New Westminster, B.C. (July 6, 2023): Earlier today, BC’s special prosecutor released a statement in relation to New Westminster School Trustee Gurveen Dhaliwal which stated, in part, “the Special Prosecutor concluded that Ms. Dhaliwal’s presence at the voting place as a scrutineer likely contravened the provisions of the LGA [Local Government Act]. As a candidate, Ms. Dhaliwal was prohibited from being present in a polling place other than for the purpose of casting her ballot.”
Notwithstanding this likely contravention, the special prosecutor did not recommend charges against Ms. Dhaliwal.In October 2022, Trustee Dhaliwal sat as a scrutineer for Community First City Council candidate Ruby Campbell who was subsequently elected to Council. Prior to the election, all civic candidates were advised by New Westminster’s Chief Electoral Officer that candidates cannot be present at any polling station other than to cast their own ballots.Candidate (now Councillor) Campbell’s appointment of Trustee Dhaliwal to serve as her scrutineer triggered a costly chain of events that have since involved investigations by a number of public authorities.
Campbell’s decision resulted in the New West Police and the BC Prosecutor’s Office having to expend their resources to bring this case to a conclusion. School District 40 was also impacted when Ms. Dhaliwal had to step down as the Chair of the Board pending the results of the investigation.
The BC Ministry of Labour was likewise impacted when Ms. Dhaliwal was appointed by Order in Council as a Ministerial Aide, but then had to be placed on administrative leave once it became known that a special prosecutor had been appointed.
Coun. Campbell has yet to fully acknowledge her role in this affair and the investigations that followed. It’s time for her and Ms. Dhaliwal to personally issue an immediate public apology to everyone who has been impacted and acknowledge the significant staff time and resources and cost to at least two public agencies.
To date, we have yet to hear directly from either politician regarding this issue. Rather, the only public statements made have been issued by their legal representatives or the President of Community First.
With the police investigation and the work of the special prosecutor now complete, we certainly hope we are one step closer to closing this chapter in New West politics and moving on to other important matters facing our community.
MEDIA: If you want to get a different perspective on this, listen to Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer as he appears on the Simi Sara Show today to discuss the Dhaliwal issue. Click on the link below to listen to the interview – it’s very interesting.