Premier David Eby says that if B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad won't bring forward blackmail allegations to the police, he will.
"He needs bring it to police," Eby said. "This is a serious allegation involving our democracy in our legislature."
Eby's comments come after an unsigned and undated internal party memo leaked on social media on Monday, June 16, in which B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad accused three Independent MLAs and their staff of trying to blackmail his colleagues and caucus staffers. The alleged goal was to get Conservative staff and MLAs to join the exiled MLAs and leave the Conservatives.
"The leader of the Conservatives alleges that MLAs are involved in criminal activity," he said. "It is a profound and serious allegation that also strikes at the core of this place behind me and the public's confidence in the fact that legislators and staff members need to be able to do their work for the people without interference."
Eby said these allegations need to be investigated.
"If [Rustad] fails to bring them to the police for whatever reason, then we will bring them to the police to make sure that this is properly and thoroughly investigated," he said.
Rustad's memo alleges that either the Independents themselves or someone connected to them secretly recorded phone calls and copied private texts, using that information in the blackmail attempts. He warns that he is considering bringing the matter to the RCMP and directs recipients not to talk about it publicly due to potential legal implications.
A spokesperson for Rustad declined to comment.
The leaked memo does not name the people involved with the blackmail attempts, but calls out three Independent MLAs and their staff.
Dallas Brodie, Tara Armstrong and Jordan Kealy left the B.C. Conservatives in March to sit as Independents after controversial comments by Brodie questioning evidence of children's graves at residential schools led to backlash within the party. Brodie and Armstrong have since formed One BC.
One B.C. called the allegations "Wild, false and defamatory" in a news release.
