"I was informed yesterday that there will be independent audit into matters relating to Mr. Walls that were identified through an internal audit conducted by the Comptroller General's Office," said former cabinet minister Gordon Hogg in a news release issued from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Hogg then went on to try to salvage what he could by claiming that his resignation was in the best parliamentary tradition of accepting ministerial responsibility. That makes it sound like something happened in his ministry that requires him to take responsibility even though he was caught unaware. Doug Walls was a well connected BC Liberal who once had an office above Hogg's constituency office. He was acting CEO of the agency that was about to take responsibility for over 40% of Hogg's ministerial budget. It strains credibility to ask people to believe that Hogg was unaware of the depth of Walls' involvement in his ministry; there is nothing honourable about resigning for incompetence which is the most generous of several interpretations.

If resignation is in the best tradition for Hogg, then what is best for Premier Gordon Campbell? Campbell knew Walls, not only as the guy from whom he leased his car, not only as the relative by marriage whose home he stayed in while in Prince George, not only as acting CEO of a major government initiative, but also as a past president of a BC Liberal Constituency association. Campbell is kidding himself if he thinks he can wash his hands of this scandal by having Hogg walk away with the baggage and make claims about doing the honourable thing.

This story has legs. How much did Campbell know and when? What will the independent auditor discover and when will that be made public? The auditor will be well advised to look at expenditures on information technology and other transition costs in the Ministry.

It will be Monday before we learn whether Gary Collins survives the cabinet shuffle. There is every reason to shuffle him. Tax cuts have not paid for themselves, Collins projection for a surplus in fiscal 2004-05 is less than half of the money government expected to "save" through further cuts in Hogg's ministry, and Collins is linked to the federal Liberals so as to threaten the stability of Campbell's coalition as the Conservatives react to a double standard. If Collins remains as Finance Minister, he had better revise his budget in light of the instability and chaos in the Ministry of Children and Family Development. That is the Ministry which was identified in Campbell's New Era Document as requiring stability. Some stability, some government!