The Legislature Raids

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THE CHASE IS ON
Anonymous


It was an interesting day. Even though Courtroom 54 wasn’t playing host to the Basi and Virk trial today, one of the characters who has been there figured prominently in the Legislature during Question Period.

A gentleman named Chase.

When I watched this little drama this afternoon, it seemed to me someone had called him David Chase so, when I tried to look up his name in the Government Employee Directory, I couldn’t find his name: A bit of a mystery considering all the attention he was attracting from members of the Opposition and all the things the Attorney General claimed Mr. Chase was actually doing by kind of ‘helping out’ in Justice Bennett’s Court.

Attorney General Oppal said some interesting things about Mr. Chase. In fact here are a couple of his statements (from Hansard ‘blues’ for today May 14, 2007)



Hon. W. Oppal: I don't know what reports the member is speaking about. But the member should know that one of the problems in the civil and criminal justice system is that the public doesn't fully understand the workings of the system. It helps if there is somebody there monitoring trials, that person then apprises the….

And then a little later he added:

Hon. W. Oppal: It assists if we have somebody there explaining how the system works to the public. You know, the criminal justice system need not be a mystery to the public.

Therefore, I thought: this must be a lawyer, someone whose name just hasn’t made it into the Government Directory for some unknown reason. However, when I ran the surname ‘Chase’ through the search engine at the BC Law Society I came up with a Barry D Chase who is in private practice with Borden Ladner Gervais called to the Bar in May of 1980 and that’s it. No other Chases.

At least I knew the guy I was after wasn’t a lawyer – at least not a member of the British Columbia Law Society. So then I remembered a short column of Bill Tieleman’s I’d obviously read a bit too quickly (http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2007/05/bc-liberal-government-not-talking-but.html)

I dashed back there and discovered the fellow I was after actually goes by STUART CHASE. Therefore, that was that, no more sense that we’re dealing with a legal professional.

Still there was this statement of the Attorney’s that I had to consider:

Hon. W. Oppal: You know, this person has been there for a while. He sits in on all of the trials; he assists the media. This is nothing new. I congratulate the Opposition for finally finding out that Mr. Chase has been in the courts, been there for a long time. He's doing an excellent job.


So, this man has been around for ‘a while’, he’s a trusted media professional appointed to the Public Affairs Bureau for his communications skills and experience. No problem! I bet he was appointed as one of the roughly 200 media folks covered in General Appointment Order in Council 656 signed by the Premier on September 12, 2006. Somebody who has been there for a long time would surely have been part of that OIC, wouldn’t they?

However, no, not a single Chase among that long, long list of media monitors, communications managers and directors, not to mention the numerous business and applied leadership folks.

So maybe the Attorney’s idea of what amounts to a long time didn’t exactly comport with my own. Therefore, I started to look for more recent amendments to General Appointment OIC 656. I found one, OIC 3 from January 18, 2007 that changed two appointments and added an additional three individuals to the names on 656 – all nicely signed by the Premier but no Stuart Chase.

And then, finally, pay dirt: OIC 63, dated February 15, 2007 which identified one Stuart Chase, Junior Public Affairs Officer, Ministry of Finance, Applied Leadership pay grade Category A. One of 10 names in the order, Stuart being one of the six brand new appointments. Again nicely autographed by the Premier.

So the Attorney General’s idea of a long time amounts to exactly three (3) months.

And then I remembered that column of Bill Tieleman’s and a quote from both Leonard Krog and Stuart Chase himself:

And Krog said that's why Stuart Chase, a Public Affairs Bureau officer with the A-G's ministry, is taking notes in B.C. Supreme Court and why Collins had lawyer and ex-B.C. Liberal caucus staffer Clark Roberts at the trial for several days.

"The allegation about taxpayers funding observers at this trial while the government refuses to provide answers is way beyond troubling," Krog said Sunday.

Chase told 24 hours last week he files reports to the government twice daily - at noon and after court adjourns.

