The NDP is calling for an independent reviewer to examine how Jason Matthew Walker got hired by a number of public bodies without anyone apparently checking his credentials.
Health critic Adrian Dix questions how Walker, who faces criminal charges for lying about his qualifications, held jobs with the B.C. Ambulance Service, the B.C. Coroners Service and the 91原创 Island Health Authority before opening his own counselling clinic in Victoria.
"These are important positions that he got with responsibility for children, responsibility for seniors," Dix said. "And I think that what it reflects, strangely enough, is not the stuff in the resum脙漏, it's hiring practices gone awry."
Walker, 31, was charged last week with fraud, making a false affidavit and uttering a forged document. Police allege that he falsely claimed to have two doctoral degrees, and that he lied about his credentials in a sworn affidavit. He is slated to appear in court Jan. 21.
The government confirmed yesterday that Walker worked briefly for the B.C. Ambulance Service and the B.C. Coroners Service in 2005. Court documents show that Walker later stated in his resum脙漏 that he had been a deputy regional coroner. But the government said Walker spent only a few months as a coroner's agent, which is considered a training position.
91原创 Island Health Authority has also confirmed that Walker worked there from 2006 to 2008. His last post was as manager of residential services at Glengarry Hospital, a Victoria care home.
"What was VIHA doing, what was the coroners service doing, the ambulance service and the government doing?" Dix said. "How did he end up in these positions is something they need to reflect on ... And they seem not to be taking any responsibility for that."
Dix said an independent reviewer should be asked to look at the circumstances in which Walker was hired, and whether anyone checked his resum脙漏.
"There may be legitimate explanations, but someone independent has to take a look at it, given how senior his friends and supporters appear to have been," he said.
The University of Victoria has already indicated it plans to review its hiring practices in light of the Walker case. Walker taught four courses at the school in 2006 as an assistant adjunct professor in the School of Child and Youth Care.
Citizens' Services Minister Ben Stewart, who has responsibility for the public service, was unavailable to respond to Dix's comments yesterday.
