BREAKING: Findlay fires caucus operations director after leaked staff audio spreads

PENTICTON - Conservative Party of BC Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay announced Wednesday she has ordered the dismissal of the caucus director of operations, hours after leaked audio of an unnamed staffer talking about “monetizing” time in office began circulating on social media.Findlay did not name the official or give a reason.“As of this morning I have directed my Chief of Staff to terminate the Director of Operations for the B.C. Conservative Caucus, effective immediately,” she posted..CKNW host and former BC Liberal MLA Jas Johal identified the official as Apollo Chung, the former executive director of the Republican Party of Alberta who was hired into Findlay’s operation after she won the leadership on May 30. CBC legislative reporter Katie DeRosa separately reported the same identification.“BREAKING - Apollo Chung fired!” Johal posted, quoting Findlay..Minutes later he tied the firing to recordings he had amplified earlier Wednesday.“Based on this decision, it appears that Kerry-Lynne Findlay believes the audio I posted earlier was authentic. Apollo Chung is out,” Johal wrote..The Western Standard has not independently authenticated the recordings, identified the speaker, or confirmed why Findlay ordered the termination. Findlay’s post does not mention audio, Chung, or any specific allegation.The clips first appeared Tuesday on an account that said a Facebook contact had shared them in a private group. The poster described “recordings of conversations among Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s lieutenants” and asked followers to guess “who the dominant voice is,” tagging the anonymous Findlay Files account..Johal recirculated the three clips Wednesday afternoon and asked whether listeners recognized “this BC Conservative staffer who talks about monetizing their time in office, disparages the Chief Of Staff and other staffers.”Unconfirmed rumours on X quickly tied Chung to that voice. No public forensic analysis, on-the-record identification by a participant, or statement from Chung has verified that claim. .Chung’s hiring was already a live political file. After Findlay took the leadership she installed a new senior staff core that included former BC Unity leader Chris Delaney as chief of staff — the official she says carried out Wednesday’s firing — Juno News editor Cosmin Dzsurdzsa as caucus communications director, and Chung as director of operations.The New Democrats attacked the Alberta hire as soon as it became public, pointing to Chung’s work for a party that has advocated Alberta sovereignty. Findlay’s camp treated the appointment as an internal staffing choice. A Vancouver Sun report in August listed Chung in the operations job alongside those other changes as the party president and vice-president also exited.Wednesday’s firing lands on the same day Richmond-Bridgeport MLA Teresa Wat left the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent, saying Findlay had questioned her loyalty to Canada and then failed to issue a promised apology after a leaked leadership-chat message called her “CCP.” Wat is the fourth MLA out of Findlay’s caucus in 12 days, after Peter Milobar, Ian Paton and Rosalyn Bird..Findlay told reporters in Vancouver on Tuesday that more members might leave. She has denied running a purge of the party, saying earlier executive departures were voluntary or board decisions.She offered no further explanation Wednesday for the operations-director termination. Delaney, Chung and the Conservative caucus office had not issued statements at the time of publication.

BREAKING: Findlay fires caucus operations director after leaked staff audio spreads

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