Which makes something else that the Attorney General said in the House this afternoon sound even stranger.

Hon. W. Oppal: I did not say that he filed reports with me. I said that he's there to assist the public in understanding what's going on in the system, and he's doing that….

And later, this:

….He doesn't file reports to me, but what he does is helps people, the media and other people in the courtroom who need assistance to understand the proceedings. At times, you see, during the course of a trial a jury may be…

And that begs the question that, although we know the Attorney General wouldn’t lie, with whom exactly is Mr. Chase filing those twice-daily ‘reports’?

I wonder if the Opposition will have the foresight to ask some of those questions tomorrow.

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Robin Mathews met Stuart Chase while he, too, was taking notes in Courtroom 54. To quote Robin: "I chatted with the young man who was there the days I was, from the Attorney General's office, to write a report of the goings on. He seemed to me to be one of those open faced, new employees who they send on such a job to see what he's made of." I will try to find Robin's other comment, where he said the young man was feeling pressed for time, thinking that the media would have explained everything before he got his own report finished. - BC Mary.

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Here is a comment from a different "Anonymous" which came in an hour after the THE CHASE IS ON was posted. It paints yet another picture of the mysterious Mr Chase:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Chase doesn't talk with reporters. He doesn't talk with members of the public. He sits on his own on the left hand side of the gallery.

When court rises he gathers his things and leaves directly, takes the elevator down to the Smythe street entrance, jaywalks across the street towards Hornby, crosses at the light and strides into 865 Hornby, where the Ministry of Tourism has offices. It is there, I presume, that he files his reports, twice daily.

I'd say he has more than a hundred pages of hand written notes to date to draw from. Oddly, he seems much more engaged and active in the note taking department when the defence is before the court.

May 14, 2007 8:40 PM

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And here is Mr Oppal himself, explaining the job Stuart Chase (who he has never met) is doing for the government, the media, and the public but not for him:


2007 Legislative Session - Third Session, 38th Parliament
Monday May 14, afternoon sitting.

Oral Questions

PUBLIC AFFAIRS BUREAU COVERAGE OF
BASI-VIRK COURT CASE

[Trimmed from the original ... ]

L. Krog: Recently we learned that the Ministry of the Attorney General is paying a political appointee with the public affairs bureau to attend the Basi-Virk trial. He reports back daily to his political masters. Now, this is not a matter that's before the courts, so the Attorney General can't answer with that excuse today. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Why does the Attorney General think it is appropriate to ask taxpayers to pay for someone to sit in a courtroom to keep tabs on this B.C. Liberal legal mess?

Hon. W. Oppal: The person in question is a junior public affairs officer, and he merely reports to the government and other people regarding what's going on in courtrooms. He assists the media, and he assists the people….

L. Krog: ... The Attorney General has acknowledged today in this House that the taxpayers are paying for this individual to report back to his political masters with information that is not ever made public. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
So my question to the Attorney General is very simple. If the public is paying for this service, will the Attorney General commit to making all the reports of the public affairs bureau staffer public, starting today?

M. Farnworth: So the Attorney General says that this public affairs bureau assists the media. It's unfortunate that the Attorney General can't assist this House in their inquiries into these matters. So my question again is to the Attorney General. He says these matters are always before the courts and he can't discuss them. Then can he tell this House what this taxpayer-paid-for individual assists the media with, what he discusses with the media and why he cannot table those discussions and those reports in this House?

Hon. W. Oppal: You know, it's amazing to me that the member opposite still doesn't understand the role and the distinction between the courts and the Legislature. We do not discuss the evidence that's before the courts. ...

M. Farnworth: This individual is a conduit between the courts and the government. What other purpose is there for this individual if not to report back to government what is taking place and, as the Attorney General just said, to assist the media? Assist the media with what, is what we want to know. So my question is to the Attorney General. Did the Attorney General approve the appointment of this individual to monitor the court case? If not him, then who did?

