Wednesday, June 02, 2010

 

Damnable outrage: BC Rail Corruption Trial ...

June 2, 2010: The Dysfunctional Supreme Court of British Columbia

By Robin Mathews
June 2, 2010

The electronic court list announced the BC Rail Scandal Basi, Virk, and Basi trial would go forward at ten a.m. this morning.  It didn't.

"The club" was informed.  Most of the Mainstream Press and Media didn't appear - having been told through their grapevine that the day was adjourned.  The "public"?  Who cares about the public?  Clearly, every evidence points to the fact that Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie doesn't care a rap about the public.

Put it this way.  Before business closing yesterday, counsel must have known there could be no court sitting today.  They would let the judge know promptly.  Her FIRST RESPONSIBILITY was to tell the public she serves that today's sitting was off.  Perhaps she told the list-makers on Monday that Wednesday would be sitting.  Her responsibility - her FIRST responsibility - was to correct that information yesterday.  She obviously didn't.

And if she didn't learn until midnight yesterday of the continued adjournment, her FIRST responsibility was to correct the incorrect listing, even with a special announcement in capital letters on  the site.

I dressed, went in pouring rain to the court.  I looked at the posted list.  No Basi,Virk, and Basi.  But I saw Madam Justice  Anne MacKenzie will be hearing immigration matters at two this afternoon.  The court is so regularly inefficient, I went up to courtroom 54 anyway.  I waited a few minutes, and then ran into one of the sitting sheriffs.  He recognized me and told me the sitting is adjourned for another day, and the lists must be watched from day to day - adjournment may extend.

He told me that he, himself, only learned this morning of the continued adjournment.

As I was leaving, a journalist (not in the loop) had arrived, and I explained the situation to the journalist..

British Columbians have to see this minor matter as part of the flagrant arrogance of the officers of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.  Remember, when the accreditation committee of the Supreme Court (a strange little bloc) refused me accreditation, spokesperson for the committee, Neal Hall (Vancouver Sun) said I might approach the sitting judge - Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie.  I wrote to her asking for accreditation so that I might use a recording device without delay. Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie refuses to reply to my request.

Can that be anything else but towering arrogance?

I don't see that and today's mess as an insult to me.  I don't have a wounded ego.  I see it as an insult to all the people who read my reports and to the whole population of British Columbia which expects from their Supreme Court officers - before all others - demonstration that they understand their position of Public Trust.

Two things:  in my column called The BC Rail Scandal "Conspiracy Theory" I asked if the 'conspirators' are setting the stage for a shipwreck of the trial. If the trial is shipwrecked, British Columbians must demand a full, open Public Inquiry (with the freedom to recommend criminal charges) of EVERYTHING concerning the BC Rail Scandal - with special reference to the Gordon Campbell cabinet and Gordon Campbell's associates in the transfer of BC Rail to CNR.

Secondly: Do the repeated mistakes and the demonstrations of contempt for the public displayed by Supreme Court officers point to bias in favour of the Gordon Campbell group?  The last letter I wrote to Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie and the Chief Justice asking for action on the wrongful appointment of William Berardino as Special Crown Prosecutor ... has been ... completely ignored.

The word to describe that is "appalling".  There is so much that is appalling in this trial it enters the realm of sociopathology.  I will stop there.  Think about it.



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Comments:
There were two more lost souls at Court Room 54 who were there too. One was in attendance on Monday, the other was this relative newbie to a full blown trial.

The gun-toting Sheriff came rambling by and said "Howdy Gentlemen how can I be of service?" .........WHEN ARE THE DOORS GOING TO OPEN we said in a chorus....... It seems, so the Sheriff goes on as he was shining up his badge with his polka-dot handkerchief, that it was LATE last night that the jury was told not to show up this morning. LATE LAST NIGHT!!!!
 
Just to be absolutely clear here....

Is the 'unaccredited' jounalist Mr. Mathews, who was actually in the courtroom so that he could real reporting this morning, actually reporting that the 'accredited' reporters Mr. Neal Hall and Mr. Keith Fraser actually filed their reports without actually reporting to the courtroom?


And if so, who, precisely, told those 'accredited' reporters that there was no need to show up this morning?

And if so, when, exactly, were they told not to bother?

And if so, where/how were they told (ie. on their crackberries, by blast, perhaps, which might have been sent to other fine folks with an interest in the trial as well)?

Given that last one.....I have one last question for Mr. Mathews.....Was there any sign of Mr. Martyn Brown in the courtroom this morning?

Thank-you.

_____
Oh, and I forgot one 'W' that none of the 'accrediteds' appear willing to ask....Which is, very simply....Why?


.
 
I am sure that Canwest receives regular updates from the Special Prosecutor and thus avoided attending the court today.

Interestingly, Neal Hall was the first to report that there was another delay in this case.
 
Well Robin thanks for being there. Sorry it means you end up feeling the demeaning slight for us as well as be our most trusted link to these events.

