Nearly a week after they were escorted from the legislature by police, legislative clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz said they remain in the dark as to the allegations surrounding their suspensions but are confident the RCMP investigation will clear them of wrongdoing. Both men are asking to be reinstated to their positions.
At a noon press conference at the Vancouver office of their lawyer, James and Lenz said they haven’t been interviewed by the RCMP or been given any information about the criminal investigation that has created turmoil at the B.C. legislature.
“At this point we don’t even know what the allegations are or what they’re about, we’re completely in the dark,” Lenz said.
James said the secrecy has left him in the “position of not being able to respond because no one has told me what the allegations are or asked me for my side of the story.”
“I have been removed without explanation, escorted out of the building in which I have worked for over 30 years, by police officers,” James said. “Gary and I have been deeply humiliated.”
“I am deeply troubled by the way the situation has unfolded,” Lenz said.
Lenz described the panic his daughter felt when someone told her “sorry to hear about your dad, my prayers are with you” before she had any idea what was going on.
Both men are asking to be reinstated to their positions while the investigation unfolds. They said they would fully co-operate with the RCMP’s independent investigation. Both said they are confident the investigation will clear them of wrongdoing.
“The damage to my reputation is irreparable,” James said. “The healing can only begin with my return to work. These are very important positions in British Columbia, and all we want to do is get back to work.”
James outlined the “bullet-proof” financial oversight measures he’s put in place since 2011, including hiring a former auditor general and former comptroller general to sit on a financial audit committee.
James also said his travel expenses are reviewed by several financial experts including the executive financial officer and the director of financial services.
The men are being represented by lawyer Mark D. Andrews. Two special prosecutors have been appointed, but no charges have been laid and no details of the allegations have been released.
Meanwhile, the B.C. Liberals are asking for an emergency debate on the suspensions of James and Lenz, as they call into question the role of Speaker Darryl Plecas and his special adviser in the investigation.
During members’ statements Monday morning, Liberal MLA Mike de Jong called the events of last week “unprecedented in the life of this institution.”
He said MLAs from all parties are “troubled, frustrated, maybe even angered” by the limited information they were given before unanimously approving the motion to suspend Lenz and James.
“I believe that when members were presented with a motion to relieve officials of their duties, the vast majority were not aware that the investigation giving rise to the motion was initiated by the Speaker and conducted without any involvement or knowledge of the legislative accounts management committee,” de Jong said.
He also said that when MLAs were presented with the motion, the vast majority were not aware that Plecas wanted to appoint his friend and special adviser, Alan Mullen, as acting sergeant-at-arms, even before Lenz was suspended.
On Thursday, house leaders from all three parties confirmed that Plecas raised that idea at a meeting Monday night.
“I believe that when members were presented with the motion, the vast majority were not aware that the speaker and his special adviser were contemplating replacing one of the suspended officials with the very person who had initiated and been conducting an investigation,” de Jong said.
Many have questioned the prominent role that Mullen has played in the suspensions and the decision to have police escort the men from the building.
De Jong said he and other MLAs were troubled by the “spectacle of watching them marched out of this building by law-enforcement officers … in a manner than seems, quite frankly, deliberately designed to inflict the maximum degree of public humiliation and embarrassment.”
Plecas recused himself during de Jong’s motion because it relates to his handling of the issue. Deputy speaker Raj Chouhan took his place.
NDP house leader Mike Farnworth said an emergency debate under standing order 35 would be inappropriate because there’s an active criminal investigation.
Plecas wrote a letter to the three parties’ house leaders on Monday defending the suspensions and stressing that the entire legislature agreed to them.
He said it is open to the legislature to rescind the motion that led to the suspensions, but there was unqualified unanimity among the house leaders beforehand that it would not be appropriate for them to continue in the face of an “active criminal investigation.”
Plecas said Opposition house leader Mary Polak, at the meeting of house leaders last Monday night before the motion was moved, specifically stated: “She did not want or need any further information about the allegations beyond knowing that there was an active RCMP investigation.”
He said that position was entirely reasonable in the circumstances.
Plecas said the work of James and Lenz was central to the functioning of the legislature and the “reality of an active criminal investigation” cannot be ignored by MLAs.
“The legislative assembly has a right to protect the integrity of the institution. The exercise of this right does not depend on a request from the special prosecutor. That is not his role.”
He recounted decisions made at the house leaders’ meeting and said: “In view of the criminal investigation and the unique status of these permanent-officer positions, each of you expressed the clear view that accountability for the decision had to rest with the legislative assembly, difficult as the decision was for everyone.”
He said everyone was well aware that the suspension would not involve advance notice to the officers.
“It was designed this way, as the decision was there was only one realistic outcome.” He disputed that his office “investigated,” saying: “It is for the police to investigate crime, but I also recognized that I should not approach police without exercising reasonable diligence and having some legitimate foundation for doing so.”
The B.C. Liberals have subsequently raised many questions about the process and suggested an immediate emergency meeting of an all-party management committee. Plecas said it could go ahead as scheduled Dec. 6, not before.
— Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