Hon. W. Oppal: I've already said he's not there to monitor any particular court case. He's there, he sits in on the courts, and there's nothing unusual about that. He's not there to comment on any particular case the way the opposition would like us to comment on the cases. He reports to the media. He assists the media.

J. Kwan: My question is to the Minister of Finance. Is the Minister of Finance aware of this and has she approved having the public affairs bureau staff at the Basi-Virk court case?

Hon. C. Taylor: I am aware of it as of today. I was told of the situation. The public affairs bureau has informed me that the Ministry of the Attorney General made a request that instead of having all of their communication people in Victoria, they would have someone who was in Vancouver and would be able to monitor the major trials as they went forward. ...

J. Kwan: How many reports have been presented to the government to date from this political appointment who is monitoring the court case? Will the Attorney General commit to tabling all of those reports in this Legislature today?

Hon. W. Oppal: There's nothing sinister about having a person there to advise the public as to what's going on in the courtroom. ...

B. Ralston: The Attorney General says that there's nothing sinister about these reports. He's attempting to brush it off. If there's nothing sinister about the reports, then why doesn't he table them in the House now?

Hon. W. Oppal: I don't know what reports the member is speaking about. But the member should know that one of the problems in the civil and criminal justice system is that the public doesn't fully understand the workings of the system. It helps that if there is somebody there monitoring trials, that person then apprises the….It assists if we have somebody there explaining how the system works to the public. You know, the criminal justice system need not be a mystery to the public.

Hon. W. Oppal: Mr. Chase is there to assist the media, to apprise them of the witnesses that are being called and the progress of the trial. That's all he's there for.

B. Ralston: Apparently, the Attorney General won't commit to tabling the reports that we just spoke of moments ago. So my question is to the Minister of Finance. Since the Minister of Finance is responsible for the public of affairs bureau and pays for Mr. Chase's salary, will she commit to tabling those less-than-sinister reports here today in the Legislature?

Hon. W. Oppal: You know, if the opposition has an interest in the reports, they can always FOI them.

R. Fleming: Jeez, another victory for openness and transparency. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
The Attorney General has said that Mr. Chase's reports are submitted to him and, he said, to other members of the government. So can the Attorney General confirm that he has received reports from Mr. Chase, and does the Premier of this province also receive those kinds of briefings?

Hon. W. Oppal: I did not say that he filed reports with me. I said that he's there to assist the public in understanding what's going on in the system, and he's doing that….

Hon. W. Oppal: All right. There's nothing wrong with having an officer sitting in the courtroom to assist the media in…. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Interjections. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Mr. Speaker: Continue, Attorney. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Hon. W. Oppal: It indicates to me they're not really interested in the answers. They're interested in making speeches. I'll leave it at that. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

R. Fleming: Well, the Attorney General keeps saying that this person is in the courts on a daily basis to assist the media. So is this person a spin doctor? What does he do? How does the Attorney General, who has been very careful to remind members of this House on an almost daily basis when he doesn't answer questions, that it's a matter before the court, reconcile that and make sure that Mr. Chase isn't politically interfering in the proceedings? Is this person a delegate of the government? Is he an authorized spokesperson? And, once again, will the Attorney General table those reports to the House. ...

D. Chudnovsky: The Attorney General has said on several occasions this afternoon that it is the job of the employee of the public affairs bureau to provide advice to the public. Could the Attorney General tell the House what advice Mr. Chase has provided to the public and where and when.

Hon. W. Oppal: I'm not privy to the advice that he's provided. He's there on a daily basis. Mr. Chase is employed in the public affairs bureau, and he reports to the director of communications for the Ministry of the Attorney General. What he does is sits in the courtroom, prepares articles and assists members of the media or anyone else who is interested in the progress of trials. That's not unusual at all. It's done in major trials, and it's done throughout all the significant trials throughout the province and in other provinces as well.

