B.C. Conservatives Used a Private Investigator, Party Lawyer Finds
The B.C. Conservatives had a private investigator engaged on the authority of former executive director Elaine Allan. That is the finding of Bruce Hallsor, a King's counsel lawyer retained by the party to examine the claims. The Globe and Mail
Hallsor said party president Mauro Francis retained him on Tuesday to determine whether an investigator had been hired. He delivered a "very preliminary report" on Wednesday afternoon. He would name no names. He declined to identify the investigator or those investigated.
Two caucus figures say they were among the targets. Caucus means the elected MLAs from the same party. Claire Rattee said she was told on Wednesday that she had been targeted. Rattee issued a critique of leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay's leadership this week. Brennan Day, who recently quit the Conservative caucus, said he was also among a group of MLAs being investigated.
The list extends beyond caucus. CHEK journalist Rob Shaw was among those investigated by the private investigator, along with other current and former MLAs. CHEK News
Findlay addressed the matter at the Union of BC Municipalities convention. She told delegates she had no knowledge of a private investigator being hired. On her leadership, she said "I'm not going anywhere." Western Standard
Allan served briefly as executive director until being relieved of her duties last month. She is a friend of Findlay who took over Isidorou's post. National Observer
The structure matters here. Think of a party like an organization with three jobs. The leader directs caucus and the public campaign. The president speaks for the extra-parliamentary party, the party outside the legislature. The executive director runs operations and holds spending authority. Hallsor was retained by Francis, not by the leader's office, and his mandate was to establish whether an engagement occurred. For practitioners, the next questions are procedural. What written authorization existed. What funds were used. What instructions were given. What information was collected, held and distributed.
The broader context here is caucus management under pressure. Rattee's critique of Findlay's leadership and Day's departure from caucus are now linked, in their accounts, to surveillance by their own party apparatus. A leader can remove critics from caucus or cabinet roles. Use of an outside investigator against sitting members raises different issues around trust, privilege and internal due process. It also complicates recruitment and retention. MLAs weigh whether dissent will be handled through house and caucus channels.
Looking at what this means for Findlay, the immediate test is separation. She has denied knowledge of the hiring. Allan's personal proximity to Findlay keeps that denial central. Party staff act with delegated authority, and opponents inside and outside the party will probe where that delegation ended. Francis, as president, now owns part of the file through the Hallsor retainer. How the preliminary findings are completed, whether they are shared with caucus, and whether any material is returned or destroyed will shape the next round.
In my view, the media element widens the exposure. Investigation of a working legislative journalist invites scrutiny from the press gallery and from UBCM delegates who deal with both the party and the media. It also invites questions about purpose. Opposition research on opponents is routine. Collection on reporters and on one's own MLAs is not treated the same way in Victoria. Expect attention to focus less on the politics of the leadership dispute and more on governance controls that allowed the hiring to proceed.
