/pubs/2013/report12/audit-legislative-assemblys-financial-records-update
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
