B.C. will forgive most of the $460,000 legal debt incurred by former communications staffer Brian Bonney defending himself for his part in the “quick wins” scandal that engulfed Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberal government in 2013, according to the Finance Ministry.
The scandal centred around a multiculturalism outreach plan that was found to have inappropriately used government resources for partisan purposes.
There were staff resignations, and John Yap stepped down from a ministerial portfolio.
Bonney spent a good deal of his time as a staffer working on the outreach program, and was charged by a special prosecutor. He pleaded guilty to breach of trust in 2017, and received a nine-month conditional sentence.
Until recently, Bonney still owed the province for his legal fees. On July 10, the government issued a cabinet order to forgive $340,000, with Bonney paying the remaining $120,000.
The Finance Ministry confirmed these figures and explained the rule.
“Under the Excluded Employees (Legal Proceedings) Indemnity Regulation, when an employee is criminally convicted, they are required to repay costs related to the indemnity coverage they’ve received from the province as an employee,” the Ministry says. “In this case, the costs paid through the indemnity coverage were legal fees.”
The ministry said it settled with Bonney for him to pay $120,000, but would not share any more about the agreement, citing privacy. Black Press Media contacted Bonney’s lawyer for comment, but did not receive a reply.
Attorney General Niki Sharma said he had to sell his house to make the payment.
Sharma called it a “long saga,” and said the decision to strike a deal with Bonney at this point is to “provide that human with some grace” and not put them into poverty. But it’s still a good deal of money for them.
“It’s not much forgiveness in the end,” Sharma said.