RCMP documents prove Liberals misled public in health firings scandal, says NDP

Adrian Dix Photo by Chandra Bodalia
Adrian Dix
Photo by Chandra Bodalia

NEW documents show that the Liberal government misled the public by claiming the RCMP was investigating wrongfully fired health researchers.

“On September 6, 2012, the Liberals announced there was an RCMP investigation implicating researchers they had just fired and different research bodies, including the Therapeutics Initiative,” said NDP MLA Adrian Dix. “But new documents reveal they had not yet provided any evidence to police to warrant an investigation, and would fail to do so for two years.

“In fact, the government didn’t transfer any information to the RCMP about the decisions to reinstate contracts and rescind terminations to clear individuals and agencies from this smear.”

Dix said the new revelations only further the need for a full public inquiry into this Liberal government scandal.

“Why did the Liberals choose to mislead the public, the RCMP, and the wrongfully terminated researchers over retracting the smear?  Why did the Liberals choose to ignore legal advice against mentioning the RCMP in the first place? These and other important questions regarding this abuse of government power must be answered, can only be answered, through a public inquiry at this point,” said Dix.

One of the facts emerging from the latest documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun is that in September 2012 the government’s own information did not support a criminal investigation.

“The fact that RCMP had not received evidence at that time warranting a criminal investigation from the Liberals reinforces that senior members of the premier’s inner team chose to ignore legal advice to not mention the RCMP publicly,” explained Dix.

Last week, Dix released a legal services chronology showing that the government’s communication arm, then headed by the premier’s close advisors, received legal advice three times in a 16-hour period about mentioning the RCMP at the Sept. 6, 2012 press announcement.

The latest documents also reveal that the Liberals maintained the pretense of an RCMP investigation even after the police informed them last summer it was closing the file due to a lack of information.

“This is a scandal that led to the death of one researcher, Rodney MacIsaac, and damaged the lives and reputations of seven others,” said Dix. “If the premier was serious about getting to the bottom of this, she would order an independent inquiry into what her senior officials knew and what her cabinet ministers knew.”