UPDATE: Statements made in this article, while made responsibly when originally written, have been determined to be unfounded by the RCMP. The allegations were unsubstantiated. The file relating to the allegation has been closed. No report was made to Crown Counsel and the RCMP did not ask for a special prosecutor.*
Attorney Michael Bolton alleged yesterday that B.C. Liberal MLA Dave Hayer was under investigation at an earlier time. Bolton, acting for B.C. Legislature Raid case defendant Dave Basi, said in B.C. Supreme Court that his information came from new evidence disclosed to the defence.
The investigation, Bolton alleged, was into whether Hayer and Basi were attempting to have dropped “assessments or collections” of money owed to the Insurance Corporation of B.C. by Hayer's constituents.
When an MLA is investigated a Special Prosecutor must be appointed. That appointment is also supposed to be published in the British Columbia Gazette so long as it does not affect the investigation.
Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino, who is pursuing corruption charges against Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi, has today indicated that he was not involved in the Hayer investigation.
"The only function I have played is to make a disclosure in this case and those documents [referred to in court] are part of that disclosure," Berardino said in a telephone interview this morning.
Berardino declined to say more on the matter. But if Berardino's "only function" was the disclosure of documents, it appears clear he was not appointed special prosecutor in the Hayer investigation.
B.C. NDP MLA Mike Farnworth has today written to Attorney-General Wally Oppal, with questions regarding Hayer and allegations of a police investigation.
Farnworth asked Oppal whether a Special Prosecutor was appointed and if so, why that has not been disclosed.
Farnworth also asks whether Hayer was appointed Parliamentary Secretary on immigration and multiculturalism while allegedly under police investigation and appointed to legislative committees.
For more on this story, see Bill Tieleman's blog.
*Story updated at 11:50 a.m. on May 14, 2012.
Update: Following this report the RCMP investigated and found the allegations were unsubstantiated. The details are here.
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