If only you had a wealthy powerful editor to intervene and call the courts on your behalf, you would be treated with more respect by the court, I am sure. On the other hand many many more respect and appreciate your efforts than you may know and their's is more worthwhile respect to have.
 
Is the corruption deeper than we thought?

I can't recall who it was that said corruption had hit pretty well ALL areas of our society after the legislature raids. Appears that this is being proven day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year.

We must all be diligent in paying attention and bringing forward anything and everything that goes on to come to the truth of the matter whether it's the trial, or an inquiry failing that.

Robbin, Mary, and all those investigating, writing and following, keep up the good work.
 
This is completely appalling and totally unacceptable - we are rapidly getting to the point in British Columbia where Ghandi himself would be surfing the net for instructions on how to assemble IEDs.

But Mary, I do have to take credit for calling this one in my email to you this morning.

As I've indicated earlier elsewhere, if I came all the way down to the Lower Vainland to attend this very important trial (about 500 miles), only to be jacked around by these last minute scheduling shenanigans, only my admiration of Arthur Ericson's (the architect who designed the Robson & Smythe Courthouse)work would stop me from committing serious vandalism. The club of injustice known as the BC Supreme Court and allies such as the "Accreditation Panel" and BC AG Ministry has turned it into a Mansion of Mockery of the People who paid to have it built and pay those who sit in it to disrespect them.

 
IF SOMEONE IS NOT DOING THEIR DUE DILLIGENCE WITH INFORMING THE PUBLIC THEY SHOULD BE FIRED.SOONER THAN LATER.THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED.
THIS IS NOT A FOIA BLACKOUT
 
Robin, you wrote:
British Columbians have to see this minor matter as part of the flagrant arrogance of the officers of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Remember, when the accreditation committee of the Supreme Court (a strange little bloc) refused me accreditation, spokesperson for the committee, Neal Hall (Vancouver Sun) said I might approach the sitting judge - Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie. I wrote to her asking for accreditation so that I might use a recording device without delay. Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie refuses to reply to my request.

Can that be anything else but towering arrogance?


Yes -- totalitarianism.

BC has become a totalitarian state under Gordon Campbell's administration. We are no longer a functioning democracy.

One only has to look at the various health authorities actions to know that.

The BC Supreme Court granting an order in Jan 2010 to the Interior Health Authority to ban FOREVER a video that a family took of their elderly parent being abused by care facility staff -- and the ban so draconian that no one is permitted to even describe what the video shows. All done supposedly "to protect the privacy of the facility staff" according to the health authority spokesperson.

Then as reported last week, there's the poor man in Trail who wanted to get his wife out of a care facility because of the poor care she was receiving. The health authority objected to his complaints and so they just had her committed so that the Public Guardian & Trustee would become her legal guardian. They literally took his wife away from him (he's perfectly capable, mentally and physically and financially). So, he refused to pay the care facility fees, thinking that would get their attention. It did. The PGT seized his bank account. Just like that.

The man has Power of Attorney for his wife – and the PGT just takes over his bank account?!? Where the hell are the police, the courts? Who is protecting us? No one.

In the local newspaper articles about this poor man and wife, a lawyer was quoted about what the man could or should do or have done. The lawyer gave false and misleading information about Powers of Attorney and Representation Agreements. I have been working on these matters for several years now, and it seems that the legal community who make up the laws governing these matters are making money hand over fist.

It is hard not to wonder if there is a deliberate campaign of misinformation being spread by the legal community and supported by the bureaucracy and upheld by the courts. Judges, after all, are nothing but lawyers who got promoted. The Peter Principle of promotion is alive and well there too, just as in any other job stream.

Everyone should understand, we are under seige by a government and a bureaucracy that has gone mad.

We have let them do this to us, and the only way it will change is if we:

- Stop be nice, compliant little sheep
- Stop being quiet
- Stop being afraid
- Stand together to support people like those families noted above

AND SPEAK UP.

CC
 
Let me see if I have this right...The B.C. Rail trial was scheduled for 60 days.....

Martyn Brown was scheduled for half a day of testimony.....

Here we are near the end of the third week of this trial.....

Martyn Brown is still on the stand......

At this rate the trial will last 3 years.....

One more election perhaps?
 
Actually Kieth Fraser did attend the court building this morning, and I nodded a greeting, he .... well he was a reporter on a mission... he was going to Court Room #55, due south of #54.

Must have been a serious case because there was more gun-toting Sheriffs than you could shake a stick at AND along with Wands to scan the person. All personal items had to be placed in a small cardboard box and passed through a glass wall to a waiting Sheriff who checked each item for deadliness.

Kieth Fraser, complete with "Accreditation papers" in hand, was patted down just like anyone else.

Technically, if there was no serious case next door, Kieth Fraser wouldn't have attended this morning, but as stated above, I was there and saw him..... walk on by without a second glance.
 
