The Legislature Raids

So now we have two under investigation. How many lies from this Premiers mouth will it take for the electorate stands up and says enough?

In my opinion this government has become the most corrupt in this countries history and the mainstream media is sitting on their collective arses.

They are most likely sitting in their Ivory Towers and wishing this was the NDP so they can get big headlines.

The headlines are bigger than anything that past NDP governments could even think up. Where are they?
 

It is time for the Uneven Steven and his law and order government to get involved. Or is he like lyin Brian and spouts off at the mouth. We need a Special National Corruption force.
 

" . . . . it flies in the face of repeated claims by the RCMP that no elected officials were ever under investigation in the matter.

{Snip} ...

The trial date has been pushed back repeatedly as the defence fights the special prosecutor over the disclosure of documents."

Well aren't we, the public/the majority, the 'lucky ones' here in Banana Republic British Columbia struggling with:

a)Senior levels of the RCMP (eg Dep Comm Gary Bass according to pretrial documents) getting the nudge/nudge - wink/wink from the Solicitor General's Office, NOT to pursue the politicians that the Investigators were hot to trot on - btw, my sympathies to the honourable Officers bearing the brunt of this garbage from above, as they strain to do their jobs with integrity;

b)On review of the multiple number of cases that have slid into oblivion involving Political sharks feeding on the public's best interests . . . Special Prosecutors appear to be only "special" in the context of how they sanitize to politically protect the politicians from the public's cries of 'foul' in the face of blatant government corruption. Independence from poltical interference????? Dream on Daisy. . . the record speaks for itself.

So now we have the dribble of OTHER politicians that were under investigation . . .

Lets get on with the real list of political bandits that were under and /or targeted for investigation (prior to orders from the Sol. General's Office)beyond Hayer; clearly a 'tadpole' in this Raid on the Leg/BC Rail rogue's gallery.

Let's get back to the real political targets at the bottom of this trial's purpose, shall we?????

Lets put it ALL on the table Mr. Special Prosecutor - keep it simple instead of this Chinese water torture you appear to be doling out - perhaps in a well practiced agenda involving other political scandals that threaten?

It seems that symphony of the song & dance of the poltically tainted, injustice system is getting sour to the ears of the public.

Take it to the streets people - yep, gary e: "Enough already"!

Isn't it possible to organize massive rallies via the web? Come on people - let's get on with democracy! We deserve better.
 

Mary, please explain to me how we can live in a province where the MSM media can ignore that a sitting BC Liberal MLA was under RCMP investigation and not investigate this furthur? What on earth has happened to journalism in this province?

When the Social Credit government was in power these types of investigations would be reported on and our elected officials would be held to account.

It takes the media to break the story that Wally Oppal's brother in
under RCMP investigation and that a Special Prosecutor was appointed.

It takes the media to break the story that John Les is under RCMP investigation and that a Special Prosecutor was appointed.

It takes the media to break the
story that Gordon Hogg is under investigation by the government
relating to Doug Walls who was under RCMP investigation and now the icing on the cake is that it takes years of digging for basic
disclosure by the defence team in the Leg Raid case to uncover that
MLA Dave Hayer was under investigation!

If it were not for the media and in this case defence lawyers, the
public would be left in the dark. My question is WHY? Why are the
public the ones left in the dark? This is troubling and speaks loudly
for transparency from the RCMP and the Government.

We have a standard where elected officials must be held accountable
and if an elected official is under investigation, he or she must step aside and let the investigation run its course. It is in the public interest.

Did Dave Hayer do that? We must allow the public the information so
that they can do so decide for themselves.

Paul Gill
 

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Igetit ...

Let's take to the streets, all right, and let's keep right on marching until we come to The Law Courts building on Smythe Street.

Let's take seats in the public gallery so that Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett can't help but see that the public cares.

Let's fix our eagle eyes on our Ever-So-Special Prosecutor, Bill Berardino, if he tries to finesse any more fumbles or delays. "The dog ate my homework" is so yesterday.

Maybe, let's watch the journalists a bit too. Are they dozing? Are they scribbling? Are our favourites even in attendance?



Paul Gill:

Thank you for your heartfelt comment, which I noticed over at Bill Tieleman's blog too.

Good for you, as you take the job of Citizen Journalist (or maybe Citizen Juror) seriously.

It looks as if we must all try harder to make our wishes known: to me, my wish is to see this trial go into action.

At this point, I really wonder if the Defence needs anything more. What do you think?

Perhaps Defence doesn't have every scrap of paper, but surely the thousands of scraps and the personal records which Dave Basi and Bobby Virk possess, would give them a very good basis for defending themselves? Or are they merely dragging things out, counting on that Charter challenge? Is that fair to the people of BC?

