Group of ‘concerned citizens’ releases new anti-NDP ad centering on Adrian Dix

With the B.C. election now just 100 days away, voters in this province are about to be deluged by political ads everywhere they turn.

The NDP is still insisting its ad campaign will be ‘positive,’ and will be launching its first television spot this week. Meanwhile, the Liberals are already running their own version of a ‘positive’ ad, featuring Christy Clark touting her jobs plan for the province. 

But starting tonight, British Columbians will start seeing an ad produced by the so-called “Concerned Citizens for BC” group with a million-dollar war chest that supports the Liberal party, and Adrian Dix won’t see anything positive in it.

The former CEO of Canfor and Finning Jim Shepard gave Global News a sneak peak to an attack ad that’ll begin airing on television this week. 

The ad zeros in on the infamous memo to file in the 90’s. At the time, Dix was then Premier Glen Clark’s Chief of Staff. Dix had admitted to backdating a memo to insulate Clark from potential conflict of interest allegations.

“We want to make sure that every citizen in British Columbia is aware that Adrian Dix, in a premeditated way, went into the Premier’s office and falsely backdated that document,” says Shepard.

Dix called the whole ordeal a mistake that he took responsibility for.

“I feel comfortable with it, because unlike many people out there, I own my mistakes and take responsibility for them,” says Dix. “I think more people need to do it.”

Shepard says that mistake alone should be enough to make Dix undeserving of becoming the Premier of this province, but there is more.

Shepard and his political group feel Dix failed a crucial character test and claims there have been other examples too.

From Dix forgetting to pay his Skytrain fare to complaints from his fellow NDP leadership hopefuls about his campaign’s tactics.

“Our intention is to make sure that all of our fellow citizens are aware of this document and other ethical failings that Mr. Dix has demonstrated,” says Shepard. “We are not accusing him or anything. All we are doing is making sure people know what he has done in the past.”