.
Morning in Courtroom 54.  The BC Rail Scandal


By Robin Mathews
May 31, 2010


Everything this morning was under publication ban, for the reason that the jury was present for only a few seconds while Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie apologized for the fact that counsel and court had things they had to discuss without the jury and it could be excused until Wednesday morning.  All hope that at that time, matters will resume, though I don't think it's a break of the ban to say it could extend a little.

The matters before the court this morning were interesting.  I am one who believes bans must be used when the rights of the accused may be placed in jeopardy. Or when the jury might find themselves led into bias by the information exchanged or by the conduct of argument.

But I believe the exchanges and arguments today might have been heard without damage to the trial by all members of the jury - and perhaps with a greater respect for the complexity of the case about which they are going to have to make judgements.

I'm forced to wonder just what the role and range of publication bans ordinarily are, and if they are too severe.  The public would, I believe, benefit by information about today's procedures - information which is denied to them.

.
Anonymous comment, cross-posted:

These guys are listed all over the place - 

*Aneal Basi to appear Aug. 5 2010 in Victoria at 9 am for a Trial Confirmation Hearing due to an Impaired Driving charge.

*Dave Basi to appear in Vancouver on Sept. 13, 2010 for a Pre-trial Conference with James Duncan and Anthony Young.

Keep up the good work BC Mary!

.
An idle Sunday afternoon and I, with a tall cool glass of sparkling water (yes, water!), began watching a witty, clever man giving a book review on TVO. (TVO is available in BC on cable.) I watched, holding my breath, as an energetic little bald man described a book about the way of life in India. He didn't need to explain how much he liked the book, as it showed very clearly.

Thus was I drawn into a full hour of his scholarly revelations about what it means to be a citizen of the world's largest democracy; what it means to be born into a caste system which is alive even today; and what limited options are open to those with a mind to break free of the virtual enslavement. And before anybody begins to yell at me ... oh yes, I know you're out there ready to yell at me ... I'd just like to give credit to my parents who spent the first 5 years of their married life in India. My Dad, as an engineer, was there on a 5-year  contract and when his first term was ending, he and my Mother had the choice of renewing for another 5 years (i.e., making their permanent home in India) or returning to their British homeland.  They decided to become Canadians.

I mention this only because my parents never lost their affection for India or their concerns about India's future. I grew up hearing their memories of elephants who never forgot, of snakes the width of the road, of corruption that seems to accompany an oppressed state, and currie. Currie that could strip wallpaper off walls, was the dinner of choice for my parents and my older sister (born there) which I, Canadian-born, have never fully  mastered. So before anyone thinks of yelling at me for being anti-somthing, please remember, I was born with an affection for the great, mysterious nation of India. I know that it harbours greatness. And I also know that there are things about it which we can scarcely understand but we should try.

Why mention this? Well, because -- while watching the book review of The White Tiger today -- I realized that we pretend  there's no cultural significance to the plain fact that the three men who will be standing again tomorrow morning in BCSC accused in the BC Rail Case are Indo-Canadian. Why not consider the significance of the plain fact that the three men are related to one another: Dave and Aneal are cousins; Dave and Bobby are brothers-in-law. I'm not sure, but I believe that Udhe Singh (Dave) Basi is the oldest and culturally that's significant.

So I suggest this book as one way of informing ourselves of the dominant factors in the lives of Indian citizens, or of those not long removed from India: the book is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I've just ordered my copy (after listening to the book review, which I believe can be found on the TVO Channel under the program "Big Ideas"). The book is described (somewhat less subtly) by Chapters Online as follows (and also HERE):

Introducing a major literary talent, "The White Tiger" offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.

Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.

Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of "Murder Weekly" ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

Sold in sixteen countries around the world, "The White Tiger" recalls "The Death of Vishnu" and "Bangkok 8" in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.

.
Pacific Gazette reveals the truth behind the strategy behind the statements behind the agenda ...

Excerpt:

In yesterday's post we mentioned how, in the Fall of 2002, the Campbell/Brown government removed the legal requirement for BC Rail to provide passenger service by steathily changing a 90 year old statute under the stealthy subheading called 'Miscellaneous'.

But, of course, to make it all palatable the Campbell/Brown surrogates had to get out there and start making stuff up about how much money BC Rail's passenger programs were losing, as is demonstrated in the following excerpt from Will McMartin's Tyee piece mentioned above:


Read Pacific Gazette revelations HERE.
http://pacificgazette.blogspot.com/2010/05/railgate-writedownits-passengers-stupid.html

.
By Robin Mathews
May 27, 2010

One of the largest elephants in Courtroom 54 of the B.C. Supreme Court is The BC Rail Scandal “Conspiracy Theory”.  The elephant is huge.  It won’t go away.  It hangs like an immense, dark cloud – if an elephant can do that – over every word spoken in the Basi, Virk, and Basi trial.

[‘An “elephant” in the room’ in ordinary speech refers to a major, fundamental factor that – by common consent, for some reason – is ignored by all those who shouldn’t ignore it.]

Bill Tieleman of Weststar Communications has created an A to Z summary of (almost) all the actors in the Basi, Virk, and Basi matter.  Mr. Tieleman has provided an invaluable reference tool for anyone new to – or even well versed – in the story.

This presentation of The BC Rail Scandal “Conspiracy Theory” is intended to fill the same kind of need – to provide a place where people interested in the Basi, Virk, and Basi portion of the BC Rail Scandal can go to see what the Conspiracy Theorists believe.

Conspiracy Theorists, of course – we all know – are “theorists”.  They try to find explanations for events that lack coherent and rational explanation.  They are very often described as “freaks” and “nut cases” and people with “feverish imaginations”.  They are described in that way for two reasons.

