Province of British Columbia Legistative Assembly ‘Constituency Office ‘640 Dunbar Stoot Vancouver, B.C. V6N 1W7 Phone: 60 66-0748 Fax: 604 664.0750, ‘e-mail: andrew.wilkinson.mla@leg.beca Parliament Buildings Victoria, BC. V8V 1X4 July 17, 2017 Mr. Carl Fischer AlComptroller General PO Box 9413 Sin Prov Govt Victoria, British Columbia V8W 9V1 Dear Mr. Fischer: write to request an urgent opinion from your office under the Standards of Conduct of the BC Public Service on a matter that appears to involve the misuse of public funds and assets under Section 33.2 of the Financial Administration Act,. ‘The publicly-declared intention of the BC NDP to use public funds for their own political advantage appears to compromise the integrity of the Office of the Premier, and appears to contravene existing guidelines regarding partisan political activity within the BC Public Service. ‘The issue in question is the so-called Confidence and Supply Agreement Secretariat, announced on July 11" by BC NDP Leader and Premier-designate John Horgan. According to a press release that day announcing Mr. Horgan’s intended staffing decisions, this so-called Sectetariat is “a new office in the Premier's Office responsible for delivering on the agreement between the BC New Democrat government and the BC Green party.” ‘The “agreement” mentioned above, as you are likely aware, is the political agreement upon which the incoming NDP minority government's political survival is predicated, as Mr. Horgan’s NDP caucus alone does not have enough seats to survive a basic confidence motion, having failed to secure a plurality of seats in the recent provincial election. By placing this so-called Secretariat within the Office of the Premier, this political office would be funded and supported by BC Public Service resources. British Columbia's public servants are required to serve the citizens of British Columbia through the administration of public services. They are not employed to oversee and support political agreements between parties ‘The BC Public Service’s Standards of Conduct states that: “Employees must not engage in political activities during working hours or use government. facilities, equipment, or resources in support of these activities.Partisan polities are not to be introduced into the workplace; however, informal private discussions among co-workers are acceptable.” Tt would appear that the proposed Secretariat, as outlined by the BC NDP, should properly be located within the BC NDP’s caucus office in the Legislative Assembly, where the BC NDP already has appropriate political staff to facilitate the needs of their caucus. ‘The intended role of the so-called Secretariat facilitates the political needs of the BC NDP caucus in the Legislative Assembly. It appears to be wholly inappropriate as a component of the office of British Columbia’s first minister and chief officer of the executive branch and inappropriate as a paid position for any member of the public service. ask that you that you urgently provide your opinion on this so-called Secretariat that Mr. Horgan intends to establish within the Office of the Premier, prior to the planned swearing-in of the new government on July 18%, 2017. Sincerely, OE Andrew Wilkinson, MLA Vancouver-Quilchena ce: Carol Bellringer, Auditor General of British Columbia Kim Henderson, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary & Head of the Public Service