Sunday, January 11, 2009
Mon., Jan. 12, Victoria Court House: Hearing for Udhe (Dave) Basi
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From Bill Tieleman's blog, May 15, 2008:
Erik Bornmann spotted at Victoria Court House where A.L.R. Corruption charges preliminary hearing held ...
... Basi's charges have been severed from those of Young and Duncan, apparently due to the lengthy delays in the BC Legislature raid case ...
The allegations against Basi, Young and Duncan arose in April 2006, when Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino filed three counts of fraud and one of breach of trust against the men for offences that allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 2002, and Sept. 1, 2003.
The Crown alleges in an indictment that Basi received $50,000 in connection to an application to remove property owned by Shambrook Hills Development Corp., a company also known as Sun River Estates Ltd., from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
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The Agricultural Land Reserve was created in the mid-1970s to stop the spread of towns and cities onto rare farmland. The Agricultural Land Commission was created to administer it.
In 2004, a group of agrologists, planners, nutritionists and others interested in protecting B.C. farmland formed a group called the Agricultural Land Reserve Protection and Enhancement Committee to battle what it contended was a dangerous attack on the ALR. They invited the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Clinic to report on their findings. Their report says that the Agricultural Land Commission is failing to protect farmland from development. It is calling on the B.C. premier to launch a full-scale public enquiry.
The current system is operating under 3-person regional panels which tend to accept what a developer says rather than pay attention to what the public service advises.
In an August 29 Times Colonist article Report: Farmland Vanishing, Jeff Rud lists the evident flaws in the current system, where some of these 3-person regional panels have approved removal of ALR land without testing key evidence; approved tourism buildings on reserve land on the assumption that the land could later be reclaimed for agricultural use; and failed to consult the local farming community.
"We looked at just 4 cases and turned up these anomalies and problems," said the Environmental Law Clinic's legal director." It makes a pretty compelling case for government to establish a public inquiry to see if this is a commonplace problem, because hundreds of decisions have been made." They highlighted those 4 cases, which affected Courtenay, Windermere Lake in the East Kootenays, Abbotsford, and Sechelt. [Unfortunately, it does not mention Sooke.]
B.C.'s population is expected to grow by at least 1.3 million people over the next 25 years. In order to produce what it does now -- roughly 50% of the food consumed by British Columbians -- the province will need 1 million additional hectares of farmland, producing at the same rate as farms now in operation, said Dave Sands, recently retired as regional director for the South Coast including Vancouver Island.
_______________________________________________
If you're like me, you probably read the brief reports of Basi, Duncan, and Young being charged with allegedly offering and/or accepting a $50,000. bribe for the purpose of allegedly removing land from the Sooke A.L.R. which did subsequently become a real estate development. I thought it was a one-off, didn't you?
But if corruption is proven to have entered into the system protecting our future food production, that's a whole new erosion of public assets.
- BC Mary.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
From Bill Tieleman's blog, May 15, 2008:
Erik Bornmann spotted at Victoria Court House where A.L.R. Corruption charges preliminary hearing held ...
... Basi's charges have been severed from those of Young and Duncan, apparently due to the lengthy delays in the BC Legislature raid case ...
The allegations against Basi, Young and Duncan arose in April 2006, when Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino filed three counts of fraud and one of breach of trust against the men for offences that allegedly occurred between Jan. 1, 2002, and Sept. 1, 2003.
The Crown alleges in an indictment that Basi received $50,000 in connection to an application to remove property owned by Shambrook Hills Development Corp., a company also known as Sun River Estates Ltd., from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Messing with the A.L.R., beyond Sooke
Reprinted from Aug 31, 2006, The Legislature Raids.
The Agricultural Land Reserve was created in the mid-1970s to stop the spread of towns and cities onto rare farmland. The Agricultural Land Commission was created to administer it.
In 2004, a group of agrologists, planners, nutritionists and others interested in protecting B.C. farmland formed a group called the Agricultural Land Reserve Protection and Enhancement Committee to battle what it contended was a dangerous attack on the ALR. They invited the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Clinic to report on their findings. Their report says that the Agricultural Land Commission is failing to protect farmland from development. It is calling on the B.C. premier to launch a full-scale public enquiry.
The current system is operating under 3-person regional panels which tend to accept what a developer says rather than pay attention to what the public service advises.
In an August 29 Times Colonist article Report: Farmland Vanishing, Jeff Rud lists the evident flaws in the current system, where some of these 3-person regional panels have approved removal of ALR land without testing key evidence; approved tourism buildings on reserve land on the assumption that the land could later be reclaimed for agricultural use; and failed to consult the local farming community.
"We looked at just 4 cases and turned up these anomalies and problems," said the Environmental Law Clinic's legal director." It makes a pretty compelling case for government to establish a public inquiry to see if this is a commonplace problem, because hundreds of decisions have been made." They highlighted those 4 cases, which affected Courtenay, Windermere Lake in the East Kootenays, Abbotsford, and Sechelt. [Unfortunately, it does not mention Sooke.]
B.C.'s population is expected to grow by at least 1.3 million people over the next 25 years. In order to produce what it does now -- roughly 50% of the food consumed by British Columbians -- the province will need 1 million additional hectares of farmland, producing at the same rate as farms now in operation, said Dave Sands, recently retired as regional director for the South Coast including Vancouver Island.