D. Chudnovsky: I want to just do a little review, as is my want as a veteran teacher. We've spent a number of minutes in this House this afternoon exploring the activities of an individual who works for the public affairs bureau. It is the Attorney General who has said to us on several occasions this afternoon that it is the job of that individual to provide advice to the public. It is an entirely reasonable question to now ask the Attorney General: what advice, when did he give it, where did he give it and what did he say? [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Hon. W. Oppal: With the greatest of conceivable respect the question, quite frankly, is silly. This man sits in a courtroom…. Obviously, the person doesn't understand what happens in the courts. What happens is that…. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Interjections. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Mr. Speaker: Members. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Hon. W. Oppal: For instance, he's been attending the Pickton trial in New Westminster — a complex trial, a trial that really requires explanations because of the various nuances that are taking place in the trial. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
He doesn't file reports to me, but what he does is helps people, the media and other people in the courtroom who need assistance to understand the proceedings....

B. Simpson: It seems like the Attorney General does not really understand what's going on in this case at all. He's the one who raised the issue that it was reports that were being produced. Then when asked questions about the reports, he said that they weren't sinister reports. Then when asked further questions about the reports, he said that, actually, reports don't exist. The confusion abounds.

Now the Attorney General is saying that articles are written by this individual. To the Attorney General: where are those articles? How can we find them? Are they published on the Web? Are they published under this author's name or some other name, if he's writing in a pseudonym?

Hon. W. Oppal: I'll repeat: Mr. Chase is in a courtroom to assist members of the public through the media to understand how the system works, why particular rulings are made, why particular exhibits are filed and all of those things that members of the public may not understand by themselves. That's why he's there.[1415]

B. Simpson: The Attorney General said, to start this line of questioning off, that this person writes reports. He's backed off of that. The Attorney General has now said that he writes articles. He's now trying to back of that. Check the Hansard after this. You will find that the Attorney General said both that reports were written and that articles were written.

Where are these reports, and are those articles published? If so, where can we find them?

Hon. W. Oppal: All right. The officer in question, Mr. Chase, who's employed with the public affairs bureau, works in the courts. He attends various trials, the high-profile trials. He assists in preparing articles. He meets with the media on a regular basis. I'm not privy to the articles that he writes or prepares, and I've never spoken to the man, but his purpose in being there is to assist those people who may not have an understanding of the judicial system.

S. Simpson: The Attorney General referenced the Pickton trial. We know that Mr. Stan Lowe is the government person who provides information at that trial, and appropriately so. The reality of the situation is that Mr. Chase is not a public information officer of the courts; he's a political appointee of this government and a spin doctor for the Liberals.

Frankly, the reality is this. If this minister isn't prepared to release those reports, release those articles, let us know that... maybe we can only assume that he is trying to influence the media on this, Mr. Chase…. That's wrong, and this minister knows it. Release the reports, and clear the matter up.

Hon. W. Oppal: Stan Lowe is only one of the officers in the Attorney General Ministry, one of the lawyers, who interact with the media. There are others that do it as well. There's nothing …. There's no effort to influence anybody's opinion or give a….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Continue, Attorney. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Hon. W. Oppal: The purpose of the officer being there is to assist the public in understanding the system, understanding some of the rulings and all the things that are going on in a courtroom.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

S. Simpson: I'm not aware that Mr. Chase is a lawyer. Maybe we could be enlightened about that. The reality is this. Mr. Chase is a spin doctor for the government and for the B.C. Liberals. That's his job.

If the Attorney General would like to enlighten us, maybe he could enlighten us all and release the information. Maybe he could enlighten us all and tell us what Mr. Chase is telling the media and the public instead of keeping it hidden, keeping it secret and just raising the concern that this is about manipulation by this government of the trial.

