The Legislature Raids

.
The mainstream media's bleak no-news period in the B.C. Rail Case, provides an opportunity to review the disclosure application generously provided by Bill Tieleman. Dates to note: Update in Supreme Court is expected on July 16. The next stage begins August 13. But please see also the footnote here, in which a Citizen Journalist reports hearing other court dates mentioned. If nothing else, this illustrates the difficulties the public is having in accessing information on this important case. - BC Mary


BASI-VIRK DEFENCE DISCLOSURE APPLICATION FILED MONDAY JUNE 4, 2007 IN B.C. SUPREME COURT AND RELEASED ON THURSDAY JUNE 7, 2007.

The following is the complete document filed by defence lawyers for David Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi as obtained today through the BC Supreme Court registry office.

It is being posted here as a public service to those interested in this important case. I take responsibility for any inadvertent typographical or spacing errors.

- Bill Tieleman

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


JUN 04, 2007 Court File No. 23299
Vancouver Registry

THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA


BETWEEN:

REGINA
Respondent

AND:

UDHE SINGH (DAVE) BASI, BOBBY SINGH VIRK, ANEAL BASI
Applicants

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR PRODUCTION OF RECORDS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

TO: George Copley, Q.C. Counsel for the Record Holder, the Province of British Columbia
6th Floor - 1001 Douglas St
Victoria, B.C. V8W 9J7


AND NOTICE TO:

William Berardino, Q.C. Special Prosecutor
Hunter Litigation Chambers
2001 — 1040 W. Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4H1

TAKE NOTICE that an application for records in the possession of the Province of British Columbia will be brought before Madam Justice Bennett on behalf of the accused persons, Udhe Singh (Dave) Basi (hereinafter, “Mr. Basi”), Bobby Singh Virk (hereinafter, “Mr. Virk”) and Aneal Basi (hereinafter, “Mr. A. Basi”). This application is returnable for June 7, 2007 at 10:00 a.m at the Courthouse located at 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver at which time a date will be fixed for the hearing of the application.

The Applicants are seeking the following Orders:

1. That all records, documents and information, including information in electronic form (collectively, the “Records”) held in any office, storage facility or repository by:

a. Premier Gordon Campbell and the Premier’s Office including the Correspondence Branch and Cabinet Operations, and all other deputies and staff of the Premier’s Office, including but not limited to Martyn Brown, Brenda Eaton, Ken Dobell, Tom Syer, Jay Schlosar, Dave Cunningham, Hazel Mitchell, Sam Marja, Cynthia Haroldsen, Lara Dauphinee and Mike Morton;

b. former Minister of Finance Gary Collins (hereinafter, “Minister Collins), his Office, his deputies, assistants and staff including but not limited to Paul Taylor, David Morhart, Chris Trumpy, Adam Buchanan, Robert Paulizyn and Melanie Hughes;

c. former Minister of Finance Colin Hansen, his Office, his deputies, assistants and staff;

d. current Minister of Finance Carole Taylor, her Office, her deputies and staff;

e. former Minister of Transportation Judith Reid (hereinafter, “Minister Reid”), her Office, her deputies, assistants and staff including but not limited to Dan Doyle and Kathie Miller;

f. current Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon, his Office, his deputies, assistants and staff;

g. former Solicitor General Rich Coleman (hereinafter, the “Solicitor General”), his Office, his deputies, assistants and staff including but not limited to Tobie Myers;

h. Assistant Deputy Minister and Director of Police Services Kevin Begg (hereinafter, the “Assistant Deputy Minister”), his Office and staff;

i. current Solicitor General John Les, his Office, his deputies and staff

j. former Speaker of the House, Claude Richmond (hereinafter, the “Speaker”), his Office, his deputies and staff;

k. current Speaker of the House, Bill Barisoff, his Office, his deputies and staff;

l. Clerk of the House, E. George MacMinn, Q.C., his Office and his staff including but not limited to Ian Izard, Q.C.;

m. former Attorney General Geoff Plant, Q.C., his Office, his deputies and staff;

