B.C. businessman David Sidoo loses Order of B.C. over college admissions scandal

B.C. businessman David Sidoo has lost his Order of B.C.

It’s the first time in British Columbia’s history the province has taken away someone’s Order of B.C.

Sidoo, an investment banker, was awarded for his philanthropy on July 26, 2016.

The Order of B.C. is awarded to people “who have served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavour benefiting the people of the province or elsewhere”.

Sidoo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a U.S. federal court on March 13, 2020.

Prosecutors allege Sidoo paid admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer two installments of $100,000 to have an associate take the SATs for his two sons and attempted to pay for further tests on top of those in order to get them accepted into U.S. colleges.

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According to court documents, the U.S. attorney and Sidoo agreed a reasonable sentence would include 90 days of incarceration, 12 months of supervised release and a fine of US$250,000. He has not been sentenced yet.

Sidoo previously pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.

In March, soon after his guilty plea, Sidoo asked for his name be removed from the UBC football stadium. A former football player himself, Sidoo has been a major supporter of the program.

In the 30-year history of the Order of B.C., no one has had their membership in the order revoked.

The Order of B.C. has clear rules prescribed in the Provincial Symbols and Honours Act over how an honour could be revoked. A member could resign from the order by giving written notice of his or her intention to resign, signed by the member.

The Chancellor of the Order could terminate a person’s membership in the order on the recommendation of the advisory council, and with the approval of the executive council.

Sidoo must now immediately return the insignia of the order that was presented to him.

He is still a member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.

According to the Hall of Fame’s website Sidoo was inducted for “his efforts in the community.”

He was also inducted into the B.C. Football Hall of Fame.

In a statement June 12, the Sports Hall of Fame said they have not decided whether he will lose the honour. They have never removed a member.

“As an organization committed to fair process, the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame will not act on a matter that is before the courts,” B.C. Sports Hall of Fame CEO Nicholas Cartmell said in a May 20 statement to Global News

“As part of our best practices, we continually review and refine internal policies – and as such, we are currently developing a process to review the status of any honoured member who may be the subject of a legal matter.”