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friday, march 15, 2013
44 PAGEs
John Yap, staff concealed ethnic outreach plan by Tom Fletcher Black Press
Matthew Hoekstra photo Ken Gabour arrives early for his shift at the McDonald’s restaurant at Blundell Centre Wednesday. Gabour has Down syndrome and recently celebrated 20 years as an employee.
‘McDonald’s is his world’ Richmond man with Down syndrome found a home at Blundell Centre restaurant 20 years ago by Matthew Hoekstra Staff Reporter
T
o Ken Gabour, he’s the meat person, grilling hamburgers during the lunch
rush at the Blundell Centre McDonald’s. To many staff and regulars, he’s the man with the big heart.
Gabour recently celebrated his 20th year at the fast food outlet, where he’s touched many lives with
his positive personality. “I’m very very proud of him,” said sister Colleen Wright, who drives him to and from work every Monday and Wednesday. “He’s come a long way. He works hard at what he does.” Gabour, 40, has Down syndrome, a congenital disorder causing delays and limitations in physical and intellectual development. At work he faces challenges in communicating and concentrating, but according to his boss, he does his job as well as anyone. See Page 3
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A review of the B.C. Liberal government’s ethnic outreach strategy has found two “serious breaches” of public service standard of conduct, and evidence that former cabinet minister John Yap was aware of attempts to conceal improper use of government resources. The report identifies former ministry communications director Brian Bonney as spending about half of his work time on partisan activities. Bonney was paid $124,000 over 18 months, when a group of premier’s office staff and other government employees developed a plan to hire three ethnic outreach contractors. A 2012 strategy memo leaked to the NDP detailed a plan to organize ethnicthemed events, apologies for historic wrongs such as the head tax on Chinese immigrants, and efforts to compile lists of ethnic community members for use by the B.C. Liberal Party in the coming election campaign. Premier Christy Clark tabled the report John Yap. by three deputy ministers in the legislature Thursday, vowing to take action on all its recommendations. Clark told reporters the B.C. Liberal Party has paid $70,000 to the government, roughly half of Bonney’s salary plus the amount paid to the contractor. Clark’s deputy chief of staff Kim Haakstad, who organized meetings and distributed the strategy memo in September 2012, has already resigned. The investigation reviewed 10,000 e-mails from personal and government accounts, and interviewed 27 people over two weeks. One of the e-mails is to Yap and Bonney from Yap’s executive assistant, Mike Lee, referring to the hiring of three contractors. “It is absolutely critical that we do not leave any evidence in us helping them through this application,” Lee wrote on his personal e-mail account, to the personal accounts of the others. Yap replied: “I appreciate each of your efforts with the three [requests for qualifications]. Great job. Let’s now hope for the best.” Clark said Yap will not be reappointed to cabinet “at this time.” and another staff member, later identified as Lee, has resigned. Bonney left the public service in February, days before the strategy document and minutes of a meeting called by Haakstad were leaked to the NDP opposition.
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