The first reason is because they are frequently “freaks” and “nut cases” and people with “feverish imaginations”.

The second reason is because … they aren’t people of that kind … but they are on to something that suggests corrupt links among forces that don’t want corrupt links to be seen. So they have to be called “freaks” and “nut cases” to invalidate their theories.

The Mainstream Press and Media have refused to take the BC Rail Scandal seriously, have refused to do investigative reporting on it, have refused – even – to report important facts presented to them.  The Globe and Mail recently produced an editorial tut-tutting that Defence lawyer Kevin McCullough could be so rude as to name and involve Gordon Campbell in the BC Rail Scandal of which Campbell is the chief author and architect – and out of which has come the trial of Basi, Virk, and Basi.

The Mainstream Press/Media are staffed by jolly, rotund journalists, for the most part, who roll on the floor in laughter at the suggestion they might be serving another master than truth in their non-reporting of the BC Rail Scandal story.

“Sounds,” they say, “like Conspiracy Theory to us – sounds like what you’d expect from freaks and nut cases.”

The big story, the BIG Conspiracy Theory begins in 2001 … and before.

U.S, power in the world is being challenged by an enormous debt load and  by rising economies – China, India, a South American (“anti-American”) bloc… and more.  To remain “paramount”, the U.S. must consolidate undisputed power over global primary resources and infrastructures.  And (connected) the U.S. must consolidate undisputed power over global movements of capital.

[That second part won’t be dealt with here : the “private” U.S. federal reserve board; the Goldman Sachs phenomenon – secretly helping Greece to fake its European Union position and then pulling the rug; the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund both U.S.-over-weighted demanding privatization of EVERYTHING when they get power over countries desperate for loans – privatization take-over by foreign multi-national corporations; the present run on the Euro to displace it as a competitor with the U.S. dollar, and …and….]

The first part is (principally) our “Conspiracy Theory” story: “The U.S. need to consolidate undisputed power over global primary resources and infrastructures”  – and, as a part of that, increasingly to integrate Canada into the U.S. to end Canadian priorities in the use of Canadian wealth.

Paul Tellier was the magician who took publicly-owned CN Rail, privatized it, and delivered it – in fact – to U.S. private ownership. In 2001 Paul Tellier travelled to Vancouver.  He gave a speech saying BC Rail should do what CNR has done. [And what better way than to melt BC Rail into the now privatized CNR? Gordon Campbell, we are told, was of that mind even earlier.  Was Paul Tellier’s visit to Vancouver … a coincidence?]

In the 1996 B.C. election Gordon Campbell promised to privatize BC Rail.  He lost the election on that promise.  In the 2001 election he promised not to sell or privatize BC Rail.  In power, he began almost immediately to break his promise, and – as events have proved – to get BC Rail into the hands of the CNR.

Conspiracy theorists point out that Gordon Campbell has appeared to keep  close and strange contacts with various representatives of U.S. power.
The magnificent Canadian Mainstream Press/Media – as well as the fiercely aggressive (?) B.C. NDP Opposition – have never, ever investigated Campbell’s frequent trips to the U.S. – New York, California, and elsewhere – to find out what he does there, what he really does ….

We know he has sunk BC Ferries – watch for the bubbles on the surface.  And he appointed a U.S. CEO to BC Ferries at, now, $1,000,000.00 per year.  We know he has destroyed BC Hydro and has handed part to Accenture of the smelly U.S. ENRON energy debacle. We know he has handed control, in fact, of BC river energy power to U.S. interests.  We know he has castrated what is left of BC Hydro so it can exist in name only – for public relations purposes.  We know he is privatizing Crown land – almost as gifts to giant forest companies.

BC Rail is, alas, part of the larger sell-out, fitting neatly into the overall “Conspiracy Theory”.

In power, Gordon Campbell very soon lined up all his ducks for an unstoppable assault upon and transfer of BC Rail to CNR.  [At this point hackles will rise and tempers fray – among the anti-Conspiracy Theory group.]

Who were the ducks who had to be lined up for a successful integration of BC Rail into the “North American resource and infrastructure takeover controlled from the U.S.A.” according to the “Conspiracy Theory”?

Of course, BC Rail officials had to be brought onside.  (Like many BC Hydro officers, they came easily – for what price?)  Major cabinet people had to co-operate.  They did.  (Some mysteriously left politics soon after, without convincing explanation.) MLA’s had to respond in the legislature like barking seals.  They outdid themselves – except for Paul Nettleton who was run out of Liberal caucus for disagreeing with the destruction of B.C. Rail.

An Evaluation Committee and many, many other groups and operatives had to be put in motion in order to misinform the public and deceive it, to dismantle good parts of BC Rail, to weaken freight expertise, to end passenger services, to cook the books to show (fake) losses, to achieve muddy financial oversight from outside, and to build a wholly fake, conventional, standard bidding process by which to deliver BC Rail to the CNR.

All that was put together – the “Conspiracy Theory” postulates - with brilliant success (and only two Opposition members existing, who fought valiantly in the legislature against the fraud).

But more was needed.

The federal government had to be on side.  Stephen Harper (a North American integrationist) was a knock-over. He is never mentioned in the sell-out.

The privatization process – The “Conspiracy Theory” argues – not only skirted the edges of criminal behaviour – but it crossed over into criminality in a way that involved major actors in the BC Rail Scandal. For that reason the Ottawa headquarters and the BC RCMP had to be brought on side.  Getting them on side (in the BC Rail Scandal “Conspiracy Theory” version of the story) was achieved, but only with what has become an increasingly embarrassing compromise. The compromise required that [after all those years of investigation] a trial be held of what seemed to the RCMP to be an open and shut, easily insulated, allegedly criminal piece of mischief allegedly undertaken by three lower order (but not unimportant) government servants:  Basi, Virk, and Basi.