Hon. W. Oppal: You know, we don't need a spin doctor on trials of this nature. We don't need that. You know, those types…. The fact that member would suggest that a government needs a spin doctor in a criminal trial indicates to me that he's completely ignorant to the workings … The member is obviously misinformed as to the workings of the system. In a criminal trial the Crown lays charges against a person against whom they allege some wrongdoing. We don't have any interest in that particular trial. The Crown lays the charge. They prosecute the case. The judge and/or a jury will ultimately decide the case.

We don't need a spin doctor to put the government's view, whatever it may be, forth in a trial ...

G. Robertson: Now that we've had the Attorney General's hopelessly confusing account of what Mr. Chase is doing at the trial, from "monitor the trial" to "assist the media" to "report to government" to "assist the public," the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for this public affairs bureau staffer, is now aware of this confusing complex of job descriptions.

Does the Minister of Finance think that it's appropriate to have a taxpayer-funded political appointee at the Basi-Virk trial?

Hon. C. Taylor: As I said before, the public affairs bureau was specifically asked by the Ministry of the Attorney General that instead of having all of their communications people in Victoria, they would be able to have one in Vancouver monitoring the major trials. And yes, that is appropriate.

M. Karagianis: I guess that my question here, to either the Minister of Finance or the Attorney General, is: what is the difference between assisting the media and influencing the media, and assisting the public opinion or influencing public opinion? Where does Mr. Chase stand in his job description?

Hon. W. Oppal: I would assume that the media is incapable of being influenced. I would…

Interjections. [Cue the maniacal laughter! - BC Mary]

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Just take your seat.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.
Continue, Attorney.

Hon. W. Oppal: The members of the media are there to report events that take place in courtrooms. Sometimes they're not privy to some of the nuances that may happen and why….

Interjections.

Hon. W. Oppal: Well, they….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.
Take your seat again.
Continue.

Hon. W. Oppal: Sometimes it's not always evident to a person sitting in a courtroom, the media included, as to why particular witnesses weren't called, who the witnesses are for the next day and what the progress of the trial may be. Those are all matters that the officer is there for. He's there to assist the members of the media and other members of the public who may be interested.

[End of question period.]

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Any questions?

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Here's a surprise! One day after our story was posted on The Legislature Raids, Vancouver Sun had this story by Miro Cerniteg. It wasn't in the front page news section, it was Item #10 in the West Coast News headline scan list. Do you think it adequately covers this question of Who is Stuart Chase ... and why?
________________________________________________

LIBERAL OFFICIAL MONITORS CORRUPTION CASE
Miro Cernetig
Vancouver Sun - Tuesday, May 15, 2007

VICTORIA - The B.C. Liberal government quietly appointed a full-time information officer to monitor legal proceedings in one of the biggest alleged political corruption scandals to hit B.C. in years, it was disclosed in the legislature Monday. {Snip}

The New Democratic Party attacked the government in the legislature Monday for placing a political appointee in the public gallery of the controversial case.

"The reality of the situation is that Mr. Chase is not a public information officer of the courts, he's a political appointee of this government and a spin doctor for the Liberals," said NDP MLA Shane Simpson, who criticized Attorney-General Wally Oppal.

Both Oppal and Finance Minster Carole Taylor, who oversees the public affairs bureau, defended the presence of a politically appointed information officer to monitor court cases.

"What he does is sits in the courtroom, prepares articles and assists members of the media or anyone else who is interested in the progress of trials," said Oppal.
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[I really debated whether to post this following underhanded, sneaky column -- so CanWest -- where everything bad is the NDP's fault. Even being an Official Opposition asking questions is apparently bad. It's so off-putting. But then I saw the final two paragraphs. These big CanWest guys are really slick. They can speak out of both sides of their mouths at once. Here are Smyth's final two paragraphs. - BC Mary]
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LIBERALS NEED TO BREAK B.C. RAIL TRIAL SILENCE
Michael Smyth
Special to The Province
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The B.C. Rail corruption trial now under way in Vancouver has proven to be a gold mine for the NDP and a minefield for the governing Liberals. {Big, big snip}

But let's ignore the diversion tactics for now: The government should immediately release all of Chase's reports on the B.C. Rail trial.

