New documents show RCMP never investigated fired health researchers

WATCH:  Premier Christy Clark is in the middle of a growing scandal over the wrongful dismissal of government staff. Jill Bennett reports.

A mystery over why the provincial government fired eight health researchers in 2012 took another turn when new documents showing the RCMP never investigated the workers were made public.

When the workers were fired, the provincial government said they had asked the RCMP to look into “allegations of inappropriate conduct, contracting and data-management practices involving ministry employees and drug researchers.”

However, records obtained by The Vancouver Sun show the RCMP launched no investigation because the province never provided with them any “evidence or reports related to the allegations.”

At an event to promote  good health on Friday, B.C. Premier Christy Clark issued yet another apology.

“Government very much regrets that mistake that was made,” said Clark. “It shouldn’t have been made and government has apologized for it. It was wrong.”

When asked if government apologized for the firings or for misleading the public into thinking there was a criminal investigation, Clark replied, “For both.”

“It’s another example where the government from day one has never really explained itself, and many times has been more misleading than…being upfront about things,” says legislative chief Keith Baldrey in regards to this multi-year mystery.

WATCH: Keith Baldrey discusses the newest revelations

Four months after the firings, one of the fired workers, Roderick MacIsaac, took his own life. In the years since, the government has apologized to MacIsaac’s family, reached settlements with five workers, and rehired others. An external review also criticized them for failing to follow existing procedures in their original investigation that prompted the firings.

READ MORE: Closed-minded B.C. government probe led to health firings, says report

One of the workers who reached a settlement, Ron Mattson, says it was never made clear what they were fired for in the first place.

“I wracked my brains on what I must have done wrong,” he said.

Mattson said the specter of an RCMP investigation compounded to his stress.

“It was a horrible shock. I couldn’t believe what I possibly did wrong to do that,” he said.

Mattson can’t reveal any specific details of his firing, or the settlement he made with the government, because of a non-disclosure agreement. Baldrey says those agreements are one of the reasons the entire case is still shrouded in secrecy.

However, he’s calling for a full public inquiry.

“It’s necessary…we want to find out who’s responsible, and we want those people to suffer some sort of consequence,” he said.

The NDP has also called for an inquiry.

“Why did the Liberals choose to mislead the public, the RCMP, and the wrongfully terminated researchers over retracting the smear? Why did the Liberals choose to ignore legal advice against mentioning the RCMP in the first place? These and other important questions regarding this abuse of government power must be answered, can only be answered, through a public inquiry at this point,” said Adrian Dix in a statement.

Baldrey believes that will be unlikely.

“I’m not sure you’re going to see the Liberals bow to his wishes and call an inquiry,” he said.

“It’s a route that is seldom used by government, because unless they can control the outcome, they don’t want to go down that road.”

Unless that happens, there will likely still be outstanding questions.

“A lot of mouths are basically zippered shut for various reasons, and we still don’t know why they were fired, and who did it.”

WATCH: Fired health worker Ron Mattson gives his response to documents showing that the RCMP never investigated his conduct

-with files from Jon Azpiri and Jill Bennett