Unfortunately, for the top wrong-doers (the “Conspiracy Theory” says), Basi, Virk, and Basi hold tightly to a steel rope that leads directly into the cabinet and into the premier’s office.

Unfortunately, for justice in British Columbia (the “Conspiracy Theory” says), the BC RCMP has so compromised itself that it can only refuse to undertake an investigation into wrong doing on the part of Gordon Campbell and his associates in the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to CNR.

To make everything move “as smooth as butter” a Special Crown Prosecutor had to be appointed to deal with the compromise case – while dodging all the major actors.  Who could fill the position?  The “Conspiracy Theory” suggests that a long-time partner and colleague of the Attorney General and of the Deputy Attorney General would be the perfect choice – even though that would be a violation of the legislation governing the appointment of Special Prosecutors.  It was done.  Easily. (And never reported by the Mainstream Press and Media.)

A further problem was present, the “Conspiracy Theory” believes.  The B.C. Supreme Court had to get on side … or, at least, had to “go along”.  All seemed to unfold as it should.

The judge chosen to preside was the judge involved with what I call “the fraudulent investigation and trial of Glen Clark, former NDP premier”.  [Indeed, the framing of Glen Clark – with ample RCMP help, the “Conspiracy Theory” has it – was very likely, like the speech of Paul Tellier in Vancouver, part of the preparation to place Gordon Campbell in the position to sell-off ownership and/or control of major B.C. wealth to U.S. interests.]

After 136 days of nasty trial and Mainstream Press and Media crucifixion, Glen Clark was ruined politically.  Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett defended the trial that found Clark innocent of all charges.

Bennett seemed a natural for the Basi, Virk, and Basi matter.  She took a conservative view of the law in the Glen Clark case.  When Clark’s lawyer said the evidence was groundless and the charges should be stayed, Bennett pushed on…to find at the end of the 136 days of trial that the evidence was … groundless…. By then, Glen Clark was ruined.

In the Basi, Virk, and Basi pre-trial hearings (the “Conspiracy Theory” has it) Justice Bennett looked more largely at cause and effect, motivation and action, the accused, the accusers, and the superiors of the accused.  As a result, she admitted to evidence a growing body of material that pointed to others – in, for instance, the matter of leaks of confidential information and of practicing to misrepresent the truth –  others much, much more powerful than Basi, Virk, and Basi.

For that reason, the “Conspiracy Theory” alleges, Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett had to go.  Was her promotion to Appeals Court a manipulation to get her out?  Was she more or less herded out by then Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm?  Was her replacement  - Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie – a fix?  The BC Rail Scandal “Conspiracy Theory” says YES.  Being a “Conspiracy Theory”, what else can it say?

Now-Associate Chief Justice Anne Mackenzie closed all the doors to Defence applications for disclosure and … almost anything else.  The trial, she said, must go ahead.  It needs to be a fair trial, not a perfect one.  Fully informed of the wrongful appointment of the Special Prosecutor, she refuses even to reply to correspondence on the matter.  Is she so compromised that she can’t uphold the integrity of the administration of justice in her court?  The “Conspiracy Theory” can explain her behaviour in no other way, of course.

The trial has begun.  The Crown may call more than a few dozen witnesses.  The first – Martyn Brown, Gordon Campbell’s chief of staff and top political advisor -  is being tightly grilled by Defence Counsel’s Kevin McCullough.  Brown begins to look … well … not too good. His cross-examination points forward to revelations that may well place senior actors in the BC Rail Scandal in perilous position.

After three days, one of the accused has fallen ill.  The case is adjourned for a week.  The “Conspiracy Theory” says the writing is on the wall.  If all Crown witnesses are dissected as Martyn Brown is being dissected, the Gordon Campbell caravan may well drive over the cliff.

Being the BC Rail Scandal “Conspiracy Theory”, it says that unless a god drops out of the sky onto the case and takes it over – to assure justice is done, then all the forces working in collusion, in the “Conspiracy” will – by next Monday – have set about creating the machinery to blast the whole case out of the courtroom and off the books.

But we know that Conspiracy Theories are often the creations of freaks and nut cases.  And so the Basi, Virk, and Basi case may make its way, slowly, correctly, painstakingly … to a conclusion in which justice is done and the “fair trial” of Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie is born out – and the guilty in the BC Rail Scandal are all, eventually, brought to appropriate judgement  … and the innocent sent freely out into the world.


* My court reporter accreditation, a tiny right granted to reporters to record proceedings for accuracy of reporting, was denied by a four person committee of three CanWest employees and one CTV employee.  I was advised by Neal Hall of the committee to approach the judge in the case, Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie.  I did.  She refuses to acknowledge my request.  I have criticized both CanWest and the presiding judge during my three and a half years of covering the BC Rail Scandal proceedings.

Is it possible that they have combined to deny me a very simple right … to deny me a very simple right?  Is it “Conspiracy Theory” to ask the question?  Whatever the case, it is a tiny, tiny moment in the BC Rail Scandal – an almost meaningless moment.

Almost ….

.

NORTHERN INSIGHTS, a fine blog run by Norman Farrell, is one of my daily stops. Today's top piece talks  about why people tell lies; and about Gordo and Shirley Bond. Recommended.

 "The dog ate my homework" is followed by a good example of the growing excellence among  commentors which I have also noted and welcomed here, at my own blog. It reflects the developing maturity of public understanding of the BC Rail Corruption Trial ... and that is important ... it's why we need carefully televised (single focus, unedited, uninterrupted) coverage of what's going on in BC Supreme Court, on our behalf, these days. I mean, how ridiculous is it that when one of the Accused "falls ill" that he can't follow the sessions by video, TV, or whatever ... testimony has already been taken from one of the witnesses (Ian Munro from Halifax). Or was that a lie too?