n. current Attorney General Wally Oppal, Q.C., his Office, his deputies and staff;

o. Crown Counsel Robert Gillen, Q.C. and Geoff Gaul and their respective Offices;

p. the Executive Council and its Offices and staff, including but not limited to Joy Illington;

q. the Offices of all Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly for the Province of British Columbia from June 5, 2001 to the present day;

r. all Cabinet and Caucus committees from June 5, 2001 to the present day;

s. all government research, policy and communications offices, including but not limited to the Public Affairs Bureau from June 5, 2001 to the present day;

t. the Crown Corporations Secretariat including but not limited to the Offices of B.C. Rail; and

u. the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner (collectively, the “Government Offices”),

which relate to:

(i) the divestiture of B.C. Rail Freight Division (hereinafter “B.C. Rail”) and the proposed divestiture of the Robert’s Bank Port Subdivision (hereinafter, “Robert’s Bank”) and the bidding processes related to same, including but not limited to the B.C. Rail Steering Committee and the B.C. Rail Evaluation;

(ii) the selection of, and duties assigned to, Ministerial Assistants and in particular all Records relating to efforts of Ministerial Assistants to influence public opinion through the media with regard to the provincial government or its ministers, policies or initiatives;

(iii) the strategy, policy, and any related decision-making pertaining to the influencing, gauging or monitoring of public opinion through media and other public forums;

(iv) public opinion polling and reports, including by the B.C. Liberal Party, which pertain to public opinion on transportation, finance and budget surplus and deficit issues, and further including but not limited to the divestiture of B.C. Rail and the balancing of the Provincial Government budget;

(v) the provision by the B.C. Liberal Party or the Provincial Government to Provincial Liberal Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly and their staff of blackberries, computers, cellular phones or other PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants);

(vi) any communications between Provincial Liberal Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly and their staff and lobbyists Brian Kieran, Erik Bornman, and Jamie Elmhirst, their companies including but not limited to Pilothouse, Kieran Consulting, Pacific Public Affairs, K&E Consulting and their respective staff

(vii) the acceptance or receipt of any gift or benefit including but not limited to:

(1) Vancouver Canucks tickets or seating in private boxes;

(2) B.C. Lions tickets or seating in private boxes;

(3) the use of any facilities at General Motors Place;

(4) Tickets or admittance to the Cirque de Soleil; and

(5) Famous Players “Big Card”

(viii) the investigation of alleged criminal activities of Minister Collins, Mr. Basi, Mr. Virk, and Mr. A. Basi, including but not limited to:

(1) the proposed and actual interception of private communications within the precincts of Parliament, including communications over the telephone lines (250) 387-3751 and (250) 213-5098;

(2) the search of the Legislature on December 28, 2003;

(3) the issue of whether and to what extent members of the Provincial Government, including Minister Collins were under investigation;

(4) all communications pertaining to the timing of R.C.M.P. interviews of Members of the Legislative Assembly and Cabinet Ministers, including Ministers Collins and Reid; and

(5) all communications pertaining to the issue of Parliamentary and Cabinet privilege in respect of R.C.M.P. interviews of Members of the Legislative Assembly and Cabinet Ministers, including Ministers Collins and Reid be produced to this Honourable Court;

2. That such portions of any of the Records held by the Government Offices in relation to any of the above-noted matters be produced to the Applicants.

THE GROUNDS FOR THE APPLICATION ARE:

1. The Applicants are charged on a multi-count Direct Indictment principally alleging fraud and breach of trust offences in respect of the provincial government’s divestiture of B.C. Rail and Robert’s Bank, including the cancellation of the latter.

2. The divestiture of B.C. Rail and the Robert’s Bank was a complex and highly political process, which involved and affected many Ministers, Agencies, and Departments of the Provincial Government.

3. On December 28, 2003 the R.C.M.P. with the assistance of the Victoria Police Department, executed Search Warrants at the Legislature, and specifically, upon the offices of Ministerial Assistants Messrs. Basi and Virk.

4. Documents and materials were removed from the offices of Messrs. Basi and Virk and from no other offices or locations in the Provincial Legislature.

