Recent revelations that allegedly point to the B.C. Liberal Partys attempt to hush a staffer has re-ignited the furore over the ethnic outreach program.
NDP leader Adrian Dix told the Richmond News that new documents his party attained suggest a government staffer was offered an inducement to keep quiet on the matter to protect the provincial Liberal Party and premier heading into Mays B.C. election.
Its a very serious situation that they would act that way, Dix said from Victoria, adding the alleged conduct raises serious issues about the ... governments conduct.
Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap resigned his position as minister of multiculturalism when it was learned the government had used government resources to compile a contact list.
Richmond Centre MLA Teresa Wat now counts that multiculturalism position in her portfolio of ministerial responsibilities.
Previously, the government has claimed the plan was developed by party staffers to use taxpayer resources to help gain ethnic votes for the B.C. Liberal Party, but was never put in place.
Dix contends Yap used his personal email to avoid the scrutiny of a Freedom Of Information request in regards to the alleged offer to staff.
Asked what he would like to have the government do in light of the revelation, Dix said, First of all, there has to be accountability for what happened here.
And what plainly happened here is that the Liberal Party went out and offered an inducement to silence somebody. And ministers of the Crown were party to it. And thats a pretty serious situation.
They (government) may think that hiding it until after the election and then responding to all the questions is sufficient. But it plainly isnt in the publics mind, Dix added. Mr. Yap has to explain why he was involved in such a thing, what he did about it at the time, and why he was clearly using, inappropriately, government funds to promote the party.
Dix said if the new information had come to light prior to the May 14 election, it would have been a bombshell for the B.C. Liberal Party and Premier Christy Clark, which lagged behind the NDP in the polls.
In Richmond, all three B.C. Liberal candidates, including Yap, were elected.
Speaking from Victoria, Wat told the News her party had previously apologized for the situation, refunded the money ($70,000) assessed spent in the ethnic outreach program, and admitted what had transpired was wrong.
However, she maintained that, because the inducement was declined, there was no wrong-doing.
What we are saying is that the emails referred to by Adrian Dix and whatever was discussed was wrong and inappropriate. But what the report found out was that no actions had been taken, added Wat, referring to premier Clarks deputy minister John Dybles investigation into the scandal.
That did not satisfy Dix who said the staffers decline of the offer does not absolve the government of any wrongdoing.
The question is not whether it was accepted, said Dix. The bad behaviour on the part of the government is the offer, and the conspiracy to offer.
