Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad is renewing calls for a public inquiry after presenting what the party calls more voting irregularities in the election-deciding riding of Surrey-Guildford.

But the B.C. NDP is accusing Rustad of using innocent people as collateral after presenting evidence which the party says contradicts central claims of the Conservatives' case.

A court is currently reviewing allegations of voting irregularities by Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa, who lost Surrey-Guildford by 22 votes to New Democrat Garry Begg following a judicial recount. The claim filed last month in New Westminster asks the Supreme Court of British Columbia to declare Begg's election invalid under Section 150 of the Election Act. The allegations centre on voting irregularities at Argyll Lodge, a retirement lodge in the riding, involving 21 mail-in ballots. 

Conservatives Thursday presented an affidavit from B.C. Green candidate Manjeet Singh Sahota, which says that a lodge employee told him that people living at the lodge do not vote. "We now know from the other affidavits that those members in that lodge voted, that they all voted by mail," Rustad said. 

Citing other affidavits, Rustad questioned why Elections BC has not launched an investigation. Elections BC announced last month that it would suspend its review of Randhawa's complaint filed with Elections BC because it is "substantively" the same as the allegations made in the court petition. 

"In order to preserve the integrity of the court proceeding, Elections BC is suspending its review of (Randhawa香蕉视频直播檚) complaint pending the outcome of the petition. The Court will determine when the petition is heard."

Rustad also pointed to other examples, which could not be independently confirmed, requiring review, either by Elections BC or if they are not willing an independent review. British Columbians must have confidence in their election system, he said. 

But Rustad also faced questions about affidavits which the B.C. NDP says challenge Conservatives' allegations that staff forced two mentally ill residents to vote for the B.C. NDP.

The party said the staff member accused of pressuring lodge residents to vote for New Democrats said she actually voted for Randhawa. According to the documents, she expressed regrets.

"I'm so disappointed, ashamed and upset that I voted for him and that he is doing this to me, my family and our clients," she said. 

The party also shared documents which show how the son of one of the two mentally ill residents invalidated the declaration of his father. According to the document, an individual said to be a Conservative organizer took the man from the lodge without his permission, separating him from his medication. Police later found the man at Randhawa's law office in a state of psychosis and took him to hospital, where he remains to this day, according to the documents. According to the documents, the individual said to be a Conservative organizer made him sign the now-recanted declaration.

B.C.'s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon seized on this testimony.

"John Rustad has been using this Trump-style playbook to dispute and he is using innocent people's lives as collateral for his ambitions," he said. "I'm disturbed by this, and I find it quite frankly sickening." 

He also called on Rustad to apologize to the family of the individual said to be have tricked into signing the now-recanted affidavit.

When asked about the affidavits challenging Conservatives claim, Rustad acknowledged that the courts are ultimately going to decide. "But...Elections BC...should be looking at this," he said. "(They) have been, in my opinion, asleep at the switch far too long." 

Kahlon said it is important for people to have confidence in elections. "But what we have seen is this rise from down south in particular, that if you don't like the result, then you can just call it a fake election and use people along the way to get whatever you want. We don't want to see that here in British Columbia." 

B.C. Greens said in a statement posted on the party's website that the party is aware of allegations regarding voting irregularities in Surrey-Guildford riding and that a former candidate has provided an affidavit.

"British Columbia has clear laws and procedures for investigating and resolving concerns about election integrity," it reads. "We trust in these processes and in the role of the courts to determine whether further action is warranted. At this time, we will refrain from drawing conclusions until all evidence has been thoroughly examined."