So in case you miss them, I add the NORTHERN INSIGHTS  comments (thanks, Norman!) :


 3 comments from "Northern Insights"
The Dog Ate My Homework :


Anonymous said...
Thank goodness that British Columbians still value the truth. If we take the time to look, then we see thru Captain Campbell and his efforts to thwart justice and honesty.

One thing you can say about Carole, she ain't no liar. Oh, and BTW, I resent the speaker of the house encourageing lying.

May 26, 2010 11:38 PM

------- 

Ian said...
Excellent post. I have a hard time with this one. Politicians spin, they always will and they always have. But what does that mean? I believe it's basically a case of putting out the good news and leaving out the bad.

Is that a lie? I'm not sure it matters in political discourse. What matters is recognizing and interrogating it... Putting both sides on the table in a serious and critical fashion. It's a huge job for an opposition and the fourth estate and one that just about died in this province between 2001 and 2005. I'd argue its been on life support in the fourth estate for a decade and half.

But the Liberals have stepped up this game and your post shows that. They've incorporated the big, straight out lie into spin. The BC Rail case is a perfect example. That's not spin as we know it, it's a complete fabrication that makes no reference to established facts.

The media in particular treats it like spin - as part of the she said/he said discourse - a completely inadequate and wrong headed response. The use of the lie as spin is socio-pathic politics and it's best practiced by politicians who lie as if they are speaking the truth, politicians who have absolutely no moral compass.

You see it all over. American politics is riddled with it (Sarah Palin)and its become the MO for federal Tory politics.

Blogs, i fear, contribute to it as the conventions are fluid, but they are also the best defence right now because it's where you get real debate, not the ideologically managed debate we find in say the Sun or the Globe, or the personality driven and ideologically inspired politics of the nightly newshour.

May 27, 2010 12:08 AM 
-------
  
Norman Farrell said...
Ian, as always, your contribution is appreciated. I don't know people that disagree with what we're saying, just those not bothered by the situation. Yet, I'm certain the entire political dialog is damaged, if not pointless. Instead of listening to alternatives, we tend to take sides and let someone else do the thinking.

Under Liberals, the operatives doing the deciding for the province make up a group far too small. Even elected MLAs are excluded. They're given talking points and pompoms and told to get on side. What a waste of intellectual talent.

I was 13 or 14 when I read Vance Packard's book The Hidden Persuaders in which he explored methods of motivating consumers of both stuff and ideas. Maybe that book set me up for a lifetime of cynicism, or maybe it taught realism.

.
The Week-Long Adjournment of the BC Rail Scandal Trial Is Fraught With Implications.
(May 25, 2010)


By Robin Mathews


 The Basi, Virk, and Basi trial has begun to strip away layers of ‘disinformation’ engaged in by Gordon Campbell and his associates in the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

The sudden and unexpected sickness of Aneal Basi (about which there is, apparently, no doubt) has – in a sense – derailed the momentum of the trial.  Mr. Basi’s illness, surprisingly, seems a gift to the prosecution and, perhaps, to Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie – not, I think, to the Defence. I will explain….

Madam Justice MacKenzie, we remember, took over the matter mid-stream in a way that has never been satisfactorily explained, She set about closing off all Defence access to “disclosure” materials that are key to its operation.  Mr. Berardino, “Special” Crown Prosecutor, announced this morning that, when court sits again on Monday next [May 31] at nine in the morning, he will bring up the matter of “relevancy.  [He means “relevance”, but maybe “relevancy” sounds more important.]

What he will say, doubtless, is that the Defence is throwing a huge net to catch whatever they can [not relevant], while the case is a very simple one about three men allegedly doing dirty little deeds of the kind a free society cannot countenance.  “Get on with the simple, straightforward, clear case”, he will say in one way of another.

Canadians (and British Columbians, especially) need to pay close attention to that argument.  Upon it, I say, hinges whatever possibility there is for some degree of justice to come out of the Basi, Virk, and Basi trial.

The Defence – as I have gathered from its uninterrupted momentum from the beginning of pre-trial hearings three and a half years ago - will claim, in its catalogue of counter-claims, that the accused didn’t leak confidential information to anyone.  That is one of the crimes charged against the accused.

But if the accused didn’t commit the crime, who did?

If the accused are not guilty of the charge, who is?  Who broke oaths of confidentiality and leaked confidential information?  Someone is guilty of doing so?

Because that is a real question of primary importance, Defence has been pushing Martyn Brown, Gordon Campbell’s chief of staff and top political advisor, on the question.

If there was (as I have been saying for a long time) (a) a Campbell policy and program to make BC Rail fail, and if  (b) there is evidence (to support the claim of) a faked bidding process, and if (c) ‘Campbell and associates’ were leaking privileged information to CNR (as other bidders insisted they were) to make it “look” the best bidder, and if (d) all but one other bidder left because of the stench of impropriety in the bidding -  and there was a push to keep Omnitrax in the bidding at all costs … there is every reason to believe there could have been “leaking” of confidential information from top sources, not from the accused … to Omnitrax.

For that reason, the Defence is NOT casting a wide net.  It is addressing directly the claim that two of the accused men leaked confidential information that was very likely leaked – for policy reasons – by people in commanding positions in the transfer of BC Rail to the CNR. Others may be guilty of the crime alleged to have been committed by the accused. Mr. Berardino, “Special” Prosecutor does not, I think, want questioning to go in the direction it is taking.  I believe Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie doesn’t either. [Much more on this in following columns.]