5. There was considerable strategic discussion and planning by the R.C.M.P. in the preparation, application and execution of the Search Warrants. The R.C.M.P. consulted and liaised with the Solicitor General and his Assistant Deputy Minister before and during the execution of same.

6. The involvement of the Solicitor General and Assistant Deputy Minister in the criminal investigation continued after the search of the Legislature and until at least February 13, 2004, and this involvement consisted of collaboration with, and direction to, the R.C.M.P. with regard to the timing and content of the R.C.M.P. interviews of Ministers Collins and Reid.

7. The Applicants believe that the Search Warrant application procedure lacked transparency and that the R.C.M.P. deceived the Authorizing Judge with respect to, inter alia, the procedures and protocols that needed to be followed in order to enter the precincts of Parliament, including obtaining the informed consent of the Speaker.

8. The Applicants believe that the Government Offices contain records of likely relevance to material issues in this matter, which would be relevant to the cross-examination of key witnesses with regard both to the credibility of these witnesses and the potential identification of evidence to be tested by the Applicants at trial.

9. The Applicants require access to information contained in the Records held by the Government Offices in order to make full answer and defence to the charges against them pursuant to s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (hereinafter, the “Charter”).

10. The Applicants similarly require access to these Records in order to apply to set aside the Search Warrants and Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications on the basis of a breach of s. 8 of the Charter, and in order to apply for a stay of proceedings pursuant to ss. 7 and 24(1) of the Charter on the basis that, inter a/ia, the involvement by the Solicitor General and Assistant Deputy Minister in the search of the Legislature and criminal investigation of the Applicants, and the media relations campaign of the R.C.M.P. constituted an abuse of process.

11. Such further and other grounds as counsel may advise and this Honourable Court may permit.

IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION THE APPLICANT RELIES UPON:

1. This Notice of Application; and

2. Such further and other materials as Counsel may advise and this Honourable Court may permit.

THE RELIEF SOUGHT IS:

1. An Order that all Records held by the Government Offices be produced to this Honourable Court for review pursuant to the procedure set out in R. v. O’Connor (1995) 4 S.C.R. 411 (S.C.C.) (hereinafter, “O’Connor”).

2. An Order that such portions of the Records held by the Government Offices as this Honourable Court may find likely relevant to an issue at trial.


Names and Addresses of Counsel:

P. Michael Bolton, Q.C
Claire Hatcher
Bolton & Muldoon
Banisters & Solicitors
360- 1122 Mainland Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5L1
Tel. 604 687-7078; Fax 604 687-3022


Kevin McCullough
Kristy Sim
McCullough Blazina Dieno
Banisters & Solicitors
2~ Floor, 1011 Fort St.
Victoria, B.C. V8V 3K5
Tel. 250-480-1529; Fax 250-480-4910


Joseph Doyle
Johnson Doricic Doyle
Banisters & Solicitors
2nd Floor, 195 Alexander St.
Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1B8
Tel 604 688-8338; Fax 604 688-8356

Posted by Bill Tieleman at http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Outside court on June 4, Basi's lawyer Michael Bolton said: "We're very pleased with today's result because we're going to get the disclosure we were seeking." But the price of disclosure is delay.

Madam Justice Bennett directed both sides to appear
July 16 for an update on progress and suggested the next stage in the case will not begin until August 13, when the disclosure application will be heard.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Please note the following report from a Citizen Journalist, Gary E:

Back in April I had been in Court for a day. I reported here that Court discussions had been around Disclosure dates, other court matters that may cause adjournments, Trial date, and summer break. Justice Bennett was musing over a trial date of July 9th. With this application we can assume that the trial date she wanted is blowing in the wind. She then suggested (or set) August 3rd for the summer break adjournment. My thoughts now are: If the next stage is to begin Aug. 16th does that mean there will be no summer break? Or, will they be using the time between July 16th and August 13th for the summer break? Or,and this I think is the most likely considering how the delays have been mastered so far: Will they sit only on August 13th then break for the summer?

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""