Image Credit: YouTube / TNRD

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: What did Sukh Gill do wrong at the TNRD? Nothing and everything

Feb 19, 2021 | 11:32 AM

BRILLIANT, LONG-TERM INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING by Jessica Wallace and Kamloops This Week has revealed the extent to which Sukh Gill was raiding the public purse while CAO of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

In addition to his annual salary of more than $200,000, Gill charged more than $500,000 in goodies to his TNRD credit card over a five-year period.

That includes a trickle of hundreds of tiny expenses like coffees and meals, and huge torrential expenses like a champagne room in Whistler during a conference.

Gill got another cool half-million as a payout upon his so-called retirement.

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Wallace and KTW should be lauded for their persistence in bringing this extravagance to the light of day when there were some at the TNRD who clearly wanted to keep it buried.

You have a right to this information. It’s all coming out of your bank accounts, of course.

The embarrassment Gill has brought on the regional district is magnified by the fact that, strictly speaking, he did nothing wrong.

By all accounts, his spending did not break the law and it did not contravene the TNRD’s corporate rules, even if it did breach all bounds of respect for the taxpayer.

Sukh Gill took exactly as much rope as he was given – nothing more.

Of the many questions raised by KTW’s reporting, one sticks out: how much longer could this have gone on?

Gill retired about a year ago after spending time on leave and then on vacation.

His retirement came after Worksafe BC investigated the TNRD’s office regarding the issues of workplace bullying and harassment.

The investigation and the retirement have never been explicitly connected, but clearly, this was not the case of a public servant riding off into the sunset just as he always planned.

Had the workplace dischord not been drawn to the attention of Worksafe BC, would TNRD ratepayers still be getting taken to the cleaners?

There’s only one person who can answer that question. He’s in the champagne room.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.