Vancouver Island MLA Adam Walker booted from NDP caucus after internal probe

A New Democrat member of the British Columbia Legislature representing a riding on Vancouver Island has been turfed from the party's ranks, Premier David Eby announced on Sunday.

The news came in a brief statement outlining the ouster of Adam Walker, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum, from the NDP caucus, but offered few specifics.

The statement from Eby's office said his dismissal came about as the result of an internal investigation sparked by an unspecified human resources complaint.

Walker has represented the riding for the past three years, and will now sit as an independent in the legislature.

"This thorough investigation found misconduct on the part of MLA Walker," the statement said of Walker, who had served as the parliamentary secretary for the sustainable economy up until Sunday.

"As a result, Mr. Walker will no longer be a member of the government caucus and he will no longer be a parliamentary secretary."

The statement said no further details would be released because the issue involves a human resources matter.

Complaint from staffer

On Monday, at a news conference in Richmond, Eby took multiple questions from reporters over the matter and offered a few more details.

He said a complaint was made by a staff person in Walker's office in July, which initiated a formal process. Eby said the results of that process, finalized recently, left him with "no choice" but to remove Walker from caucus.

He did not divulge details of the complaint, but confirmed it did not involve sexual harassment and was not criminal in nature.

Eby characterized the matter as "incredibly challenging," noting it falls under the party's collective agreement. "We followed a thorough process," he said. 

Walker, who did not immediately respond to request for comment, was elected to the provincial legislature in 2020.

A brief biography on the B.C. government website said he spent two years serving as an elected councillor in Qualicum Beach, B.C., before moving into provincial politics. It says he has also owned and operated a local technology business for 15 years, and runs a small farm alongside his wife.

The first-term MLA recently made headlines after he wrestled a deer to save his dog, he told CBC's All Points West last Monday.

His departure from the NDP caucus leaves the governing party with 56 seats in the provincial legislature.

The Official Opposition, B.C. United, holds 26 seats in the legislature. Meanwhile the B.C. Green Party and Conservative Party of British Columbia each hold two, the latter doubling its seat count last week after Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South, defected from B.C. United to join the Conservatives.