Andrew Weaver calls for assistant deputy speaker to step down
Posted January 23, 2019 1:56 pm.
Last Updated January 23, 2019 8:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The latest development in a scandal rocking the BC Legislature for several weeks is a call for Linda Reid, the Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House, to temporarily step down.
Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver is now demanding Reid to step aside for now. She’s the longest-serving member of the Legislature, and under the Christy Clark government, she was the Speaker.
“In light of the allegations that were brought forward, and in the fact that Ms Read was the Speaker when many of these allegations occurred and in fact was named ad the MLA whose expense reports were apparently alleged to have been inappropriate,” Weaver told NEWS 1130. “It is absolutely imperative that in order to rebuild public trust one of the first things that can happen is Reid needs to step aside.”
“I don’t know how she could continue to serve as an overseer of the actions and daily routine of the Legislature in light of the fact that her name is in this report,” Weaver added.
He said restoring public trust must be every MLA’s priority.
“Right now we have a lack of public trust in the BC Legislature and to be blunt, I don’t know who I can trust in the B.C. Legislature,” Weaver said.
WATCH: Speaker Plecas speaks of legislature spending scandal
Reid has issued a statement promising to fully cooperate with all investigators, but we’ve been told she’s not available for comment today.
“As the auditor conducts their investigation, I will make myself fully available,” read Reid’s statement. “I will work with the auditor and any other investigators to ensure the protection of taxpayer dollars. I feel it’s important to respect the process of the current investigations in order to ensure the public is provided with a full account of the entire situation.”
RELATED: ‘It’s time to clean that up’: John Horgan following accusations of officials’ lavish spending
Reid wrote she is encouraged to see the Legislative Assembly Committee unanimously approve a financial audit.
Weaver’s call for her to step aside stems from information made public by a whistleblower who claims he was fired after questioning Reid’s expense claims.
Meanwhile, John Horgan says he was shocked, like many others about the allegations outlined in Darryl Plecas’ report.
He says more audits are needed, noting Mike Farnworth is currently working with Legislative Assembly Management Committee on this.
New Democrat Garry Begg is also weighing in, saying Reid must account for claims made in the Speaker’s report outlining flagrant spending by two top officials in the legislature.
WATCH: Report claims ‘flagrant overspending’
Begg, a member of the all-party committee overseeing financial management at the legislature, says Reid was Speaker from 2013 to 2017 when many of the alleged overspending and expense abuse claims occurred.
Sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz and clerk Craig James were placed on administrative leave last November amid an ongoing RCMP investigation.
-With files form Liza Yuzda and The Canadian Press
