In early 2018 a routine audit and internal review conducted by our union found evidence of financial misconduct in Component 4 expense claims. The BCGEU has a fiduciary responsibility to manage members' dues responsibly and we take that very seriously, so we took a number of actions to protect our members' interests. This bulletin will update you on two of those actions: a criminal investigation undertaken by the RCMP and a civil suit filed by the BCGEU.

In spring 2018 the BCGEU made a complaint to the RCMP, which triggered a criminal investigation that has spanned more than two years. In order to avoid interfering with that investigation our union chose not to release any information during that timeframe. The RCMP recently informed us that three criminal charges have now been approved against Sally Rye as a result of their investigation:

• Uttering a forged document
• Fraud over $5,000
• Using a forged document

The RCMP also informed us that Ms. Rye's first court appearance on those charges is scheduled for December 10, 2020.

In addition to initiating the RCMP investigation, our union filed a Notice of Civil Claim (NOCC) in February 2019 against Sally Rye in an attempt to determine the full amount of the members' dues taken and to recoup those funds as well as the legal costs related to this situation. The civil claim is ongoing and the union continues to aggressively pursue these issues through the courts. View the NOCC here.

It's difficult when someone trusted to uphold the values of our union fails in their responsibility to members, but this incident demonstrates that the BCGEU's policies, processes, and procedures work to identify those rare instances. Our union will update you as this situation evolves.

UWU/MoveUP