Yes, I'm mad as a hornet at Bill Berardino. But I'm also questioning the defence which seems strangely pleased with this botched performance.

What do you think? And hey, if I'm not mistaken, W.A.C. Bennett did a 5-year tap-dance around his Minister of Forests before he ran out of excuses for further delay. I think WAC even got through two elections before the suspicions of bribery were proven in court. Which resulted in Robert Sommers becoming the first Cabinet minister in the British Commonwealth to achieve convicted felon status.

But then WAC did good things too, which eased our minds somewhat. BCRail springs to mind.

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Mary,

The only people that are delaying this case is the Special Prosecutor. It is absolutely false to suggest that the Defence are somehow responsible for the lateness of disclosure regarding an investigation of a sitting BC Liberal MLA. Why did years of dilligence by defence lawyers cause this late disclosure?

Who is delaying this case to the BC Court of Appeal and now to the Supreme Court of Canada? None other than good old Bill Berardino.

He is the one you will recall said that "disclosure is complete" no mention that there are secret witnesses that he needs to protect.

More importantly, what would have happened to the 2005 election had the public have known.

This is more about the close relationship between the government, the RCMP and the Special Prosecutor.


Mary, at the end of the day we have a Special Prosecutor who has raised more questions with his behaviour rather than answers.
 

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Anonymous 6:34,

I think you misunderstood my point. I certainly wasn't saying that the Defence had caused the delays. What I said was:

At this point, I really wonder if the Defence needs anything more. What do you think?

Perhaps Defence doesn't have every scrap of paper, but surely the thousands of scraps and the personal records which Dave Basi and Bobby Virk possess, would give them a very good basis for defending themselves? Or are they merely dragging things out, counting on that Charter challenge? Is that fair to the people of BC?

Yes, I'm mad as a hornet at Bill Berardino. But I'm also questioning the defence which seems strangely pleased with this botched performance.

OK?

Perhaps I'm mistaken in law, but couldn't they say at this point: "We're ready to proceed. Let's get this over with."

You'd think they'd dearly love to put all this behind them.

Or ... if not ... what's the dynamic at work here, you think?

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Berardino is trying to delay this case past the next election!

Mark my words, his appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was a strategy to ensure that not a single word of testimony will be uttered until after the election of 2009.

That is the god awful truth.

The defence are pleased with the information about Dave Hayer because it puts an end to the lie that no elected officials are/were under RCMP investigation.

I wonder what other nuggets are out there....
 

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If Berardino can be shown as politically motivated, protecting someone in government by delaying a trial until after an election, isn't that a punishable offence in law?

And I guess this is part of my thinking, when I try to imagine the Defence challenging the Special Prosecutor (who is supposed to be entirely independent), by saying "Let's get this trial started!"

Who do you think would be most shocked?

Who would have the most to lose?

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"But then WAC did good things too, which eased our minds somewhat. BCRail springs to mind."

Gordon Campbell does good things, too, FOR HIS FRIENDS and cronies!

Anon-0-mouse at 6:34 - as to:

"The only people that are delaying this case is the Special Prosecutor. It is absolutely false to suggest that the Defence are somehow responsible for the lateness of disclosure regarding an investigation of a sitting BC Liberal MLA. Why did years of dilligence by defence lawyers cause this late disclosure?"

Mary didn't accuse the defense of causing the delays. However as she suggested, they seem suspiciously tolerant of them. Of course defense counsel always think delay is better than conviction and in this case they don't even have to engineer the delay themselves.

If extra -Special Bill continues to succeed in paralyzing the progress of this case, eventually the Basi Boys walk on Charter grounds or eventually die of old age, still un-convicted as felons. The courts often drop the charges against dead people.

For lawyers it isn't unusual for the ultimate disposition of the case to be less important than keeping those billable hours coming, and if they keep coming for eternity, so much the better. Kinda like a make work project, only at a higher pay scale than most! Think of the way a lawyer can/will complicate and extend an originally un-contested divorce.
 

Media comment from MLA Dave Hayer:

Liberal MLA says he's done nothing wrong
Surrey/CKNW(AM980)

9/18/2008

A Liberal MLA from Surrey linked to the RCMP investigation of the 2003 raid on the legislature says he's done nothing wrong.

Yesterday, a lawyer for one of three men on trial for corruption said Surrey-Tynehead MLA Dave Hayer asked Dave Basi to help him get ICBC assessments against his constituents reduced.

Today, Hayer insists he was just trying to be a good MLA.

