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Warning - long twitter rant inspired by @Wilkinson4BC’s request that we not become “bogged down in political posturing” in regards to #PlecasReport and in response to the #bothsidesism running rampant throughout #bcpoli. 1/
There are, to me, two distinct streams to the #PlecasReport story. Which are, of course, related. #bcpoli 2/
First is about the excess & extravagant spending. I don’t doubt some of this may go back decades, through past govts & there are likely MLAs from various parties who could be implicated, just as likely MLAs from various parties who did not engage in this behaviour. #bcpoli 3/
.@rob_shaw_vansun thread here reviews some of that: #bcpoli 4/
The second stream of this story, though, is the one that has an undeniable partisan aspect to it. Drawing attention to the many irregularities cited in the #PlecasReport regarding James’ relationship with the @bcliberals isn’t political sniping. These are fair Qs. #bcpoli 5/
The allegations, admittedly unproven, in the #PlecasReport are very disturbing and are directed only at the @bcliberals - who, not coincidentally, governed for the last 16yrs. BC citizens deserve to ask questions about this without being accused of political sniping. #bcpoli 6/
V. relevant that @bcliberals appointed James as Clerk w/out support of Opposition & not out of character for a govt that was increasingly criticized for heavy-handed top-down approach, for centralization of control in premier’s office, for politicizing the bureaucracy. #bcpoli 7/
It’s not political sniping for us to question why James would meet privately with the president of the @bcliberals, why he would meet with @christyclark several times when she was already out of office. #bcpoli 8/
It’s not political sniping to Q why a supposed ind officer of Leg is alleged to have met w/ Geoff Plant about how to “rein in Gary [Lenz] and ensure he wouldn’t be conducting investigations in the future”. & what the other 13 meetings James had with Plant were about. #bcpoli 9/
It’s not political sniping to Q why “multiple witnesses...have informed the Speaker of their view that Mr. James was aligned with the BC Liberals... #bcpoli 10/
...(with some suggesting that Mr. James’ unexpected appointment as clerk of the House was connected to his ‘doing a job’ for the government as acting chief electoral office)”. This is critical information for British Columbians to be aware of. #bcpoli 11/
It’s not political sniping to be outraged by reported comment from James that “if they took issue with [his] expenses, he could put an end to it because...#bcpoli 12/
...he had ‘so much dirt on the Liberals’ & that he could threaten to ‘stop paying their legal bills’ or ‘quit paying their severance payments.” WTAF?!! #bcpoli 13/
It’s not political sniping to wonder what the ‘leadership’ issues were that prevented @LindaReidforBC from pursuing an investigation. #bcpoli
This isn’t just about ensuring more transparency and cleaning up the way the Leg operates, though that is undoubtably critical. It has to also be about accountability. #bcpoli 15/
If there are New Democrats responsible for any of this mess, they should be held accountable, without question. But the biggest outstanding questions from the #PlecasReport clearly do not fall to ‘both sides’. They land squarely at the feet of the @bcliberals. #bcpoli 16/
The danger this poses to increasing the cynicism that people already have about politics, the declining faith in our political institutions, deeply concerns me. British Columbians deserve better. #bcpoli 18/
To end I have to say that the *ONLY* reason that any of this is being exposed is because we have an independent Speaker, who not coincidentally has been maligned by the @bcliberals. #bcpoli 19/
Mad props to @BCLegSpeaker for his integrity and his courage in daylighting this mess. Let’s root out the rot and ensure that those who are supposed to be in public service to British Columbians are clear about what that actually means. #bcpoli end/
