B.C. Today – Daily Report September 20, 2019

Quotation of the day

“I’d say there’s quite a few people who dropped the ball on this one.”

Auditor General Carol Bellringer says there is plenty of blame to go around for inadequate ​ ​ oversight and “widespread” violations of legislature expense policies in the offices of the Speaker, clerk and sergeant-at-arms.

Today in B.C.

Auditor general outlines poor oversight and policy violations in B.C. legislature audit Yesterday, Auditor General Carol Bellringer released the results of her first in a series of audits ​ ​ ​ ​ of the legislative clerk, sergeant-at-arms and Speaker’s offices. The performance audit was conducted in response to Speaker Darryl Plecas’ January 2019 report that alleged misconduct ​ ​ on the part of former clerk Craig James (now retired) and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz who ​ ​ ​ ​ remains on administrative leave.

The audit covered around 5,000 expense claims and purchases made by the three offices between April 1, 2016, and December 1, 2018, totalling $2.2 million.

Bellringer said her office did not uncover any instances of “unusual or potentially fraudulent ​ transactions” that required referral to law enforcement for investigation.

“I’m being a little bit cautious in not coming straight out and saying there was no fraud because we can’t be absolute in making that statement,” the auditor general told reporters. “But there was nothing that we identified that … [needed] to be brought to an authority and not disclosed in this report.”

The audit did find that the legislative officers and their staff “frequently” spent taxpayer money on “travel, gifts and clothing” without proper documentation and sometimes in violation of legislature policies.

“We found that travel expenses were frequently made without clear documentation to support the purpose of the travel,” Bellringer said. “Some expenses were made without the appropriate approval or a clearly documented business purpose and purchases of items such as clothing and gifts were made without a policy to guide those transactions.”

During the audit period, the Speaker, clerk and sergeant-at-arms offices spent a total of “$18,783 for gift purchases in Canada and overseas.” The auditor general’s office also flagged more than $17,000 in questionable clothing “purchased for the Speaker, Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms” — including an $1,100 tuxedo and seven sets of cufflinks.

“We also found there was no specific travel policy for staff and officers of the legislative assembly,” Bellringer said. “We found examples of a subordinate approving the expenses of a superior and examples where the clerk approved his own travel expenses.”

During the audit period, James approved more than $56,600 in travel expenses for himself.

“Some of the practices we observed in this area would not have been allowed in ministries,” Bellringer noted.

Spending accountability and reporting was “consistently done poorly right across the entire time period and across all three offices,” she added. The audit period covers the tenures of three Speakers: Plecas and Liberal MLAs Steve Thomson (who held the Speaker’s chair for 8 days ​ ​ in June 2017) and Linda Reid. James and Lenz both held their positions for the entirety of the ​ ​ audit period.

The AG said she was taken aback at the prevalence of policy violations and poor reporting.

“The fact that it was so widespread was a surprise,” Bellringer said.

Bellringer made nine recommendations to address the oversight issues, including implementing a “comprehensive policy framework .. to govern financial practices and how policies are to be authorized.” A way to directly “report all significant instances of non-compliance” with financial policies to the Speaker, Finance and Audit Committee, and Legislative Assembly Management Committee (LAMC) should also be put in place.

Most of the recommendations are already in the process of being addressed by acting clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd and LAMC. ​

“We will continue to do a few more audits for the next while until we have more confidence … in the compliance and the enforcement of the policies that they put in place, and we are definitely going to put it on the radar to come back in every few years and check on things,” Bellringer said.

Further audits will examine the offices’ use of purchasing cards, compensation and benefits, capital asset management, and overall governance at the Legislative Assembly.

“It’s not a blame game,” the auditor general stressed. “There is a lot to be fixed. It is going to require the full Legislative Assembly Management Committee, the Speaker, the Clerk’s Office … there’s a lot to be done.”

Speaker’s expense claims triple while Liberal House leader pushes for answers Of the expenses examined during the audit period, those related to the Speaker’s office were the most modest. However, under Plecas, travel-related expenses increased significantly — in the 2017-18 period audited, the office posted less than $20,000 in travel expenses.

In 2018-19, that figure rose to more than $60,000. The figure does not include the $13,000 Plecas’ chief of staff, Alan Mullen, spent while travelling to various legislatures and state ​ ​ houses to learn about security protocols this summer.

