NDP leadership candidate John Horgan said today that Premier-designate Christy Clark must appoint a judicial inquiry into the sale of BC Rail and make integrity a top priority of the B.C. government by implementing a real program of open government reforms.

Said Horgan:

Christy Clark takes office with a well-earned cloud of mistrust hanging over her BC Liberal government.

British Columbians want to know: will she seize the opportunity to implement meaningful change that puts the public interest first, or will she continue the Liberal pattern of putting friends and insiders first?

Horgan set out three fundamental changes he says Clark must make to begin to restore the public’s trust in government:

• Appoint a judicial inquiry into the BC Liberal government’s decision to pay $6 million to cover the legal fees of government insiders David Basi and Bob Virk and to answer the open questions related to the role of BC Liberal politicians and friends in the sale of BC Rail.

• Prohibit direct family members of any member of cabinet or of senior government officials from accepting payment directly or indirectly to attempt to influence government decision-making, and

• Adopt a broad program to open up government and provide the means for effectively investigating government impropriety.