Edmonton-South MLA Thomas Dang has resigned from the Alberta NDP caucus after the RCMP executed a search warrant at his home Tuesday.
Edmonton-South MLA Thomas Dang has resigned from the Alberta NDP caucus after the RCMP executed a search warrant at his home Tuesday.
Dang, who was first elected in 2015, will remain an MLA but will sit as an independent in the legislative assembly.
The news was announced by NDP leader Rachel Notley who said Dang contacted her Tuesday morning.
“Our caucus has a long standing policy that members under active police investigation will not sit in the caucus, and Thomas understands this,” she said.
“I cannot really say more at this point as the investigation is ongoing, but I want to be upfront and straightforward with Albertans.”
Notley said the warrant was related to a breach of the Alberta Health COVID-19 vaccination record site in September where people’s personal health information could be seen by others.
She said Dang let Alberta Health know about the breach at the time.
Notley said she doesn’t know what allegation prompted RCMP to obtain a search warrant.
“When the RCMP acted on a warrant to search his home, (Dang) wasn’t there,” she said. “His relative was.”
Dang was skiing with his partner at the time, Notley said.
RCMP said in a news release Tuesday evening that the Alberta RCMP Cybercrime Investigative Team (CIT) started an investigation after “receiving information regarding suspicious activity related to unlawful access of private information related to the vaccination records portal.”
RCMP said it had reasonable grounds to apply for a warrant to search the residence in Edmonton. It did not name Dang in the news release. No arrests or charges have been laid so far, RCMP said.
“The Alberta RCMP CIT would also emphasize that this is a very complex investigation that involves the examination of a significant volume of forensic digital evidence. This work will take a considerable amount of time to thoroughly complete.”