The Speaker was in no mood to explain himself to reporters yesterday, refusing to comment when asked to respond to the audit findings.

"While I was hoping that a forensic audit would be completed, and that the audit would reach back to 2011 rather than only 2016, I accept and respect that the Auditor General proceeds according to her own mandate and authority,” Plecas said in a statement.

“The report illustrates that there was a failure of leadership and trust by senior non-elected leadership of the Legislative Assembly,” the statement continued. “On my instructions, new policies on employee travel, uniforms and gifts and honoraria have been explicitly extended to my office.”

While more work is needed to address “the remaining issues” in Plecas’ January report, the Speaker believes he and his LAMC colleagues are “on the right track” to develop “a new governance framework, more effective oversight of Assembly administration and further reforms to administrative policies.”

Liberal House Leader Mary Polak also supports the work LAMC has done since the Speaker’s ​ ​ bombshell report was released.

“The vast majority of the recommendations already have actions associated with them and I think that’s pretty impressive,” she told reporters.

Polak is less impressed with Plecas.

“We will be interested to know why it is that the travel expenses in his office have gone up so profoundly,” Polak said. “It really is kind of shocking when you position that against the concerns that have been raised by the Speaker about the travel of other officers.”

The Liberal House leader is still hoping Plecas will provide a full accounting of his chief of staff’s summer road trip.

“I take the Speaker at his word that at some point he will report to LAMC about this,” she added.

Today’s events

September 20 at 12 p.m. — Vancouver ​ ​ Agriculture Minister Lana Popham will join representatives from Safeway and over 20 B.C. ​ ​ agrifood producers at the Robson Safeway for an announcement that celebrates B.C. foods and beverages.

September 20 at 5:30 p.m. – North Vancouver ​ Premier John Horgan will be joined by members of his caucus at the Polygon Gallery for “an ​ ​ evening of art, food, and stunning views.” Attendees of the fundraiser will get a chance to “learn more about the BC NDP’s upcoming fall session.”

Weekend events

September 21 at 9 a.m. — Langford ​ ​ The B.C. Liberal Party will hold a “coffee and politics” event at Poncho’s Coffee House.

September 22 at 6 p.m. — Vancouver ​ ​ Liberal Party Leader Andrew Wilkinson will be joined by members of his caucus at Earls ​ ​ Yaletown for a fall kickoff reception.

Topics of conversation

● Premier John Horgan was “as shocked as all Canadians” by revelations that Prime ​ ​ Minister Justin Trudeau has donned blackface and brownface on multiple occasions. ​ ​ The premier pointed to federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s response to the issue as ​ ​ ​ ​ one every Canadian should see. “I don’t say that because he wears the same uniform I do,” Horgan told reporters. “His comments were absolutely to point as a man who experienced, directly, racism because of his headwear, because of his skin colour. His response was one of love and hope, not hatred and contempt, and if Canadians have not had the opportunity to listen to Jagmeet about this issue, I recommend that they do.” ○ “I have not ever done anything that I would characterize as culturally offensive,” Horgan said when asked. “But have I done stupid things in my life? Absolutely. Should we be accountable for who we are as people? I have always said that we are an accumulation of all of the things we have done … the good and the bad.”

● Horgan’s approval rating rallied slightly in the third quarter of this year, according to fresh polling from DART, rising three points to 47 per cent. Horgan’s popularity hit a high of 52 ​ per cent in early 2018, but he remains one of Canada’s more popular premiers, trailing Québec Premier François Legault (59 per cent), Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe (58 ​ ​ ​ ​ per cent) and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (55 per cent). ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ Of the four most popular Canadian premiers, Horgan has spent the longest time in the role at two years and two months.

● The B.C. Special Prosecutor's Office announced criminal charges against Desmond ​ ​ ​ Michael Devnich, the former constituency assistant of Liberal MLA John Martin ​ ​ (Chilliwack). Devnich has been charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and two counts of breach of trust by a public officer in relation to public funds that Martin reported ​ missing from his constituency office in 2017. ​

● Nanaimo-area beekeepers found a nest of Asian giant hornets south of the city this week, according to the agriculture ministry, and “eradicated the nest using carbon ​ ​ dioxide,” removing all hornets and the queen. Three dead hornets were found in the area this summer. ○ The hornets are being preserved for further research and testing to determine how they may have arrived on Vancouver Island. The provincial apiculturist is meeting with the beekeepers and reviewing the information gathered and the nest site.

