Former Clark aide quits again over ethnic outreach scandal

Former B.C. government communications director Brian Bonney has resigned a second time, in the wake of the B.C. Liberals' ethnic outreach scandal.

Bonney stepped down as the CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association of B.C. on Tuesday, less than a month into the job.

He left his role as the province’s director of communications shortly before the NDP leaked the Liberal's ethnic outreach plan, and went to work for the association on Feb. 25.

The Dyble report into the scandal found Bonney had spent as much as half his time in government working on partisan activities. Premier Christy Clark said the Liberal Party had cut a cheque for $70,000 to repay part of Bonney's salary.

He is the fourth person to step down because of the scandal, along with former Multiculturalism Minister John Yap, the premier's former deputy chief of staff, Kim Haakstad, and government staffer, Mike Lee.

Bonney "tendered his resignation in light of the Dyble Report, which he felt compromised his ability to work in the best interests of the residential construction industry," the association said in a statement.

The report was released last week by Clark's deputy minister John Dyble. It found a number of serious breaches of the government's code of conduct.

The outreach plan, which was leaked to the NDP, laid out the Liberal's pre-election strategy for "quick wins" in ethnic communities. It suggested government staffers co-ordinate their activities with the Liberal party to help them woo voters in key ethnic communities.

Clark has apologized several times to the province's ethnic communities for the document, and said the government would adopt all of the recommendations.