Darryl Plecas

Plecas holds two degrees in Criminology from Simon Fraser University, and a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of British Columbia.

Plecas is a criminologist and emeritus faculty member at the University of the Fraser Valley, where he worked for 34 years, and helped turn the criminal justice program from a college diploma into a fully credited degree program.[http://www.abbynews.com/news/207950111.html "Gibson and Plecas prepare for new opportunities as Abbotsford MLAs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515061037/http://www.abbynews.com/news/207950111.html |date=2014-05-15 }}. Abbotsford News, May 20, 2013.{{cite news|last1=Ip|first1=Stephanie|title=Five things about new B.C. Speaker Darryl Plecas|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/five-things-about-new-b-c-speaker-darryl-plecas|accessdate=8 September 2017|agency=Vancouver Sun|issue=September 8, 2017}} During this time, he also served as a federally appointed prison judge.

Plecas served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Crime Reduction from June 10, 2013 to January 29, 2015. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health for Seniors on January 30, 2015.{{cite web|title=About MLA Plecas|url=http://darrylplecasmla.ca/about/|website=darryplecasmla.ca|accessdate=18 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119085332/http://darrylplecasmla.ca/about/|archive-date=19 November 2015|url-status=dead}}

At a Liberal caucus meeting held in July 2017, shortly after the government of Christy Clark lost power following its defeat in a confidence vote, Plecas called for Clark's resignation as party leader and threatened to quit the Liberal caucus and sit as an Independent MLA if she remained.

Later that month, Clark announced her resignation as leader. When Plecas revealed his role in Clark's ouster to The Abbotsford News, NDP house leader Mike Farnworth approached Plecas about becoming speaker. Had he accepted, it would have strengthened the hand of the NDP minority government.{{cite web|title=Abbotsford MLA Darryl Plecas named speaker|url=http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com/news/abbotsford-mla-darryl-plecas-named-speaker/|website=ladysmithchronicle.com|date=8 September 2017|accessdate=8 September 2017}} Clark had unsuccessfully pressed for a new election due to the prospect of an NDP speaker having to frequently use his casting vote to break 43-43 ties.

Plecas and Farnworth negotiated in secret for much of July before reaching a deal in late August, with only Premier John Horgan and a few senior staffers aware of their talks. Coincidentally, in early August, he was appointed the Official Opposition critic for BC Hydro. On September 8, 2017, he was acclaimed as Speaker.{{cite news|last1=Shaw|first1=Rob|title=MLA Darryl Plecas defects from B.C. Liberals to become Speaker|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/mla-darryl-plecas-defects-from-b-c-liberals-to-become-speaker|accessdate=8 September 2017|agency=Vancouver Sun|date=September 8, 2017}} On the following day, the Liberals expelled Plecas upon the request of the Abbotsford South BC Liberal riding association, and Plecas served out his term as an independent.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-liberals-expels-darryl-plecas-from-party-after-he-takes-role-as-speaker/article36221530/|title=B.C. Liberals expel Darryl Plecas from party after he takes role as Speaker|publisher=The Canadian Press|work=The Globe and Mail|date=September 9, 2017}}

Plecas later told The Province that he initially had no desire to be speaker, but changed his mind after concluding that there was no basis for Liberal claims that an NDP minority government supported by the Greens would be illegitimate. He said that with his earlier experience as a prison judge, he had the ability to be "impartial in difficult circumstances."{{cite news|url=https://theprovince.com/news/bc-politics/darryl-plecas-why-i-took-speakers-job|title=Darryl Plecas: Why I took the Speaker's job|author1=Mike Smyth|publisher=The Province|date=September 9, 2017}}

In the year after being appointed Speaker, Plecas grew suspicious of the conduct of two Permanent Officers of the B.C. Legislative Assembly: Clerk Craig James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz. He brought the matter before the Legislative Assembly Management Committee (LAMC), who urged the Speaker to publicize the corruption claims. The alleged crimes were reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police prior to the report's publication.{{cite news|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4931377/darryl-plecas-information-police-plecas-report/|title=Speaker Darryl Plecas says his office turned over information to police not in Plecas Report|author1=Richard Zussman|publisher='Global News'|date=February 6, 2019}} A criminal investigation was launched by the RCMP. The preliminary report on the issue was published on January 21, 2019.

The Plecas Report cited expenses "in the range of a million dollars"{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/plecas-report-craig-james-gary-lenz-full-report-1.4987795|title=8 jaw-dropping allegations from B.C. Speaker's report|author1=Rhianna Schmunk|publisher='CBC News'|date=January 22, 2019}} to the Legislative Assembly for personal use, in the period of 20 months between April 2017 and December 2018. James and Lenz charged the legislature for a variety of luxury goods and inappropriate travel costs.{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/more-fallout-from-the-plecas-report-protocol-watches-and-mlas-who-broke-the-law|title=More fallout from the Plecas report: 'Protocol' watches and MLAs who 'broke the law'|author1=Lori Culbert & Matt Robinson|publisher='The Vancouver Sun'|date=February 13, 2019}} They were also accused of questionably awarding themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in employment benefits (e.g. retirement allowances and life insurance). Plecas raised concern about employer malpractice by James and Lenz, and attempts to conceal information related to their high expenditures. James in particular was noted for the theft of alcohol, and the contents of departing Premier Christy Clark's parliamentary vault.{{cite news|url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/content/CommitteeDocuments/41st-parliament/LAMC/2019-01-21/2019-01-21_SpeakersReport.pdf|title=CONFIDENTIAL REPORT OF SPEAKER DARRYL PLECAS TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE CONCERNING ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT BY SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY|author1=Darryl Plecas|publisher=Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|date=January 21, 2019}}

James and Lenz denied the allegations of the report, and both submitted a written defense to the LAMC.{{cite news|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4942280/plecas-report-allegations-response/|title=Clerk and sergeant-at-arms defend themselves against allegations in leaked documents|author1=Richard Zussman|publisher=Global News|date=February 8, 2019}} James retired in May 2019, after an external administrative report conducted by former Supreme Court Justice Beverly McLachlin determined his actions amounted to professional misconduct in several areas. Though the same report did not substantiate claims of misconduct by Lenz, a subsequent external investigation found he had lied during the McLachlin investigation, and that he had further neglected his duties as outlined by the Police Act. Shown a copy of the report days before its public release, Lenz resigned.

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2017/Abbotsford South}}

{{British Columbia provincial election, 2013/Abbotsford South}}

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• [https://www.darrylplecasbcmla.ca/ Darryl Plecas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226212021/https://darrylplecasbcmla.ca/ |date=26 December 2021 }}

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Category:BC United MLAs

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian criminologists

Category:People from Abbotsford, British Columbia

Category:Simon Fraser University alumni

Category:Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Category:University of British Columbia alumni

Category:Year of birth uncertain

Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Category:Independent MLAs in British Columbia

Category:1950s births

Category:Academic staff of the University of the Fraser Valley