The BC Prosecution Service announced on Thursday it would not be going ahead with criminal charges against New West Schools Trustee Gurveen Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal, who ran with the Community First slate, was spotted acting as a scrutineer for another fellow candidate by the New West Progressives campaign manager Jason Chan.

“On June 29, 2023, the Special Prosecutor informed the Assistant Deputy Attorney General that the charge assessment standard had not been met and no charge was approved,” the statement from the BC Prosecution Service reads.

According to the BC Prosecution Service, there are two standards that need to be met, which includes:

• Whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction

• Whether the public interest requires prosecution

Statement of facts

The case is connected to an incident where, after casting a vote, Dhaliwal signed in as a scrutineer on behalf of fellow Community First candidate Ruby Campbell last October. A scrutineer can observe voting and counting proceedings, but based on the rules in the Local Government Act (LGA) you can’t be a scrutineer if you’re running for office.

While the BC Prosecution Service statement explains Dhaliwal’s presence goes against the rules in the LGA, it notes that while she submitted a form to be a scrutineer, she didn’t identify herself as a candidate. On the other side of this, the Presiding Election Officer (PEO) at the station didn’t ask her—while she was signing in to be a scrutineer—if she was running for office.

The LGA acknowledges no offence is committed if the individual involved ‘exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of an offence,’ though the due diligence defence was ruled out in this situation. However, the special prosecutor noted an argument could be made that staying to scrutineer was was a result of the PEO’s error in not asking Dhaliwal whether she was running for election. “In addition, [Dhaliwal] might argue that she was otherwise ‘permitted to be present by the [PEO]’ under [section] 120(2)(e) of the LGA.

The BC Prosecution Service went on to state the offence was committed as a result of a genuine mistake or misunderstanding of facts, that it was a one-time instance, and that it was minor in nature.

Based on footage from the polling place, Dhaliwal spent approximately 20 minutes scrutineering at the location in question, with the BC Prosecution adding about six voters used the ballot box while she was there.

The Prosecution Service added that Dhaliwal, who is serving in her second term as a school trustee, does not have a criminal history, which was also weighted in the decision.

“Her background of community involvement speaks well of her. Her re-election to a second term shows she is well regarded in New Westminster,” the statement reads.

Additionally, the Prosecution Service added that the Chief Elections Officer, Jacque Killawee, took all the right steps in this case.

“When the Chief Elections Officer was made aware of the incident, she took steps to notify all parties to ensure there would be no recurrence. These efforts were successful in that there were no known recurrences in the election cycle. The incident was isolated. Ms. Dhaliwal has not demonstrated a wilful (sic) or repeated non-compliance with the Act and the ‘integrity of regulatory scheme,’ specifically the electoral process, was not, in the particular circumstances of this case, adversely affected.”

Along with her service as a School Board Trustee—again taking up the chair role after the election but stepping down from it once the allegations were being looked over by the special prosecutor—Dhaliwal was previously appointed a ministerial advisor to the Minister of Health in May.

After Dee Beattie affirmed to New West Anchor she was behind the Allan Whitterstone Twitter account—an account used to troll a number of local politicians and community members—the New West Progressives announced the introduction of its “School Board By-Election Readiness Committee,” in which it was looking for two potential school board candidates should a by-election for school board is called.

Beattie has not yet resigned and asked The Anchor to stop contacting her after we followed up to see whether she’d be resigning amid calls by the school board and Community First to step down.

She also did not answer when we asked if she’d issued apologies to those she went after using the Allan Whitterstone account.

“Vindication” for Dhaliwal

On Thursday morning Dhaliwal’s lawyer, Joven Narwhal released a statement in which he noted his client was vindicated.

“We are pleased to announce that the independent Special Prosecutor has decided not to approve criminal charges against our client, Gurveen Dhaliwal, following a comprehensive investigation in which our client fully cooperated. The independent nature of the charge assessment serves as a testament to the integrity of our legal system which strives to ensure fairness and impartiality,” said Narwhal.

“Vindicated by this decision, our client looks forward to continuing to serve New Westminster as well as the province of British Columbia and will not be granting any interviews or providing additional statements at this time.”

On the part of Community First, recently appointed Chair Nancy Kato says the slate is happy to see this matter come to a close.

“This politically motivated complaint by our opponents has distracted the public long enough from the good work of our elected people,” says Kato. “We hope this positive decision encourages those who may consider stepping forward to serve our community in the future.

“We have supported Ms. Dhaliwal throughout this process and are glad it is now concluded.”

On the part of the New West Progressives, hours after Community First put its statement out, it shared its own rebuttal, calling for an apology from not only Trustee Dhaliwal, but Coun. Campbell. The Progressives add that Dhaliwal was scrutineering for Campbell.

The school board returns for its first meeting of the school year in late September.

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