‘I felt I had no choice’: Premier Eby remains vague on ousting of MLA Adam Walker

B.C.’s premier says the ousting of MLA Adam Walker from the NDP caucus isn’t a criminal matter, nor is it related to a sexual harassment complaint, or a run-in with a deer.

David Eby didn’t provide much information about his decision to remove the Parksville-Qualicum MLA from his party’s caucus when asked about it at a press conference Monday morning, but he did repeat that it is a human resources issue and said it relates to a “complaint from an employee in late July.”

The premier says the party has an “obligation to privacy” and isn’t able to share any further details due to it being a human resources issue.

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Eby says there’s no criminal investigation as it is not a criminal matter, and there have been no allegations of sexual harassment “to the best of my knowledge.”

He says they followed a very thorough review, but the decision was necessary.

“Because the complaint did start a formal process under our collective agreement that just concluded, and based on the findings of that caucus investigation, I made the determination that Mr. Walker could not continue in our caucus,” he said.

“I felt that I had no choice as leader but to remove Mr. Walker from our caucus.”

Eby announced Sunday he was ousting the MLA, both from the NDP caucus and also as Parliamentary Secretary for a Sustainable Economy, after a human resources complaint resulted in a finding of misconduct.

Walker responded to his removal in a statement on X Monday, saying he looks “forward to an opportunity to address any allegations in the appropriate forum.”

pic.twitter.com/GPmyXINkyX

— Adam Walker (@AdamWalkerBC) September 18, 2023

Eby said after the review, they found the problem was not related to any sort of training — or lack thereof.

“It’s a moment for reflection about… can we improve training or the things that we can do to provide better support to people to set them up for success,” he said. “My concern about the conclusions of the investigation was that they cannot be remediated by training.”

“It’s not related to interactions Walker had with a deer,” he said. “This is concerning and a serious issue.”

Eby says it is his understanding that Walker will continue to serve as an independent, “which is his choice,” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press and Pippa Norman.