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Opinion: Considerations for the Investigation and Chair Selection

An Opinion Piece by Susan Hogarth

The LNC is taking action to investigate credible allegations of financial self-dealing from the resigning Chair, Angela McArdle. This could represent $45,000 in stealth payments to her own household after the LNC voted to terminate her partner’s earlier contract. The investigation could extend to her actions with other Party expenses and to dealings with nonprofits and political PACs controlled or administered by herself.

In addition, the LNC has allowed the Chair and/or staff to accumulate over $80,000 in credit card debt, a high-interest loan that represents close to ten per cent of last year’s income. These expenditures will require a careful audit and accountability.

This amounts to something like a crime scene in a police station where anyone present could have been guilty or complicit, including those responsible for the investigation. Most will not be guilty of anything but placing too much trust in the Chair, but we can’t know that until after the investigation. Every member of the board and of staff will have to be questioned in this investigation.

To complicate matters, the LNC will need to appoint both a Chair and a Vice Chair (due to a previous resignation).

Two key guidelines should be obvious here – and you should ask all LNC members to formally sign on to both:

(1) There must be party members from outside the LNC involved in the investigation. At some point we will likely require the services of an outside forensic accountant, but a preliminary investigation can be started now.

(2) No one who has been a member of the LNC or staff while McArdle was Chair should be selected for Chair or VC at this time. If they are cleared during the investigation they should then be considered eligible, but not before.

This is not presupposing either guilt or innocence, but is simple fiduciary duty to the organization. It is lack of such basic precautionary measures that has brought us to this unfortunate place, and we need to move forward in a professional, respectful, and ethical fashion.

The LNC can appoint a temporary Chair/VC if necessary, and then fill the roles more permanently after the investigation, but pending the investigation the pool of candidates must not include those whose level of involvement in the resigning Chair’s activities has not yet been established.

Ask your LNC rep to think carefully about their responsibilities and to follow these guidelines. If they vote against including outside members in the investigation or they choose a sitting LNC member or employee as Chair, remember that vote.

We will get past this difficult time if we are willing to demand transparency and accountability from those serving on the Board. Individual LNC members will be judged by the membership based on their response to this financial and legal crisis.

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