The New Democrats want answers from B.C. Jobs Minister Pat Bell about an email he sent to the Liberal party's vice-president, who was lobbying for a Chinese investor in Prince Rupert.
NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston said Wednesday the optics of Bell's email to Bill Belsey stink. Belsey was working as a lobbyist for companies owned by Chinese investor and businessman Ritao Ni, whose Sun Wave Forest Products was involved in the Skeena Cellulose pulp mill deal in Prince Rupert.
Ralston said Bell needs to be asked if his relations with Belsey, a former Prince Rupert-area Liberal MLA and current Liberal party vice-president, played any part in the business deal.
Ralston did not outright call for Bell's resignation but said the situation is similar to that of former Liberal minister of state for multiculturalism Harry Bloy, who resigned from cabinet last March after saying he provided an internal email to a third party.
Bell's ministry issued a statement saying the shared information was an overview of Chinese-based media reports on Ni and his involvement with the Prince Rupert property. The information was already well-known in Prince Rupert, the statement said.
