Another senior official abruptly leaves Alberta’s auto-industry watchdog

Another senior official has abruptly left the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council, the province’s beleaguered auto-industry watchdog.

CBC News has learned LuAnne Sirdiak, senior manager of investigations, left the council Thursday. Sirdiak could not be reached for comment.

The Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC) licenses and regulates auto dealers and repair shops, and investigates consumer complaints. It is supposed to serve as the self-regulating watchdog over the industry on behalf of the public.

Sirdiak, who has no policing background, became the council’s manager of investigations in March 2013. A council release from February touted her “excellent understanding of Alberta’s judicial system.”

“We have an excellent investigative team in place,” John Bachinski, AMVIC’s executive director, said in the release. “It is a well-rounded team that is second to none in this province.”

Sirdiak’s exit marks the third high-profile departure from AMVIC in the past two weeks and at least the sixth since April 2013.

All of the departures followed investigations by CBC News’ Go Public and CBC Investigates.

Senior investigator resigns

On March 24, senior AMVIC investigator Gordon Bull resigned after CBC News revealed he had a side job as a private investigator with the Progressive Conservative party.

Senior AMVIC investigator Gordon Bull resigned in March after CBC News revealed he had a side job with the Conservative party. (LinkedIn)

Bull conducted the controversial investigation into an allegation of bribery against Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA Naresh Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj has denied the allegation and is suing the person who made it.

Bull’s investigation cleared Bhardwaj. However, the Edmonton Police Service has confirmed to CBC News it is now conducting a criminal investigation of the allegations against Bhardwaj.

Premier Jim Prentice has said Bhardwaj can’t run in the upcoming election until the matter is resolved.

Bull, a former Calgary police officer. also conducted background checks on two PC party candidates — Tom Choucair in Edmonton-Meadowlark and Jamie Lall in Chestermere, near Calgary — who were suddenly disqualified on the eve of their nomination elections.

Both Choucair and Lall have told CBC News they were pressured to drop out of the nomination elections in favour of other candidates — Katherine O’Neill in Meadowlark and former Wildrose MLA floor-crosser Bruce McAllister in Chestermere.

Both men have said they were disqualified after refusing to bow out. They said the PC party will not tell them why they were disqualified. Both also have said the lack of transparency has damaged their reputations.

Confidential database access?

At AMVIC, Bull had access to at least eight databases containing confidential personal information, including the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), the main database used by law enforcement across Canada.

CBC News asked AMVIC if it had conducted any sort of investigation to determine if Bull had accessed any of these databases for his work on behalf of the Tory party. The council’s response however, only referenced CPIC and not the other databases.

“Access to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database is protected and databases are only used for purposes for which they are held,” AMVIC spokeswoman Lynette MacLeod told CBC News in an emailed statement. 

“AMVIC maintains strict control over employee access to CPIC and access is only allowed for investigation and licensing purposes. We are confident no information incident has occurred as access is limited by special tokens and there are no AMVIC investigators with a token.

“It is within the public interest that we safeguard personal information held in the CPIC database appropriately and securely. If we had any reason to suspect any individual at AMVIC breached personal information within the CPIC database we would immediately contact FOIP services for an investigation and also notify the Canadian Police Information Centre.”

Board member resigns

On March 25, Calgary lawyer Andy Hayher resigned from the council’s board of directors after CBC News revealed he had been appointed to his role by his personal friend, cabinet minister Manmeet Bhullar.

Calgary lawyer Andy Hayher left the council’s board of directors after CBC News revealed his personal friendship with the cabinet minister who appointed him to his role. (Twitter)

A Go Public investigation in March, 2013 raised questions about whether AMVIC was doing its job. The investigation found consumers were told by car dealers to pay hundreds of dollars for optional warranties for which they hadn’t asked.

People also complained about paying $400 “document fees” after they had agreed to a final price. Alberta law says GST is the only mandatory charge beyond the agreed-upon sale price.  

In April 2013, AMVIC fired several key managers: Bob Knight, manager of investigations; Murray Savage, head of investigations for northern Alberta; Shannon DeLorey, chief financial officer and former acting executive director; and Thelma Ketler, communications and education director.