New Democrat Lotteries Critic Harry Lali said British Columbians have endured enough failures by John Les for them to endure more time with him as B.C.’s Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Lotteries.

“Another damning lotteries audit shows Solicitor General John Les is not up to the job,” said Lali, the NDP MLA for Yale – Lillooet. “Last Spring, Ombudsman Kim Carter revealed serious flaws in B.C.’s gaming regulations - and this latest audit shows Les has failed to act on recommendations.”

In the same week that Les botched his stance on policing related to the gang violence problem, a Deloitte and Touche audit of B.C. Lotteries sheds more light on mounting failures by Les in handling B.C. Lotteries.

“The latest lotteries audit further reveals the seriousness of problems exposed by Ombudsman Kim Carter last year. It proves there are gaping holes in a system that is supposed to protect British Columbians,” said Lali.

Lali said the most alarming flaw in yesterday’s report is what the NDP has been calling to fix for a long time, which is the need for gaming regulations to be re-organized in a way that separates responsibilities for lotteries and gaming enforcement.

“All this while, Les has conveniently put the conflict of interest issue related to gaming overlaps on the back burner. The NDP has consistently called on him to keep lotteries and gaming enforcement apart, but he has refused to recognize the importance of it,” said Lali.

“From ignoring Ombudsman Kim Carter’s gaming recommendations, to dismissing evidence of lotteries mismanagement revealed through media investigations, to whitewashing a government investigation earlier this year, the list of failures and cover-ups by Les goes on and on,” said Lali.

“Enough damage control already; the Campbell Liberals have to get on with fixing the system now. And with a flawed record like that, Les simply cannot be trusted to deliver results,” Lali said.