The British Columbia Lottery Corporation's board will hold an emergency meeting to discuss its strategy after a scathing ombudsman's report said the corporation isn't doing enough to prevent fraud, CTV News has learned.
The board will meet Thursday to hash out a plan amid calls for firings within the B.C. Lottery Corporation after Ombudsman Kim Carter's report was released on Tuesday.
Provincial Solicitor General John Les has not said he will resign over allegations that the Crown-owned lottery corporation wasn't tough enough on retailers claiming winnings for themselves.
Les was also noncommittal on a call from the Consumers' Association of Canada that the lottery corporation's President and CEO Vic Poleschuk should be fired over the report's findings.
Les said any changes to his ministry will only be made after the completion of an independent audit of the system, which he ordered on Tuesday.
"I think the chairman of the board and the CEO should step down. That would be the honourable thing to do. And if they won't do that, then Minister Les should fire them," said Bruce Cran, a spokesperson from the Consumers' Association of Canada.
Les responded by saying that any firings will first be discussed by the board.
"I think it would be highly appropriate for the board to have that discussion," Les said on Wednesday.
Poleschuk earns more than $440,000 a year plus bonuses.
The president still maintains those found responsible of fraudulent claims were dealt with accordingly.
"The largest that we would know about would be in the $1,000 to $1,200 range. That retailer was terminated," Poleschuk said on Tuesday.
However, the retailer was never investigated or charged because the corporation failed to call police.
Les said the lack of an investigation was unacceptable.
"Clearly that is an unacceptable position. My position is very clearly that if there is fraudulent activity that has been discovered it needs to be referred to police. Full stop."
After five months of investigation, Carter found major gaps in procedure that have left the ticket buyers vulnerable to potential abuse by lottery retailers and their employees.
At least 21 retailers have been frequent lottery winners, with one vendor claiming 13 significant cash prizes in one year.
Carter found there was a lack of scrutiny for 99 per cent of the winning tickets and 80 per cent of the prize money paid out for wins under $10,000.
"One person won 11 times in five years for a total of over $300,000. Another claimed over $10,000 every year for four years,'' Carter said.
The report listed 27 recommendations to the corporation and Les has since accepted all of them.
Carter said it's not a question of lottery officials being able to stop fraud; it's that they never tried.
"This was not something that was terribly difficult if you cared about it and truthfully I don't know why people didn't care enough," Carter said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Jim Beatty and files from the Canadian Press
