Premier-designate John Horgan鈥檚 new department to manage its relationship between the B.C. NDP and Green Party is a political function that should not be added to public service staff, B.C. Liberal MLA Andrew Wilkinson says.

Wilkinson sent a letter Monday to the Comptroller General鈥檚 office, asking for an 鈥渦rgent opinion鈥� on the 鈥淐onfidence and Supply Agreement Secretariat,鈥� announced July 11 by Horgan as part of the premier鈥檚 office.

鈥淭he 鈥榓greement鈥� 鈥� is the political agreement upon which the incoming NDP minority government鈥檚 political survival is predicated, as Mr. Horgan鈥檚 NDP caucus alone does not have enough seats to survive a basic confidence motion, having failed to secure a plurality of seats in the recent provincial election,鈥� Wilkinson wrote.

鈥淏y placing this so-called Secretariat within the Office of the Premier, this political office would be funded and supported by B.C. Public Service resources鈥�. They are not employed to oversee and support political agreements between parties.鈥�

Wilkinson referred to the public service code of conduct that staff are not to 鈥渆ngage in political activities during working hours鈥� or use government facilities.

NDP spokesperson Jen Holmwood issued the following statement in response to Wilkinson鈥檚 letter:

鈥淥ur commitment to work with the BC Greens lays the foundation for our new government, and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e appointing a small team to support the policy priorities in the Confidence and Supply Agreement. This team will help deliver stable government that works for people, and we will follow any advice from the Comptroller-General to ensure the activities of the office fall within acceptable practices.鈥�

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