VICTORIA—The B.C. Liberals are rewarding a minister who broke executive compensation rules and then hid his involvement for months, say the New Democrats.

“Minister Amrik Virk broke executive compensation rules while on the board at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, then he went to extraordinary lengths to hide his actions from the public. But rather than removing him from cabinet, the B.C. Liberals are once again protecting their friends, shuffling him to another portfolio,” said New Democrat advanced education spokesperson Kathy Corrigan.

“Minister Virk treated the public and the legislature with disdain during his time on this file, and now the premier is rewarding him with a new cabinet post.”

Corrigan also noted that Minister Virk has shown himself to be uniquely unqualified for his new role.

“It is unfathomable that a minister who has hidden information from the public should be selected over all other government MLAs to be the minister in charge of Freedom of Information; and that the same minister, who blamed his problems accessing email for his inability to hand over relevant evidence in the KPU compensation investigation, should be our new minister of technology,” said Corrigan.

In light of the confirmation today from Rob Mingay, the assistant deputy minister charged with investigating executive payments at KPU, that Minister Virk was actively involved in compensation rule-breaking, the premier should have acted immediately to relieve Minister Virk of his cabinet post.

“Minister Virk should have done the honourable thing months ago and stepped down. Failing that, the premier had a duty to the public to step in and fire him. Instead, the B.C. Liberals protected their friends, and put the people of this province last.”