Attempts to close off the Defence line of argument may be rachetted up when court sits again on Monday, May 31.  Watch for it.  Watch Mr. Berardino.  Watch Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie. The integrity of the trial, I believe, depends on the Defence being able to pursue its line of argument.  But the matter goes deeper, even, than that.

There is a publication ban on all matters of evidence, submissions, rulings, and reasons for judgement in the court in the full scope of the pre-trial hearings (“in the absence of the jury”).  But there can be no ban on the records of Hansard (the day-to-day presentations of evidence and argument in the Legislature concerning the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to CNR).

Using Hansard records, contributing editor of Tyee, Will McMartin has just written about the astonishing abuse of trust in the whole, sleazy operation of dumping BC Rail. His language about the Campbell group reinforces a demand I have been making insistently.

“The biggest contribution of the premier and his MLAs was to drastically distort and misrepresent BC Rail’s financial health….”  “…the claim that profits sent to Victoria prevented the rail company from up-grading its fleet of passenger cars was, and is, ludicrous….”  “The BC Liberal disinformation campaign got seriously underway in February 2003….” And so on….

A disinformation campaign is one in which a whole program is set on foot to make the false appear to be the true.

What Will McMartin points to, yet again, I insist, is my allegation that Campbell and his associates didn’t just lie to the people of British Columbia.  They didn’t just set about destroying the integrity of an asset owned by the people of British Columbia in order to hand it to private corporate “friends”.   They didn’t just involve a large number of civil servants to create a false picture.  They didn’t just engage in an expensive make-believe bidding process that was not legitimate.

They also, I allege, - in doing all those things – engaged in criminal breach of trust.  That is why I asked RCMP top officer Gary Bass to begin a public investigation into Gordon Campbell and associates in the transfer of BC Rail to the CNR in order to clear the air forever on the matter.  And that – I believe with great sorrow – is why Gary Bass refuses to undertake an investigation.

The brief series of events that happened in courtroom 54 this morning – surrounding and leading to an adjournment of the court until next Monday morning – does not bode well for a trial of integrity.  British Columbians must try to see the trial in clear terms.  It is about the betrayal of British Columbians by the Gordon Campbell group and “government”.

Those of us familiar with the long proceeding would be very happy to believe it is simply about three lower level operatives who put their fingers in the pie.  If it were that, we could feel happy.  It might mean, then, that otherwise, the people of British Columbia have a top government administration of integrity.

The trial is about the integrity of the Gordon Campbell government. It cannot help being that. And it may, also, be about the disintegration of the administration of justice in the province – happening before our eyes.

That part is still up for grabs.

.
BC Mary comment: Kootcoot's latest posting at House of Infamy includes the following quote, and a graph showing the number of visitors to his blog (House of Infamy) and mine (The Legislature Raids) for the 3 days the BC Rail Corruption Trial has been running:

Koot writes:

... The traffic statistics for blogs like the Legislature Raids and here at the House of Infamy tend to indicate that there are more and more people who aren't only interested in this trial, but interested in getting beyond the same old spin of the same old PABlum Brigade and their allies of the formerly Assperson Press and Media Empire.



The Data





Day 1 - Trial scheduled to begin, but the jury is sent out and ... etc. Read more of  Koot's article that goes with the graphs, at 

http://houseofinfamy.com/

and by the way, this happens to be No. 1,500 of the postings gathered on The Legislature Raids since we began, back in 2006, when the first announcement was made that the trial of Basi, Virk, Basi would start in June, 2006. 

Well, of course, it didn't. Old cyber-friends will remember Koot and BC Mary as well as "Coyote", G West, Lynx, and others who were frequent contributors to the comment threads on The Tyee. At that first Basi-Virk postponement, we all realized that we might never know what had happened to BC Rail if we didn't do something ourselves.  Our blog ventures developed all together, right then and there. I love it that we've grown into a larger collegial, cordial,co-operative circle of bloggers  ever since.

So this has been a wonderful week for us, -- May 2010 -- when the BC Rail Corruption Trial actually did begin. It's been impossible to describe how welcome Kevin McCullough's decisive, clear-minded cross-examination sounded to us, after the long, dark wait outside the stonewalling. Hallelujah! 

And happy (almost)anniversary, Koot.  

.
Illness postpones BC Rail trial

CBC News - May 25, 2010

See CBC report HERE for sketch of Aneal Basi, left, Bobby Virk, middle, and Dave Basi in court during the BC Rail corruption trial. (CBC)

The corruption trial of three former B.C. government staffers was postponed on Tuesday because one of the accused apparently fell ill.

Judge Anne MacKenzie announced the trial would take a break until May 31.

Premier Gordon Campbell's chief of staff Martyn Brown was expected face another day of questioning when the second week of the legislature raid trial was scheduled to get underway in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday morning.

{Snip} ...

With files from The Canadian Press

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/05/25/bc-rail-trial-postponed-aneal-basi-sick.html#ixzz0oxm4zPz9

.
Confirmed in BC Supreme Court criminal trial listings, File #23299, for Basi, Limited Access, and Virk 10:00 AM.

.
How Libs Made BC Rail's True Value a Fake Train Wreck

By Will McMartin
TheTyee.ca - May 24, 2010
Read Will McMartin's full story HERE.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/05/24/LibsBCRailSale/

... the Campbell government -- and its hand-picked board of directors -- made decisions that resulted in the sale or abandonment of many of the Crown corporation's operations, thereby drastically slashing revenues.

Plus, under the BC Liberals, BC Rail's management and board introduced a series of special charges, restructuring costs and write-downs that altered operating profits into net losses.