"When any constituents of mine comes in and asks for help right, we listen to them, we try to advocate on their behalf irregardless of who the constituents are as long as they're not doing anything criminal or illegal. So you're confident you've done nothing wrong? I'm confident I haven't done anything wrong, but I treat all my constituents equally."

When police first announced details of the police raid, they said no elected officials were under investigation.

The scandal was linked to the Campbell government's sale of BC rail to CN.

http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1027272
 

Is it too late for Gordon Campbell in his second term, to write a piece of legislation that would match that which was written in 1973 by a federal government on the topic of GUIDELINES TO BE OBSERVED BY PUBLIC SERVANTS CONCERNING CONFLICT OF INTEREST
ANNEX "A"


The key words in the above text is "closest public scrutiny"

"18th December. 1973

P.C. 1973-4065

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR GENERAL IN COUNCIL, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, is pleased hereby to approve the issue of the annexed guidelines to be observed by public servants concerning conflict of interest situations.

Certified to be a true copy
R. G. ROBERTSON
Clerk of the Privy Council

GUIDELINES TO BE OBSERVED BY PUBLIC SERVANTS CONCERNING CONFLICT OF INTEREST SITUATIONS SHORT TITLE


These guidelines maybe cited as the Public Servants Conflict of Interest Guidelines.

GUIDELINES


It is by no means sufficient for a person in a position of responsibility in the public service to act within the law. There is an obligation not simply to obey the law but to act in a manner so scrupulous that it will bear the closest public scrutiny. In order that honesty and impartiality may be beyond doubt, public servants should not place themselves in a position where they are under obligation to any person who might benefit from special consideration or favour on their part or seek in any way to gain special treatment from them. Equally, a public servant should not have a pecuniary interest that could conflict in any manner with the discharge of his official duties.

No conflict should exist or appear to exist between the private interests of public servants and their official duties. Upon appointment to office, public servants are expected to arrange their private affairs in a manner that will prevent conflicts of interest from arising.

Public servants should exercise care in the management of their private affairs so as not to benefit, or appear to benefit, from the use of information acquired during the course of their official duties, which information is not generally available to the public.

Public servants should not place themselves in a position where they could derive any direct or indirect benefit or interest from any government contracts over which they can influence decisions.

All public servants are expected to disclose to their superiors, in a manner to be notified, all business, commercial or financial interest where such interest might conceivably be construed as being in actual or potential conflict with their official duties.

Public servants should hold no outside office or employment that could place on them demands inconsistent with their official duties or call into question their capacity to perform those duties in an objective manner.

Public Servants should not accord, in the performance of their official duties, preferential treatment to relatives or friends or to organizations in which they or their relatives or friends have an interest, financial or otherwise."
 

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Anonymous 12:43:

For a minute, while reading your message, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. What a beautiful world it describes!

And we all know people who live and work by that code of conduct still.

What went wrong?

I don't know about other people, but recently I have been finding it an uphill battle to keep going against what Maxwell Smart used to call "The Forces of Chaos".

I know perfectly well that the trial of Basi and Virk isn't going to completely answer all the terrible questions about corruption in governance for us ... I know that. I also know that it's going to show us plenty ... and with that information, we can do something.

But this past while ... waiting and watching the intensifying display of dishonesty as they delay, delay, squirm, weasel, attack, and delay some more ... has been utterly sickening.

Thanks for reminding us all, that there once was a better standard ... and that there might be, again. Problem is: the longer we wait, the harder it's going to be.

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If such a guideline were in place at the provincial level, shortly after the BC Liberals came to power in their landslide victory, the RCMP and the Victoria Police Department wouldn't have felt obligated by criminal laws to raid the legislature to deal with Basi/Virk/Basi.... right?

Just think of how many hours have been totally wasted investigating insiders and their political masters (business masters as well) who have taken the trust that was given to them to run our province in an open and transparent manner. How many tax dollars have been squandered by countless cabinet meetings determining how to delay justice..... till after another provincial election?

No politicians were involved,eh?

Politicians were involved, and they sat at those cabinet meetings where the Minutes are protected from public scrutiny, till either hell freezes over or a Cabinet Secretary determines otherwise and releases the documents to the RCMP and eventually the lawyer defence team so that they can drop the next "bomb" so that the news media can inform the public.

There has been plenty or words written on how much this trial (and investigations by officers, etc) is costing the public, but no where is there a clear picture of exactly how much.

In the Federal Liberal Sponsorship Scandal, a budget was set down on paper, and a final tally was given, but where is the transparency and openess that the BC Liberals promised us when it came to running the Province?

The answer still can't be "No Comment, its before the courts".

Does anyone know of a source for the numbers and then that number can be viewed on just how much money could have been to build more hospitals, reduce class sizes, build bridges (without tolls).