Watch Live: CityNews Tonight Vancouver

B.C. premier ‘seriously concerned’ as NDP leadership candidate investigated

With a candidate to replace him as NDP leader under investigation for potentially breaching election rules, B.C.’s premier is commenting publicly for the first time on that issue.

Taking questions at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) annual convention in Whistler on Friday, Premier John Horgan said he is “seriously concerned” about the allegations relating to Anjali Appadurai’s campaign, but is confident the party has systems in place to properly investigate.

“I have seen public coverage through the media of investigations that are underway,” Horgan said. “I have not been briefed on the material that’s been presented. I only know what I’m seeing on my TV and reading in my clippings.

Related Articles:

“But I’m concerned, seriously concerned, about the integrity of the process. But I know — I’ve been a member of the NDP since 1983 — I know we think very hard about these issues and we put in place processes to protect the integrity of the system, and people are charged with that.

“There’s an electoral officer within the process, there’s the executive of the B.C, NDP, and I understand Elections BC is looking at it as well. I have nothing more to say, other than yes I am concerned about the allegations, but they are allegations and our investigation is underway.”

The party itself is probing whether Appadurai broke Election Act rules, and Elections BC is also reviewing the situation.

“We are reviewing activities performed by Dogwood BC in relation to the BC NDP leadership contest to ensure political contribution rules are being followed,” Elections BC communications director Andrew Watson told CityNews in a statement. “We have not come to any conclusions in this matter and have no further update at this time.”

“The integrity of the process is not for me to judge,” Horgan said. “My concern is that if the process is being violated, then that has an impact on the end result.”

Related Video:

At issue are various comments from and support provided to Appadurai’s campaign by environmental organizations 350.org and the Dogwood Initiative.

Appadurai is competing with David Eby for the NDP leadership, with that contest scheduled to wrap up in December.

For its part, Dogwood BC tells CityNews it “has written to Elections BC asking them to state publicly what they’ve told us since June: that third parties including unions and advocacy organizations are free to encourage our supporters to join a political party and vote in a leadership race.”

The organization’s communications director Kai Nagata adds Dogwood has not been contacted by the B.C. NDP or Elections BC.

CityNews has contacted 350.org for comment on this story, specifically where things stand with the investigations underway.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today