The biggest contribution of the premier and his MLAs was to drastically distort and misrepresent BC Rail's financial health, and so convince many British Columbians -- including nearly everyone in the legislative press gallery -- that the Crown corporation was an unaffordable burden on provincial taxpayers.

Much of that disinformation campaign is found in Hansard, the official report of debates in the British Columbia Legislature.

{Snip} ...

By the end of 2002, BC Rail's revenues had fallen to just $313.3 million, largely due to the discontinuation of numerous operations, such as the Whistler Northwind luxury tour train, the Pacific Starlight Dinner Train and the Cariboo Prospector passenger service. The company also sold assets and operations (Casco Terminals and Canadian Stevedoring) in the Marine Division, and quit Intermodal Trailer on Flatcar services.

Still, continuing operations showed an operating profit of $71.3 million -- a 103 per cent increase over the previous year.

That was wiped-out, however, by the decision to record a $140.2 million charge for "discontinued operations," which transformed the operating profit into a net loss of $84.2 million.

Campbell's unbelievable assertion

The BC Liberal disinformation campaign got seriously underway in February 2003, when Campbell appeared on province-wide television to make the unfounded assertion that BC Rail had cost provincial taxpayers a billion dollars in subsidies.

Days later, on February 25, when Reid rose in the legislature to participate in the budget debate, she reiterated the premier's unbelievable assertion. "BC Rail has cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars over the past 15 years," she sputtered.

The BC Liberal message-track went slightly off-the-rails at the beginning of April, when Pat Bell, then a back-bench MLA from Prince George North, engaged Reid in the House during her budget estimates. "I just wanted to say briefly that I have had some wonderful reports on the improvements of service by BC Rail, particularly in the last five or six months," he said.

"I've had a number of unsolicited phone calls from different shippers saying that things are actually going very well, and they're pleased with the progress that BC Rail has made."

Campbell got things going in the right direction the next day, April 2, resuming his campaign of distortion. "The facts on BC Rail are clear," he declared. "Over the last 15 years the taxpayers have subsidized BC Rail to the tune of $1 billion. The fact is that customers are leaving BC Rail."

Both of those assertions -- that BC Rail needed subsidies from provincial taxpayers, and that railway customers were abandoning the service -- were at odds with previous declarations by his own backbenchers.

Remember, a year earlier Walt Cobb had bemoaned the fact that BC Rail, instead of receiving subsidies, actually had paid sizeable dividends in the 1990s to the provincial treasury. And just one day prior to Campbell speaking to the House, Bell had stated that "different shippers" had telephoned him, not to say they were quitting BC Rail, but with compliments on the railway's improved operations.

{Snip} ...

In late November and early December, during second-reading debate on legislation to privatize BC Rail, BC Liberal cabinet ministers and backbenchers fell over themselves to denigrate the publicly-owned railway and distort the non-cash write-offs.

Shirley Bond declared that $857 million was the amount British Columbians "have paid to write down the debts of BC Rail over the past 15 years." Brian Kerr put the write-offs at $836 million. John Les said that "the $860 million worth of BC Rail debt that was written off will be paid for by our grandchildren for a long, long time to come."

Val Roddick went in a slightly different direction, blaming "these socialists" (the NDP) for write-downs of $800 million. Rick Thorpe tried to top her, saying, "It was those folks that sit over there who ran up debt of $860 million that had to be written off." (Recall that it was the Social Credit governments of W.A.C. and Bill Bennett that actually directed BC Rail to expend monies constructing the Dease Lake and Tumbler Ridge extensions in the early 1970s and early 1980s.)

The award for dumbest comment of all went to Rich Coleman, who somehow thought it would be neat to combine the Crown corporation's write-offs of $850 million with the company's debt of $500 million. "In my math, that's $1.3 billion in debt -- money that's got to come out of the pockets of B.C. taxpayers."

Sheeesh.

A rhetorical trainwreck

The bill to privatize BC Rail received royal assent on Dec. 2, 2003. Twenty-six days later, on December 28, police conducted a raid on the legislature, and specifically the office of David Basi, assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins.

Currently, Basi and Bob Virk, a former assistant to Judith Reid, are on trial in B.C. Supreme Court on charges that include breach of trust and fraud in relation to the Campbell government's sale of BC Rail to CN.

It's unlikely the trial will determine if, as defence counsel McCullough has stated, Gordon Campbell and his BC Liberals deliberately attempted to drive BC Rail "into the ground" after breaking an election promise.

But as Hansard clearly shows, the evidence is that's exactly what the Campbell Liberals rhetorically attempted to do in the legislature.

but you will need special access to read their reports, it seems. Pity. Bloomberg is a world-wide news service (like Reuters) and their earliest reports on the BC Rail Corruption Trial (by Joe Schneider) were excellent. 


This is all I could get today:

Canadian National Railway Co., the winner of a C$1 billion ($960 million) auction for BC Rail Ltd. in 2003, contributed C$269000 over nine years to the ...

www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr...

.
The BC Rail Corruption Trial began on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. 

The first witness to take the stand was Martyn Brown, who is Chief of Staff to the premier.

As the Defence lawyer began to cross-examine the witness, we realized the lawyer was asking exactly what most citizens want to know. No pussy-footing. No beating around the bush. No holding back. Brown, the poor sap, was hit by a barrage of questions ... about how the Liberals promised not to sell BC Rail during the 2001 election campaign – only to put it up for sale the next year. About secret offers to "look after" Bobby Virk if he "kept his mouth shut". About the alleged ambitions of CN's president to bankroll Campbell into the position of premier to facilitate the grabbing of BC Rail. Even questions (aha!! we thought) about neglecting and abusing BC Rail to make it seem worthless, and easier to get rid of.  Holy smoke ... !

