Hastings Racecourse immigration allegations first surfaced while Liberals in office, claims AG David Eby
Credit to Author: Derrick Penner| Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:26:06 +0000
Attorney General David Eby claims he first brought up rumours about improprieties on the Hastings Park Racecourse backstretch with his predecessor while he was still in opposition.
Eby, speaking with reporters, said he wrote to B.C. Liberal MLA Mike de Jong, who then held the office and wrote back to him “to say that he looked into it and he was confident in what was happening at the race course.”
However, de Jong, in the letter he wrote to Eby, which was released by the Attorney General’s office, said “the matters you have raised have been thoroughly reviewed by an independent third party,” which found the branch’s horse racing unit operated within its mandate.
The letter makes no mention of immigration issues, but says that the independent reviewer, former auditor general George Morfitt, “was directed to give specific consideration to the allegations, as well as to evaluate general operations and policies of the (horse racing unit) with respect to drug use in horse racing.”
Neither Eby nor his office released the letter he wrote to de Jong.
De Jong, on Tuesday, was out of the country and unable to respond, according to the opposition caucus communications department.
In a statement only attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, the opposition said “as there is an continuing investigation, we don’t know what facts are relevant to the case and we are not in a position to speculate.”
“What’s important is that the process, which Minister Eby is accountable for, is handled appropriately.”
B.C. Attorney General David Eby.
As minister, however, Eby said he asked the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch to look into a whistleblower’s complaint that came to his office last October with similar allegations, which saw the Canada Border Services Agency pick up the investigation and resulted in last Monday’s immigration raid on the track.
Documents in that case revealed allegations of corruption with at least one Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch employee, of Mexican nationals working without proper documentation and trainers who asked few questions about the paperwork of new hires.
“It’s surprising to me there are such different results depending on who is in government and who is looking at the issue,” Eby said. “Perhaps it is not that surprising, given what’s been uncovered about money laundering.”.
Eby said that the CBSA has not concluded its investigation, which includes both immigration and criminal matters.
Once that is complete, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch will continue its work, Eby said.
“My understanding is the investigation will be looking at all the licenses issued at Hastings Racecourse to make sure they are all properly issued and there is backing documentation for them in order to determine the extent of the problem,” Eby said.
At this point, what is known, Eby said, is that at least one Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch employee is being investigated on allegations of falsifying information on applications for licenses to work in horse racing.
In exchange for a fee of $600 to $1,000, the CBSA alleges the inspector was submitting applications for provincial licenses that represented Mexican workers as horse owners, who are exempt from requirements for work permits, and not for the occupations they would be doing which did require permission to work in Canada
That is according to documents filed in admissibility hearings for seven of the detained workers.
“There may be other individuals who are not gaming workers or other gaming workers involved,” Eby said.
In the meantime, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch employee under investigation has been suspended with pay, Eby said.
The raid at Hastings Park on Aug. 19, which horse owners and trainers criticized as overly aggressive, saw up to 26 track workers from Mexico detained, seven of whom were held in custody pending admissibility hearings.