Suspended Clerk of the Legislative Assembly Craig James allegedly intervened to shut down an investigation into travel and meal expense violations by former Speaker of the House Linda Reid on the basis that “we will all wear it,” if it came to light.
Reid said Wednesday the whistleblower (her former legislative assistant) never spoke to her about improper expense files. She called the allegations “unfounded.”
In a special report released Monday, Speaker of the House Darryl Plecas outlined how James “shut down” a whistleblower’s claim that Reid improperly billed travel and meal expenses to the Legislature, which James manages.
Plecas’ report to the Legislative Assembly Management Committee concerning allegations of financial misconduct by James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz, does not explicitly name Reid, rather it refers to her as “the MLA.”
But semi-redacted travel expense documents concerning “the MLA” in Plecas’ report (dubbed exhibit 23) align exactly with Reid’s public disclosures on the government website.
As well, the unnamed legislative assistant who Plecas says made the claim has come forward to some members of the media confirming that Reid is “the MLA” referred to in the report.
Glacier Media spoke to Reid, the MLA for Richmond South Centre, at her office in Richmond on Wednesday where she declared her “track record has been clean throughout this whole process.”
Reid said she “didn’t know” what James meant by saying “we will wear it all” if she was to be investigated.
Reid claimed she was likely “the most transparent Speaker” in B.C. history, noting she brought LAMC meetings into a public room.
But she acknowledged the clerk’s expense records remain out of the public eye.
And she conceded during her time no one was overseeing the clerk’s office budget, other than the clerk.
“Apparently that’s the case,” said Reid, adding LAMC votes on the overall legislature budget.
Notably, Reid also claimed that she “relied less” on James’ advice over her term “as more issues gave me cause to pause.”
The issue of “the MLA” referred to in the 76-page report is only one of many that point to an apparent disregard for protocol and lavish spending by James and Lenz, who have been on paid administrative leave since November.
Plecas alleges James and Lenz made personal purchases including expensive suits, claimed for trips “with questionable business rationales” and hundreds of thousands of dollars in “inappropriate payouts,” and misappropriated alcohol.
In the report, Plecas explains when he first took over the speaker’s office, he was surprised to learn that he had a well-stocked liquor cabinet in his officer and two more outside his personal office.
“It had been my previous experience that the government does not pay for alcohol for staff or Members’ personal consumption, so this was surprising to me,” he states in the report.
Moreover, Plecas describes the relationship between the Speaker and the clerk as one open to potential conflict of interest.
The report notes the speaker has supervisory jurisdiction over the clerk, but can’t discipline or terminate him or her, adding that there seems to be “tension” between this supervisory role and the Speaker’s reliance on the clerk for help in running the legislative proceedings.
“Moreover, if the Speaker’s ability to provide objective oversight is compromised by a close friendship with the Clerk, then it potentially creates a situation where there is no effective scrutiny of the most powerful employee of the organization,” the report states.
If allegations in the report are proven, it raises questions as to how James and Reid conducted themselves inside the House during Reid’s four-year term as speaker, from 2013 to 2017.
An RCMP investigation is also being conducted into the matter.
In a joint statement Monday, James and Lenz said Plecas’ allegations against them are “false and untrue.” They said Plecas has harmed their families by preparing a report in secret to “further blacken our reputations.”