The people of British Columbia had hungered for this kind of questioning.  Those are our questions. About our stuff. We had almost forgotten how it feels, to have somebody asking our questions that way.

It was better than the Stanley Cup playoff games because this was real. This was about BC Rail. Some of us were shouting "Go, McCullough!"

Then it occurred to me: who is Kevin McCullough?  


Kevin McCullough B.B.A.*, M.B.A.**, LL.B.***,
is a Partner in the law firm of McCullough, Parsons, Blazina
Trial Lawyers
#200 – 1011 Fort Street
Victoria BC V8V 3K5

Year of Call to the Bar of British Columbia: 1993
Law School: University of Victoria

Mr. McCullough has been a lawyer practicing criminal law for over 11 years. [Correction: 17 years.]

At the outset of his career Mr. McCullough made a decision to take cases throughout British Columbia. As a result his experience in serious and complex criminal matters is substantial. The many complex and serious cases Mr. McCullough has conducted generally fall into three categories: murders, non-murder Supreme Court trials, and dangerous offender proceedings. Obviously, in the murder and dangerous offender cases his client’s jeopardy is life in prison.

In 2004, Mr. McCullough conducted a lengthy Supreme Court trial where his client was found not guilty of Murder. Mr. McCullough had Aggravated Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault with a Weapon charges dismissed against a different client. Mr. McCullough conducted 3 Dangerous Offender rehearings in which none of his clients were found to be Dangerous Offenders.

In 2003, Mr. McCullough conducted trials where his clients were found not guilty on charges of 1st Degree Murder, Sexual Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Choking, and Threats. During 2003 Mr. McCullough conducted one of the longest Dangerous Offender Hearings in Canadian history at over 90 days. Mr. McCullough was successful in having that Dangerous Offender Application dismissed against his client.

Mr. McCullough has conducted 27 Dangerous and Long-Term Offender hearings for his clients. In other recent Murder cases, Mr. McCullough had Murder charges reduced to Manslaughter in cases in December 2003, April 2003, October 2002 (x2), September 2002, December 2001 (x2), and September 2001. In a March 2002 case Mr. McCullough had a 1st Degree Murder charge dropped against a client who had been previously convicted. In a January 2002 case the Crown did not proceed with a Murder charge against his client. In June 2001 Mr. McCullough had a Murder charge against his client dismissed following a lengthy extradition hearing to a death penalty country.

In 2001 and 2002 Mr. McCullough conducted trials where his clients were found not guilty on charges of Sexual Assault (x5), Sexual Assault with a Weapon (x3), Sexual Assault Causing Bodily Harm (x2), Assault with a Weapon, Unlawful Confinement and Threats.

As a former nationally ranked tennis player and NCAA Division I scholarship athlete, Mr. McCullough has been driven to compete from an early age. Mr. McCullough prides himself on an ability to focus and accept extreme challenges. As a five-time marathon finisher Mr. McCullough understands that it takes hard work, tenacity and drive to succeed. Mr. McCullough prides himself on working long hours and committing himself completely to the cases he conducts.

*The facts of each case vary and results are based upon those facts.

Kevin McCullough photo is HERE: http://www.mbdglaw.com/lawyers-mccullough.htm

Updates HERE.

Kevin McCullough's University degrees are:
* B.B.A. - Bachelor of Business Administration
** M.B.A. - Master of Business Administration
*** LL.B. - Bachelor of Laws

.
BC Mary comment:  Copyright law protects intellectual property as belonging to its originators. Copyright law is a good law, confirming that benefits arising from the sale of an intellectual property, such as a published story, accrues to the one(s) who wrote it. As a former publisher, I wholeheartedly agree with that position.

Occasionally, a story will surface which holds an enormous benefit to the public at large. And in this particular case, this information is almost 6 years old, and may be largely forgotten. It is also Exhibit 1 in the most significant trial in B.C. history. I want to present these views again so that the public, at this critical time of the BC Rail Corruption Trial, may benefit from the understanding it provides.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.
By Robin Mathews

The BC Rail Scandal – At Trial. (At Last!).  Were There “Criminals” in the Corrupt “Sale” of BC Rail to the CNR?

A program of spectacular delay ended on Tuesday, May 18, in B.C. Supreme Courtroom 54 – when the most important public criminal trial in B.C. history (really) began.  Its importance may lie in an allegation that the government of B.C. practiced (and is practicing) to deceive, with the support of the RCMP and the high courts. But whatever is found in that direction  – without doubt revelations will arise in the trial that could well wound the political and social life of B.C. for decades to come.

The BC Rail Scandal trial is named that because it arises from the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR by the Gordon Campbell government over a period stretching from 2001 to 2004.

Original police investigations began at least as early as 2002.  They refocussed and changed and shifted “everywhichway”.  Then they seized public attention at the time of the RCMP search warrant raids of the B.C. legislature offices of cabinet aides Dave Basi and Bobby Virk on December 28, 2003.

Investigations eventuated in charges against the three accused men on December 22, 2004 – all charges relating to the transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

The trial began with a packed gallery, with legal tempers alight, with procedural and evidentiary wrangling, with more media representatives gathered than ever before in the case – and, then, with focus on the first Crown witness – perhaps the most powerful civil servant in the province.  The trial may be of three (once almost unknown) ‘junior’ government appointees, but the implications of the charges against them reach and focus upon the premier, his office, and his associates in the BC Rail Scandal.

[About the ‘raids’ on legislature offices, Martyn Brown, the B.C. premier’s Chief of Staff and top political advisor, recalled in court speaking, on the day of the raids, to Gary Bass – now top RCMP officer in B.C. – who refuses to undertake a full, public, criminal investigation of the major actors in the corrupt transfer of the railway.]

