Thursday, July 16, 2009
Oh, goodie! Krog writes a new letter!
.
.... but that wasn't exactly what I meant, when I said that the New Democrat Opposition must do SOMEthing to put a hold on new clauses being triggered by the 5th anniversary of the secret BCRail-CN deal. Jeez, Leonard, do the citizens have to do EVERYthing? Aren't we paying you a big enough salary, or what? - BC Mary.
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http://bcndpcaucus.ca
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 16, 2009
NDP CALLS FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO OVERSEE INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN B.C. RAIL TRIAL
Reports say missing gov’t emails destroyed during election
VANCOUVER -- New Democrat attorney general critic Leonard Krog has written to B.C.’s Assistant Deputy Attorney General responsible for criminal justice seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into potential obstruction of justice in relation to the B.C. Rail corruption trial.
Krog’s call follows reports that government emails subject to a disclosure application made in June 2007 were destroyed during the May 2009 election.
“Documents tabled in the B.C. Supreme Court this week suggest sensitive government emails relevant to the B.C. Rail corruption trial were destroyed during the spring election campaign,” said Krog. “If this information is true, it amounts to not only a violation of government policy, but also a serious breach of trust and potential obstruction of justice.
“The premier said the rules were followed. These reports show the premier is not telling the truth,” said Krog. “Now the only way to get at the truth is the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into potential obstruction of justice. The investigation must determine who issued the order to destroy information and why the government turned its back on laws and policies that called for the retention of these records.”
According to media reports, the person in charge of managing B.C government email delivery service has filed an affidavit in the B.C. Supreme Court, which states that in May 2009, during the provincial election campaign, a request was made to destroy the backup tapes of government emails created prior to May 2004. However, according to the government's own guidelines, these emails should not have been deleted because of their relevance to the B.C. Rail corruption trial legal proceedings.
“Questions are being raised about the involvement of the premier’s office and whether the instruction to destroy the information came directly from him. That the request was made during the election campaign raises alarming political questions that must be answered in the interest of the public,” said Krog. “An investigation is critical in order to address all of the serious questions surrounding this latest development in the B.C. Rail corruption trial.”
-- 30 --
A backgrounder and Krog’s letter to the Assistant Deputy Attorney General are attached.
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.... but that wasn't exactly what I meant, when I said that the New Democrat Opposition must do SOMEthing to put a hold on new clauses being triggered by the 5th anniversary of the secret BCRail-CN deal. Jeez, Leonard, do the citizens have to do EVERYthing? Aren't we paying you a big enough salary, or what? - BC Mary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://bcndpcaucus.ca
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 16, 2009
NDP CALLS FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO OVERSEE INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN B.C. RAIL TRIAL
Reports say missing gov’t emails destroyed during election
VANCOUVER -- New Democrat attorney general critic Leonard Krog has written to B.C.’s Assistant Deputy Attorney General responsible for criminal justice seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into potential obstruction of justice in relation to the B.C. Rail corruption trial.
Krog’s call follows reports that government emails subject to a disclosure application made in June 2007 were destroyed during the May 2009 election.
“Documents tabled in the B.C. Supreme Court this week suggest sensitive government emails relevant to the B.C. Rail corruption trial were destroyed during the spring election campaign,” said Krog. “If this information is true, it amounts to not only a violation of government policy, but also a serious breach of trust and potential obstruction of justice.
“The premier said the rules were followed. These reports show the premier is not telling the truth,” said Krog. “Now the only way to get at the truth is the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into potential obstruction of justice. The investigation must determine who issued the order to destroy information and why the government turned its back on laws and policies that called for the retention of these records.”
According to media reports, the person in charge of managing B.C government email delivery service has filed an affidavit in the B.C. Supreme Court, which states that in May 2009, during the provincial election campaign, a request was made to destroy the backup tapes of government emails created prior to May 2004. However, according to the government's own guidelines, these emails should not have been deleted because of their relevance to the B.C. Rail corruption trial legal proceedings.
“Questions are being raised about the involvement of the premier’s office and whether the instruction to destroy the information came directly from him. That the request was made during the election campaign raises alarming political questions that must be answered in the interest of the public,” said Krog. “An investigation is critical in order to address all of the serious questions surrounding this latest development in the B.C. Rail corruption trial.”
-- 30 --
A backgrounder and Krog’s letter to the Assistant Deputy Attorney General are attached.
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