There is more turmoil within the BC Conservative Party after it’s been revealed that a former staffer allegedly hired a private investigator to spy on sitting MLAs, a journalist, and those who have previously worked with the party.
Former party president Aisha Estey says she and a dozen others are being targeted by a private investigator that was allegedly hired by someone within the party.
“This is a new low,” Estey said. “I suppose I should have expected it.
Estey says she received a phone call Wednesday, informing her that she and multiple others had been probed by a private investigator.
She says the party’s current president informed her that Elaine Allan – a former executive director for the BC Conservatives – had hired the investigator and allegedly used party funds for payment.
It was also reported that a lawyer who has been retained by the party also alleges that Allan had hired the investigator while assuming her role as executive director.
Estey says the party board had no knowledge of this and did not authorize it.
CityNews has reached out to Allan to respond to the allegations but did not receive a response. Along with Estey are around a dozen others who were being investigated. These include four sitting MLAs who have either left or are still with the party. Among those are Claire Rattee, Áʼa꞉líya Warbus, Brennan Day, former party manager Phillip Dippenaar, CHEK News political correspondent Rob Shaw, and former executive director Angelo Isidorou, who have all confirmed that they were investigated.
The timing of these allegations could not be worse for the BC Conservatives, and leader Kerry Lynn Findlay has already made it clear she’s not going to step down from her role anytime soon.
Findlay was asked about the investigation Thursday but says she knew nothing about it.
“I had no knowledge of it; I was unaware of it. They are just allegations at this point,” Findlay said.
“Yes, the party is looking into it.”
Estey did not mince words when speaking about her brief tenure working with Findlay and called the former MP’s call for unity “lip service.”
“Good leaders take responsibility for everything that happens under their watch, and if they don’t know what’s happening under their watch, then they should recognize that and take some accountability,” Estey said.
She also describes the investigation as violating and concerning.
“It’s very unsettling,” she said. “You think back like, oh, did I feel like someone was watching me on my way to work?”
All of this comes within days of a scheduled byelection for Abbotsford-Mission, where Kerry Lynn Findlay is running for a seat in the Legislature. Only time will tell if that’s the only riding in which we will be seeing campaign signs.
source: CityNews