News briefs - Governmental

Office of the Premier

Ministry of Agriculture Premier John Horgan was joined by representatives of the 'Namgis, Kwikwasut'inuxw ​ ​ ​ Haxwa'mis and Mamalilikulla First Nations at the B.C. legislature library yesterday to celebrate nine months since the signing of a letter of understanding between the respective governments ​ ​ and the release of recommendations for an orderly transition plan for open-pen fish operations ​ in the Broughton Archipelago through 2022. ​

"The progress we are marking today began with a trip I took with ministers Lana Popham, ​ ​ Scott Fraser and Claire Trevena to Alert Bay less than two years ago, after being invited to ​ ​ ​ listen to long-standing concerns about salmon farming," Horgan said. "In partnership with three First Nations in the Broughton, through a process built on reconciliation and respect, we are taking important steps forward to restore wild salmon stocks and support communities."

The ministers also attended the announcement, as did representatives from fish farm operators Cermaq Canada and Mowi Canada West. Over the past nine months, the nations, companies and provincial government reached an agreement to establish First Nations oversight of salmon farms operating in their territories.

This included the decommissioning of five salmon farms with another five slated to cease operations by the end of 2022.

“The remaining seven farms are in the hands of the communities, as they should be,” Horgan said.

In order to continue operating past 2022, the companies will need to reach an agreement with the local First Nations and acquire appropriate licences from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

“The Broughton process, and the implementation of the resulting recommendations, are important for wild salmon and the coastal economy," David Kiemele, managing director of ​ ​ Cermaq Canada, said in a statement. "We are proud to be part of this historic and precedent-setting agreement.”

Through the B.C. Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, the province is providing $143 million to support three First Nations projects aimed at:

● assessing, prioritizing and restoring critical salmon habitat in rivers and creeks in the Broughton area; ● assessing the feasibility for a genomics lab to support independent First Nations fish health testing; and ● implementing the Indigenous Monitoring and Inspection Plan of Salmon Farms in the Broughton area to provide capacity for First Nations monitoring and oversight.

Funding announcements

● The Okanagan’s second urgent and primary care centre is expected to open in late December. Interior Health has leased a standalone site for the seven-day-a-week ​ ​ Kelowna Urgent Primary Care Centre which will be staffed by “the full-time equivalent ​ of five [new] general practitioner and two [new] nurse practitioner positions” as well as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists and physiotherapist. In total, the centre will employ the equivalent of 22 full-time employees. ○ The annual operating cost of the centre will be approximately $4.2 million, according to the health ministry. It is expected to have capacity for 63,000 ​ additional patient visits per year for both urgent and primary care appointments.

● Last year, 50 local governments in B.C. reported achieving carbon neutrality using more than $8 million in carbon tax refunds through the Climate Action Revenue Incentive ​ Program — five more than in 2017 when just over $7 million in carbon tax refunds were ​ disbursed. ○ The grant program provides local governments who have signed the B.C. ​ ​ ​ Climate Action Charter with a full refund of their carbon taxes. ​

Lobbyist registrations

If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here. ​ ​

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from September 13, 2019 – September 19, 2019

● Jeff Andrus and Stephen Howard, Gastown Strategy Group ​ ​ ​ ​ o Clients: BC Salmon Farmers Association ​

● Stephen Howard, Gastown Strategy Group ​ ​ o Clients: Tourmaline Oil Corp. ​ ● John Shevchuk, Lex Pacifica Law Corporation ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Mosaic Forest Management Corporation ​

● Juliana Martine, FleishmanHillard HighRoad ​ ​ o Clients: British Columbia Coast Pilots Ltd. ​

● Zayge Klein, Strategies North Advisory Inc. ​ ​ o Clients: Takla Lake First Nation, Williams Lake Indian Band ​

● Nicola Hill, Earnscliffe Strategy Group ​ ​ o Clients: International Union of Operating Engineers ​

● Nicole Brassard and David Denhoff, Global Public Affairs ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ o Clients: LeafLink Inc. ​

● Nicole Johnson, Global Public Affairs ​ ​ o Clients: Innovative Medicines Canada ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from September 13, 2019 – September 19, 2019

● Canfor Corporation ● Navigata Communications Limited ● Alliance of British Columbia Students ● Helicat Canada Association ● Rick Hansen Foundation