Casual comments, comments dropped within hailing distance of the courtroom convey a state of mind to the effect that Defence counsel have delayed and delayed the trial.

The opposite, I believe, is the case.  Observers of the more than three years of pre-trial hearings remember application upon application by the Defence for disclosure of ’relevant’ materials from major areas of action in the ‘transfer’ (“sale”) of BC Rail.

I remember delays of many kinds by the RCMP and others called upon for disclosure.  Delay was not delay on the part of the Defence.

Over and over (during the nearly three years Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett presided) important relevant material was unearthed and disclosed.  That process stopped with the ‘replacement’ (?) arrival (never fully explained) of Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie in September 2009.  Stopped abruptly.  Stopped almost completely. She stopped it.

The significance of the call for disclosure of materials related to the corrupt “sale” of BC Rail flashed before observers almost from the start of the trial and the cross-examination of Gordon Campbell’s Chief of Staff, Martyn Brown.

To begin, remember, all the accused plead ‘not guilty’ to all charges of fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering – variously laid against the men.  The charges relate to allegations of activities the three men are alleged to have engaged in as a direct part of the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

Defence (obviously) wants to show the innocence of the men charged.  And in that regard, the cross-examination of Martyn Brown in the first few days of trial revealed the immense importance of the disclosure materials gained.

Employing documents ‘disclosed’, Defence counsel Kevin McCullough sought to know the true state of BC Rail – a sale or a 900-plus year lease? He sought to know if policy makers (Gordon Campbell and others) had employed a “Failure Strategy” – a calculated process of degradation and misrepresentation of BC Rail in order to dump it?  He sought to know why Dave Basi was fired on the day of the raids on the legislature offices, but that Bobby Virk was kept on, removed, but at full pay until a year later, December 22, 2004, the day upon which he was charged.

Mr. McCullough would ask the judge to mark a document for identification (for the jury) or as an exhibit (a part of evidence).  She would agree or disagree.

In the first few days, Crown counsel and Defence counsel, the accused in their glass box, the public attending, more members of the press and media than have ever appeared before, and the jury members – all – began to find a rhythm and pace and a shape to the proceedings.

The shape so far is one that has been building since December 22, 2004 … and earlier.  The primary questions have become clearer and clearer, I believe.  In the language of ordinary people – “Who are guilty in the BC Rail Scandal?”  “Were major crimes committed at highest levels … and covered?” “Were the three accused men ‘targetted’ by RCMP and the Special (Crown) Prosecutor, and did the RCMP and the Special Prosecutor choose to ignore other targets they should not have ignored?”  “Was BC Rail really put through a meat grinder by a policy of deception, manipulation, mismanagement, and amputation, and … more … to prepare it to be dumped?” “Was BC Rail, as an on-going policy – prepared, carefully, from the start, to go to CNR?”  “Were all the ‘public relations’ about a standard, fair bidding process for the freight division (‘the sale of BC Rail’) a structure of intended falsehood? And did CPR believe that was the case when it publicly withdrew and called the bidding process tainted?”

Questions put in the language of ordinary people are at the heart of the Basi, Virk, and Basi case, I suggest.  If the questions do characterize the heart of the matter, where do the (accused) two ministerial aides and the communications employee fit?

If what I write here makes sense, then so does an objection raised this week by Special (Crown) Prosecutor William Berardino.  Annoyed that counsel for Bobby Virk (Kevin McCullough) should be pressing questions upon Martyn Brown about the alleged, possible organization by the premier’s office of an alleged anti-protest against fish-farm protesters in November of 2003, Mr. Berardino rose.

At issue, he said, are the charges against the accused.  What Mr. Berardino asked – in effect – have fish farms got to do with the charges against the accused?

The answer given after the jury was asked to leave the room is under publication ban.

We don’t have to refer to the answer given then.

Mr. Berardino’s question reveals that the Crown wants to focus all attention on the localized alleged wrongful actions it wants to prove to the jury.  Mr. Berardino’s question reveals, also, that the Defence believes that the alleged, localized wrongful actions did not take place, but inasmuch as the accused undertook any actions in the long process of the transfer of BC Rail to CNR, they did so acting from policy, direction, and instruction given to them by their superiors who may have been acting (at the very least) unethically.  I presume Defence wants to prove something like that.

Gary Mason, columnist for the Globe and Mail (May 20, 2010) writes that the Defence in the case has decided – as a tactic – to “make this case about Gordon Campbell and his government as much as possible”.  And Mr. Mason suggests in the article, I believe, that Defence will use that line – one might say – whether it fits always or not.

We may, however, have to come to another conclusion – that the trial IS about Gordon Campbell and his government.  The three accused men did not go through normal employment channels to be hired, but were (apparently) recommended for political work done, and were appointed by Orders in Council (in fact, choices made in the premier’s office).

This case, in fact, may be, properly, “about Gordon Campbell and his government”.  The three men were, by appointment, a part of his government in the fullest sense of the word.

What has been said about the making of charges against the three men and the field of battle – courtroom 54 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia – is complicated by the fact that the Special (Crown) Prosecutor was appointed in December, 2003, in what I think has to be granted as a clear violation of the legislation governing such an appointment.  The Attorney General of the province will not deal with the matter.  Senior judges of the British Columbia Supreme Court will not face and deal with the matter. The Mainstream Press and Media are mute.  Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie presides at the trial as if the glaring anomaly doesn’t exist.

What other dark creatures lurk in the shadows of the trial being conducted against Dave Basi, Bobby Virk, and Aneal Basi? Certainly, in this case, aspects of the administration of justice are in shadow.  The administration of justice in British Columbia is, I insist, as much on trial in this case as are the three men formally accused (and, perhaps, it is on trial more importantly and legitimately than they are.)

.