A candidate for the BC Conservative leadership will remain in the running for the party’s top job, after an emergency meeting was called Friday to discuss the possibility of kicking Kerry-Lynne Findlay out of the race.
CJDC-TV News learned the party was considering launching an internal investigation into allegations against Findlay that stem from when she was a Member of Parliament.
A cloud of secrecy and alleged misconduct was hanging over the leadership race Friday, just one day before members are set to vote on the party’s next leader.
The development prompted the BC Conservatives Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) to hold an emergency meeting to address the situation, with some even weighing whether to remove Findlay from the race altogether.
According to a social media post, she is accused of receiving approximately $75,000 in money and services from an unknown company. There are also claims she may have promised federal contracts in exchange.
A statement from the Commissioner of Canada Elections’ office says it is aware of the report about Findlay but it doesn’t confirm receiving a complaint or initiating an investigation because of confidentiality provisions in the federal Elections Act.
However, Findlay’s campaign is pushing back. Campaign manager Chris Dyson says the candidate denies the allegations and has not received any formal notice of an investigation from Elections Canada.
Dyson said, “We believe that the allegations are a political hit piece on Ms. Findlay, a former federal cabinet minister and practicing lawyer, at a most sensitive juncture, the day before ballots are issued.”
Findlay’s campaign said earlier this week that the “unproven and anonymous” claims were leaked to the media at the most politically damaging moment possible.
But after the emergency meeting Friday afternoon, the leadership race committee says it doesn’t have enough credible evidence to take action against Findlay.
The statement from LEOC says Findlay has “not provided any substantive response or co-operated” and it has reached out to investigators from the commissioner’s office, but has received no response.
LEOC says its “goal is to provide the membership with as much information as possible and to act in the party’s best interests.”
Sources within the party tell CJDC-TV News, there was concern that removing a candidate at this stage could cause significant divisions within the Conservative caucus, potentially destabilizing the party.
Findlay is expected to hold a press conference on Monday at 10 a.m. to ‘share a campaign update.’
Voting set to begin Saturday with the new leader being declared at a convention on May 30.
With files from the Canadian Press