VANCOUVER — Opposition New Democrat leader John Horgan is calling for a public inquiry into the firings of eight health researchers three years ago.
Horgan wants the public probe after documents revealed the government never sent evidence of alleged wrongdoing to RCMP, even as officials announced the force was investigating.
The documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show police tried repeatedly to obtain information that never came, and officers eventually closed the file in July 2014.
Horgan says a public inquiry would force officials to testify, unlike when labour lawyer Marcia McNeil looked into the firings but several employees refused to answer questions.
Eight Ministry of Health researchers were either fired or suspended after an investigation into the relationship between university researchers seeking grants and employees working on B.C.'s PharmaCare program.
One of the researchers, co-op student Roderick MacIsaac, later killed himself, while other researchers pursued legal action and settled out of court.
