Minister quits over ethnic memo

Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap takes questions last week about what he described as an 'old planning document' created before he was named minister responsible for multiculturalism last fall.

Tom Fletcher/Black Press

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VICTORIA – Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap has resigned from the B.C. cabinet pending the outcome of an investigation into government conduct on outreach to ethnic communities.

Premier Christy Clark told the legislature Monday that Yap is stepping aside from his duties as advanced education and multiculturalism minister until an internal investigation is complete. Clark also apologized to the legislature.

B.C. Liberal MLAs held an extended caucus meeting Monday to deal with the fallout from a leaked memo describing use government resources to boost the party's popularity with ethnic communities.

Cabinet ministers held a hastily arranged meeting in Vancouver Sunday, and emerged united in support of Clark.

One disputed point is a plan to apologize in the legislature for the "head tax" on Chinese immigrants, imposed by Ottawa from 1885 to 1935. Such apologies are proposed in the strategy document as "quick wins" before the May 14 provincial election.

Vancouver-Fraserview MLA Kash Heed objected to the move on the weekend, telling CKNW radio that such an apology would be "hollow."

In a terse statement issued Friday afternoon, Clark announced that she has accepted the resignation of her long-time assistant, Kim Haakstad, who distributed the ethnic voter plan to party and government staff via their personal e-mail addresses.

Haakstad, Clark's deputy chief of staff, and "outreach" staff from the premier's office are subject to an internal investigation ordered by Clark Thursday. John Dyble, head of the public service, is to examine whether government communications resources were redirected to help deliver ethnic votes to the B.C. Liberal Party.

A January 2012 draft strategy memo leaked to the NDP opposition discusses ways to improve the governing party's popularity with immigrant communities, including recruiting new members and spokespeople to call and write to ethnic media outlets. Clark issued an apology for the document, read in the legislature Thursday by Deputy Premier Rich Coleman.

"The document did not recognize there are lines that cannot be crossed in conducting this outreach [to ethnic communities] and it is unacceptable," the statement says. "The language in this draft document and some of the recommendations are absolutely inappropriate."