_______________________________________________
If you're like me, you probably read the brief reports of Basi, Duncan, and Young being charged with allegedly offering and/or accepting a $50,000. bribe for the purpose of allegedly removing land from the Sooke A.L.R. which did subsequently become a real estate development. I thought it was a one-off, didn't you?
But if corruption is proven to have entered into the system protecting our future food production, that's a whole new erosion of public assets.
- BC Mary.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Comments:
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This "$50,000", did the recipients declare the income with Revenue Canada, and if not, will there be an investigation by Revenue officials?
# posted by 
: January 12, 2009 at 6:43 p.m.
: January 12, 2009 at 6:43 p.m. 
Seriously though, hasn't Basi violated Revenue Canada regulations whereby he hasn't declared the monies, but he should be paying taxes on it.
Has Revenue Canada checked his accounts?
Has Revenue Canada checked his accounts?
# posted by : January 12, 2009 at 8:50 p.m.
: January 12, 2009 at 8:50 p.m.
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Excuse me, 8:50, but how in blue blazes would I know whether Dave Basi has declared any money to Revenue Canada or whether he has or should be paying tax on it.
Whats with you, anyway. These are confidential matters between all citizens and Revenue Canada ... nobody is entitled to breeze through anybodys personal financial records.
Stop and think about the outrageous questions you are asking.
The thing is: IF there were bribes paid, we will know this when the TRIAL gets under way ... and when that evidence is given under oath.
And this, 8:50, is why we wait impatiently for the trial to begin.
OK.
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Excuse me, 8:50, but how in blue blazes would I know whether Dave Basi has declared any money to Revenue Canada or whether he has or should be paying tax on it.
Whats with you, anyway. These are confidential matters between all citizens and Revenue Canada ... nobody is entitled to breeze through anybodys personal financial records.
Stop and think about the outrageous questions you are asking.
The thing is: IF there were bribes paid, we will know this when the TRIAL gets under way ... and when that evidence is given under oath.
And this, 8:50, is why we wait impatiently for the trial to begin.
OK.
.
And why we patiently wait for the BC Rail trial to begin.
And further why we don't understand fully the huge delays in the Leg Raids /BC Rail trial.
In fact there are a lot of delays in this province that I don't understand except when all are put together in context it appears that this government is delaying everything to get past the next election. And believe me when I say, if this man gets in again we will be in more trouble than we have ever been. He will see a win as a blessing to finish selling our province down the drain. Enough is enough.
And further why we don't understand fully the huge delays in the Leg Raids /BC Rail trial.
In fact there are a lot of delays in this province that I don't understand except when all are put together in context it appears that this government is delaying everything to get past the next election. And believe me when I say, if this man gets in again we will be in more trouble than we have ever been. He will see a win as a blessing to finish selling our province down the drain. Enough is enough.
.
I dunno, Gary E,
Here is my recurring nightmare.
Picture the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
A lonely rain-soaked figure stands in BC Place, the shredded roof slapping at his or her ankles.
All around is mud, construction debris, and the skeletons of half-finished buildings.
The roaring sound is only partly the wind whistling through the skeletons; it is also the roar of an angry crowd -- the world -- which has come to Vancouver to be amused. It is not amused.
So here is my nightmare. Tell me which scenario you prefer:
1) Itès Mr Real Estate who is standing there. Mr Real Estate is re-elected and is now branded forever with this mad scene of destruction. The angry crowd suddenly understands: You did this! Now you stand there and tell us that you know nothing, that you cannot explain because all these issues are before the courts ...
or
2) Premier Carole James is standing there, trying her best to welcome the world into this vision of economic despair. Seeing this vision with their own eyes, the crowd (having little or no knowledge of BC history) says: Oh. So this is what an NDP Government will do, if people are foolish enough to vote them into power! She too would provide an indelible, powerful image not of her own making ... an image which, imo belongs to Mr Real Estate Himself.
So I am leaning toward the Court of Public Opinion to take care of Mr Real Estate when they see him.
I am thinking that defeating the BC Liberals is letting them off way too easy.
We would be punishing them by sending them off to Maui with fat pensions while others risk everything trying to repair the damage to British Columbia.
.
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I dunno, Gary E,
Here is my recurring nightmare.
Picture the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
A lonely rain-soaked figure stands in BC Place, the shredded roof slapping at his or her ankles.
All around is mud, construction debris, and the skeletons of half-finished buildings.
The roaring sound is only partly the wind whistling through the skeletons; it is also the roar of an angry crowd -- the world -- which has come to Vancouver to be amused. It is not amused.
So here is my nightmare. Tell me which scenario you prefer:
1) Itès Mr Real Estate who is standing there. Mr Real Estate is re-elected and is now branded forever with this mad scene of destruction. The angry crowd suddenly understands: You did this! Now you stand there and tell us that you know nothing, that you cannot explain because all these issues are before the courts ...
or
2) Premier Carole James is standing there, trying her best to welcome the world into this vision of economic despair. Seeing this vision with their own eyes, the crowd (having little or no knowledge of BC history) says: Oh. So this is what an NDP Government will do, if people are foolish enough to vote them into power! She too would provide an indelible, powerful image not of her own making ... an image which, imo belongs to Mr Real Estate Himself.
So I am leaning toward the Court of Public Opinion to take care of Mr Real Estate when they see him.
I am thinking that defeating the BC Liberals is letting them off way too easy.
We would be punishing them by sending them off to Maui with fat pensions while others risk everything trying to repair the damage to British Columbia.
.
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