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VICTORIA — Citizens’ Services Minister Jinny Sims used her ministerial credentials to write visa reference letters for 10 Pakistani citizens, three of whom ended up on a U.S. security watch list, according to allegations by a former constituency assistant.

Sims admitted writing the letters, saying she used to do so all the time as a member of parliament. She said she withdrew her endorsements after Cloverdale-Langley City MP John Aldag’s office told her about the security concerns.

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“As an MP, I used to write these letters,” she told reporters. “As an MLA, all I’m saying I know the people who are sponsoring them, and in this case I knew some of the people who were coming. And as soon as the MP told me what some of the issues were, I let them know I no longer was interested in pursuing that.”

She said the letters’ reference to her ministerial office, which added the clout of the B.C. government to the endorsements, “was done by error in the office.”