Twenty Questions for Carole James
The revelation that NDP candidate Doug Routley was under investigation by the RCMP and a special prosecutor earlier this year is raising serious questions for NDP leader Carole James.
If this was a BC Liberal candidate, NDP candidates Mike Farnworth and Leonard Krog would rightfully be raising questions. To quote Mike Farnworth: “The public deserves answers."
HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD BE ASKED
- When were you or members of your party first made aware of complaints about Mr. Routley’s conduct?
- Who made these complaints, who were they made to, were the Caucus Whip, Chair or other party officials made aware and what actions did any of those individuals take to address or report the complaints?
- What was the date you were informed Mr. Routley was under RCMP investigation and why didn’t you make it public?
- When were you first aware that a special prosecutor was appointed and why didn’t you make it public?
- When did the investigation start and when did it end?
- Once you were aware of this issue, what steps did you take to address the situation?
- You said that you have not spoken to Mr. Routley directly about this issue. So who informed you of the investigation, and when did that individual know about the investigation and/or the special prosecutor?
- How many other individuals in your organization knew about this investigation and/or the special prosecutor, who are they, when did they know, and who informed them?
- You said “Doug was advised by his lawyer that ... he should wait until the allegations were [proven to be] unfounded,” before telling people. If this is true, how did these other individuals find out?
- If people should not speak out about allegations of this nature on the advice of a lawyer, why do you believe people should ignore the advice of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General and speak about matters that are before the courts?
- Does it remain your position that allegations of the type described are “a personal issue” and should not be disclosed, and what other allegations do you believe fall into this category?
- Do you think Mr. Routley did the right thing by not disclosing that he was under RCMP investigation and that a special prosecutor had been appointed?
- Was your decision to not release this information an attempt to get through the election without it being revealed – or at least until the candidate cut-off?
- When did the special prosecutor make his ruling, and on what basis did the special prosecutor decide not to proceed with charges (i.e. was the allegation disproven, lack of evidence, low likelihood of conviction)?
- Will you request that Mr. Routley authorize that the special prosecutor’s ruling or reasons be released?
- Was this issue disclosed in your party’s screening or vetting of this candidate for this campaign? Were Gerry Scott or Jeff Fox made aware of this investigation prior to or during the vetting process, and if so, what actions did they take?
- Given that John Les' issue was concerning activities that took place prior to him being an MLA, and had no relationship to his ministerial duties, how is that different than Mr. Routley’s situation which took place while he was an active MLA?
- Given your comment that the investigation was related to divorce proceedings, will you request that Mr. Routley release his family law records that are currently noted on court databases but not available to the public?
- Is this the first time that Mr. Routley has been under RCMP investigation?
- Was Mr. Routley under RCMP investigation when he chose to participate in the “Men Speak Up: Ending Violence Together” video that encourages people to “speak out about violence against women”? http://www.endingviolence.org/node/664
