A16 || WEstCoast news
COM | Friday, June 19, 2015
Health Firings
Pressure mounts for independent probe
Former deputy minister says full public airing of facts is needed
Rob Shaw
Vancouver Sun
VICTORIA A top govern-
ment official at the centre of
a scandal into fired health
researchers is calling for a pub-
lic inquiry.
Graham Whitmarsh, the dep-
uty minister of health at the
time eight researchers were
fired in 2012, told The Van-
couver Sun on Thursday that
a full public airing of the facts
is needed after revelations the
government failed to provide
information to the RCMP and
publicly portrayed a criminal
investigation into the case when
none existed.
Whitmarsh holds key insight
into what happened, which has
never been made public or been
part of any review in the case.
Given the recent disclosure
regarding the governments han-
dling and representation of the
activities of the RCMP, I believe
a full, independent inquiry is
in everyone involveds best
interests, Whitmarsh said in a
statement.
I continue to support a genu-
inely thorough, substantive and
FROM PAGE A1
Public inquiry needed now into fiasco at Health Ministry
Thats due to the cynically
narrow terms of reference that
hobbled the investigators man-
date and led her to acknowl-
edge she never even interviewed
the sacked researchers, that her
investigation was flawed by the
governments preconceived the-
ories of misconduct and that she
was thus unable to answer the
critical questions: who made
the decisions and what were the
justifications?
We do know we had an
unjust outcome from an obvi-
ously flawed process followed
independent review in which
I would participate. The gov-
ernments refusal to acknowl-
edge the role of key individu-
als in these events is deeply
disappointing.
Whitmarshs comments come
after The Sun obtained inter-
nal RCMP emails that show
despite repeated claims by gov-
ernment officials the Mounties
never conducted a criminal
probe into the fired researchers,
because government failed to
provide promised proof of crim-
inal wrongdoing.
RCMP records show the gov-
ernment was told when police
closed the case file in mid-2014,
though it wasnt until seven
months later that Health Minis-
ter Terry Lake publicly admitted
he no longer expected police to
pursue the matter.
The Opposition NDP, affected
researchers, and the family of
one researcher who committed
suicide after being fired, have all
called for a public inquiry.
Whitmarsh had legal responsi-
bility for the firings and signed
the termination letters.
But he refused to partici-
pate in an independent law-
yers review last year, saying
by foot-dragging, evasiveness,
duplicity and shifty rhetoric.
We know the police investiga-
tion that permitted government
to justify its stonewalling was
essentially a ruse created by
government. We know internal
investigations were hamstrung
by secrecy, resulting in botched
outcomes. We know that years
after wrongdoing which the gov-
ernment acknowledged both
tacitly by its apology and explic-
itly in Health Minister Terry
Lakes recent statement that
government made a mistake
Pacific Carbon Trust/PNG Files
The governments refusal to
acknowledge the role of key
individuals in these events is
deeply disappointing, says
Graham Whitmarsh, former
deputy health minister.
the terms of reference were too
narrow, the timeline rushed,
and he feared being made a
scapegoat when there were
many other senior officials also
involved.
Whitmarsh had also com-
plained about a conflict in the
review, because Premier Christy
Clarks top deputy minister,
we still dont have adequate
answers to simple questions.
We know the taxpayers are on
the hook for out-of-court set-
tlements but we dont know for
how much.
Its time to sort this out.
Careers were derailed, reputa-
tions left in tatters, a man may
have died as a consequence, its
an unnecessary burden on the
public purse and someone made
these decisions.
There is simply no excuse for
British Columbians not know-
ing how and why this happened,
BREAKING NEWS: VANCOUVERSUN.
John Dyble, helped craft the
terms for the review even though
Dyble was part of the firings.
Whitmarsh has said he briefed
Dyble numerous times before
the firings.
Whitmarsh was fired after the
2013 provincial election.
He has since said he was sur-
prised to read about flaws in his
ministrys investigation, after
lawyer Marcia McNeil con-
cluded in her review that the
governments investigation was
badly botched, unfair to the
accused and improper accord-
ing to governments own inter-
nal practices.
Im disappointed to hear there RCMP when they werent going
were flaws, he said at the time.
I would have been concerned
if I had known it at the time,
but it was never brought to my
attention.
Calls for a public inquiry
are built partly on the fact
that McNeil concluded she
was unable to obtain written
records from senior officials on
the termination decision, and
that those senior officials most
likely to have been involved all
pointed to someone else. The
government said in a statement
Thursday that the health firings
what it cost, who or what defec-
tive process should be held
accountable and what can and
should be done to ensure there
is never a repeat performance.
Government was effusive four
years ago with assurances that
open government was one of its
three top priorities.
The premier and cabinet min-
isters bloviated about it. Gov-
ernment even created a ministry
of open government. Instead,
we have this festering mess of
secrecy, obstruction and denial-
ism. As the English philosopher
were not handled properly, but
that the province has improved
its processes since the McNeil
report.
The family of Roderick
MacIsaac, a PhD co-op stu-
dent who killed himself three
months after being fired in
2012, has also called for an
inquiry in order to make
accountable the government
officials involved.
For me it would be some
answers, more or less as to why
they would have proceeded
that way, said Linda Kayfish,
MacIsaacs sister.
Why bother bringing up the
to give them any information,
and continue that route?
Kayfishs husband, Doug,
accused the government of lying
to the public about the police
investigation.
For me its that they have
been allowed to misbehave very
badly in this, and I dont see
how anything is going to stop
them from continuing to do this
stuff unless people stand up and
make them answerable for this,
he said.
rshaw@vancouversun.com
Jeremy Bentham has observed,
Secrecy, being an instrument
of conspiracy, ought never
to be the system of a regular
government.
The public deserves a public
inquiry.
It must be conducted by an
independent third party with the
power to compel testimony and
subpoena evidence.
Our government acts on our
behalf. It isnt free to do as it
likes to citizens and then walk
away with a shrug and an insin-
cere So sorry.
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