MLA Jinny Sims resigns from cabinet pending RCMP probe
Credit to Author: Nick Eagland| Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2019 03:10:29 +0000
NDP MLA Jinny Sims resigned as Minister of Citizens’ Services on Friday following the appointment of a special prosecutor for an RCMP investigation related to her.
Premier John Horgan said in a brief emailed statement that Attorney General David Eby advised him on Friday afternoon that a special prosecutor had been appointed.
“I accepted her resignation as appropriate under the circumstances. We take any such investigation very seriously,” Horgan said in a statement.
Housing Minister Selina Robinson will assume responsibility as minister of citizens’ services until the investigation is over.
Sims, the NDP MLA for Surrey-Panorama, said in an emailed statement that she had not been given details of any allegations but she said there was no credibility to previous allegations made against her.
“I am confident that my name will be cleared but do not want to distract from the important work of government in the meantime,” Sims said. “For that reason, I have decided to step away from my duties while the matter is resolved. On the advice of counsel, I will not be making any further statements.”
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A spokesman for the Ministry of Attorney General referred a request for comment to the B.C. Prosecution Service, which did not return a request for comment Friday.
“British Columbians should be appalled that NDP Minister Jinny Sims has resigned due to an RCMP investigation after months of John Horgan insisting that she and his government have done nothing wrong,” Opposition Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson said in an emailed statement.
“The fault lies at the feet of John Horgan and he needs to immediately explain to British Columbians why a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate an NDP minister.”
Wilkinson said the B.C. Liberals have been questioning Sims’ conduct in government and her community for months, particularly regarding allegations made by a whistleblower in Sims’ constituency office.
“John Horgan continued to dismiss legitimate concerns and now he must answer for this complete failure of leadership on his part,” Wilkinson said.
In May, Liberal House Leader Mary Polak sent documents related to the whistleblower’s allegations to the RCMP’s E Division as well as to the assistant deputy attorney general in charge of the Criminal Justice Branch.
Sims had been under fire based on allegations from fired constituency assistant Kate Gillie that she worked to circumvent the Freedom of Information Act, an act that fell under Sims’s ministry, and wrote sponsorship letters for Pakistani citizens that Gillie alleged were on a security watch list.
Sims has denied the allegations, describing them as part of a “difficult human resources” matter involving a former employee. A local MP involved in the visa applications said he’s unsure if eight of the 10 people Sims endorsed were rejected for security reasons and is unclear if they were on a security watch list.
Sims was first elected as the legislature member for Surrey-Panorama in the 2017 provincial election. Before getting into provincial politics, Sims was a New Democrat MP for the Metro Vancouver riding of Newton-North Delta.
— With files from Rob Shaw
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