B.C. NDP calls for Virk’s resignation over Kwantlen compensation report

VICTORIA – The leader of B.C.’s Opposition New Democrats says Advanced Education Minister must resign after a government report found he served on a university board of directors that knowingly broke disclosure requirements.

NDP Leader John Horgan says if Virk doesn’t quit himself, the Liberal premier should demand his resignation, since Virk is now in charge of post-secondary education in the province.

On Wednesday, the Finance Ministry released a report that found Virk and the rest of the board at Kwantlen Polytechnic University failed to meet government disclosure requirements by topping up salaries of senior executives.

Virk has said he was humbled by the report’s findings and could have done a better job, but he has not resigned.

The report investigated Kwantlen hiring practices dating back at least three years for a university vice-president and president, at a time when Virk, a former Mountie, was not an elected politician.

The report found Kwantlen offered former vice president Anne Lavack a $50,000 pre-employment contract without the board’s knowledge, but in 2012 knowingly approved a similar $50,000 pre-employment offer to current university president Alan Davis.