And if they want to employ a spin doctor to monitor the case, then the Liberal Party should pay his salary, not taxpayers.


Michael Smyth's complete column is at:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=5f3b213a-8337-4082-8403-75ee4945a462

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Another gem (below) from Big Media. This is their shrug, shrug, pooh pooh variation on the same theme.
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WHAT'S SO INTERESTING ABOUT THE BASI-VIRK TRIAL?
May, 14 2007 - 11:00 PM


VICTORIA/CKNW(AM980) - The NDP is questioning why a Government Communications staffer is getting paid to monitor the trial of three former Government aides. The issue dominated Question Period today.

But Attorney General Wally Oppal says there's nothing unusual about the move. However, Oppal says if the Opposition wants to see the reports from the staffer they'll have to file a Freedom of Information request. [And CKNW seems to see nothing wrong with that method of sharing public information, which is virtually an official stonewall. - BC Mary]


http://www.cknw.com/news/news_local.cfmcat=74281090912&rem=65340&red=801109023aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm

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So ... drum roll please ... a word from Mr Stuart Chase himself:


MR CHASE'S JOB DESCRIPTION

Pacific Gazetteer - May 16, 2007
BCRailGate
TrialVille


Mr. Stuart Chase is a British Columbia government employee.

That means that we, the people, pay his salary.

As part of his job the good Mr. Chase apparently makes his way to BC Supreme Courtroom #54 in downtown Vancouver to sit in on the BC RailGate pre-trial hearings.

And, according to one of BC Mary's eyewitness Anon-O-Mice, this is what the good Mr. Chase does :

Mr. Chase doesn't talk with reporters. He doesn't talk with members of the public. He sits on his own on the left hand side of the gallery.

When court rises he gathers his things and leaves directly, takes the elevator down to the Smythe street entrance, jaywalks across the street towards Hornby, crosses at the light and strides into 865 Hornby, where the Ministry of Tourism has offices. It is there, I presume, that he files his reports, twice daily.

I'd say he has more than a hundred pages of hand written notes to date to draw from. Oddly, he seems much more engaged and active in the note taking department when the defence is before the court.

According to Attorney General Wally Oppal, however, the good Mr. Chase is actually there to help the media and members of the public in the courtroom gallery and, I dunno, perhaps wayward schoolchildren and folks who get lost heading back to their cars in the courthouse parking garage after shopping on Robson St., understand the intricacies of our legal system.

Which, of course, is quite at odds with the Anon-O-Mouse's description.

But who ya gonna believe these days, anyway......

A highly respected member of the British Columbia legislature who works in the highest capacity for the Premier, Mr. Gordon Campbell, or some lowly member of the public who is just doing his or her best to find out what is really going on.

Well, luckily, we have a report from Les Leyne in the Times-Colonist who discovered what the good Mr. Chase is really up to by, get this, asking him:

At the risk of putting the young man on the outs with his boss, it was Chase himself who cheerfully set the record straight.

In an interview later, Chase said he sits in on the trial daily and sends a straight factual report on proceedings twice each day to the director and the manager of the attorney general's public affairs division. Those reports give them a sense of what's going on. He doesn't brief reporters, he doesn't talk to the public.

Hmmmm......

Looks like the highly respected, and highly respectable, Mr. Oppal has some explaining to do.

And it also looks like it is getting to the point where we, the public, may wish to consider the possibility that everything Mr. Oppal has to say about this matter from now on may actually be a highly respectable and respected attempt at, how shall we phrase it.....

Obfuscation?

Which is, of course, just a very respectable and highly respected way of saying lying.

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Cue the maniacal laughter, RossK. Thank you!

Visit Pacific Gazetteer at http://pacificgazetteer.blogspot.com/

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