CITIZENS’ Services Minister Jinny Sims said on Wednesday that allegations made against her by a former staffer who worked in her Surrey-Panorama constituency office for a couple of months are “completely untrue.”

In a statement, Sims said: “I follow the rules and best practices on records management and advise my staff to as well. I help people in our community because it is my job as a representative. I do not take money for it and I’m offended that anyone would suggest otherwise.

“This matter is related to a challenging HR situation regarding a former employee and due to privacy I can’t get into further details. When the letter was received in March after her employment had ended, the claims she made were reviewed and there was no evidence to support them. The issue was dealt with by Caucus as she was not a government employee.

“Ministers use their government account for government business and legislative account for legislative or constituency business. That is how the system is meant to work and that is what I explained to staff. That’s appropriate. I use my government email for government business and I do not use Whatsapp for government work.

“The Opposition appears to be raising this because they have nothing more substantive to talk about at the moment. Our government continues to work hard to make life better for people in B.C.”

The Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer wrote on Wednesday: “The allegations against Sims are mostly unproven. Nor do they begin to approach the size and scope of the money-laundering scandal.”

The money laundering scandal took place under the B.C. Liberal government and Premier John Horgan announced a public inquiry into it on Wednesday.

Palmer, however, added that the allegations against Sims “warrant more serious scrutiny than the New Democrats have given them to date.”