So
The judge knew she wouldn't be needed.
The not so special prosecutor knew he wouldn't be needed.
The suits knew they wouldn't be needed.
The defendants knew they wouldn't be needed.
The jury knew they wouldn't be needed.
The wannabe reporters knew they wouldn't be needed.
Yet one of the few times that the court services posted this trial on time at their web site, after all these others knowing they wouldn't be needed, go ahead and post misinformation on the site.
Now I suppose they will hide behind the disclaimer they have when you enter the docket site.
Marvelous, simply bloody marvelous.
 
"Damnable outrage" - yes, indeed, Robin.

Perhaps, it is more and more an advantage...and an honour that you are not deemed "worthy" of "accreditation", Robin....

It seems the more "She Who Must Be Obeyed" intervenes.... and stage-directs....and delays..... the more this kind of revealing behavior implicates both the court and those special few who think they are "protected" from implication.



It is appears to be one of the unforeseen and unintended consequences that this over-scripted stage production overlooked - that behavior is telling. It definitely appears to be telling when it comes to people....and to courtrooms. Despite its many attempted disguises, behavior cannot help but reveal character... motivation... and intent.

So midst all the fog of those intentionally-created obfuscations and delays.... indeed, "because" of them, what is clearly being revealed is the character of the court, its motivation and its intention as well...

Is "appalling" now a synonym for "accredited"?
 
http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/court-lists/criminal/lists/Vancouver_Law_Courts-Completed_Supreme_Court_List.pdf

May 31, 2010

Bobby Virk and Aneal Basi are mentioned in the above link (VANCOUVER), not a work on Dave Basi though

pages 10, 11, 12

Next appearance June 3
 
There are two classes of people here in BC who are not accountable to those who they supposedly serve.
Ferry wheel house personal and Judges.
 
You folks do realize don't you that if it were more than just Robyn, NVG and one other that were there today, the Courts would be forced to inform the public, and not just the Press, in a timely manner.


As it stands, the Courts, through their Sheriffs are reporting NOT MUCH INTEREST FROM THE PUBLIC.


There's enough seating in Courtroom 54 to hold the full contents of a pool of jurors plus the media plus a few public citizens, in other words the room seats well over 300 people!

Maybe Bill T and Vander Zee should be asked to supply a few volunteer HST captains to stir up the masses in the direction of the BC Liberal GOVERNMENT, that is on Trial.
 
Yes, this is an outrage!

Perhaps if Robin is going to continue to be snubbed by the cretins on the panel, one of the "accredited" reporters may find his or her moral fibre. Perhaps he or she could contact Robin in the future if there is a change with the time/venue. I would think that Robin would gladly provide an email address and/or a phone number so that he may be contacted. I don't see how those CanWest and CTV reporters can live with themselves.

I know that the above manner of resolving the issue for Robin still leaves the rest of the court-attending public in the dark; but I daresay I trust Robin's ears, eyes and insight more than that of any of the whitewashing mainstream "reporters".
 
ah but there's the rub SIG, who amongst the cabal will break ranks and be forever remembered as the ONE.
 
"Anonymous said...
ah but there's the rub SIG, who amongst the cabal will break ranks and be forever remembered as the ONE.
"

Perhaps THE ONE who doesn't want his grand kids to remember grandpa as one of the ASSHOLES who helped BeeCee become a fascist banana republic!
 
Lie Slayer here. The main concern that I have is with the lack of coverage by the main stream media, in this so very important trial. Their silence is deafening . In regards to Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie she is just plain scary and is she not able to see that the "Special" Crown Prosecutor is in conflict of interest ? Sorry no Justice for you.
 
I cannot compete with all you professional journalists with regard to this case. However what I can and do do, is pass along the material (from whatever blog) to the world media. At least that is what I try to do.

Whether anyone is really interested outside of Canada is another story. But, if nothing is said nothing will happen and no interest will be shown.

I have a list of some dozen major papers I sent links and comments to. If just one of the majors (I don't include our dinky provincial papers in this comment) shows an interest, the chances are that others will follow.

Anyway, my comment is that maybe others who are following the trial, could do the same sort of thing. If large numbers of tips get sent out the greater theinterest will be.

Thanks.
 
Lie Slayer (ugh, what a name!) ...

I think you have a wonderful idea ... and, as I see it, it's a question of catching their attention in other parts of Canada, the continent, the world.

I've done a bit of that, but you're absolutely correct in thinking that numbers count up.

I don't mean to reduce a very serious issue to the absurd, but if you start off with a very short, colourful description of the issue, and PROVIDE A FOLLOW-UP URL OR TWO ... that could get the ball rolling.

Times of India has started to follow the BC Rail Corruption Trial ... but I think the US should be more alert.

I mean: how can a government LOSE a railway? Why did 30 policemen raid the BC Legislature?
.
 
Here's a good example of what JW is doing:

To: Washington Post ; Wall Street Journal ; Sydney Morning Herald ; Seattle Times ; Ottowa Citizen ; Observer ; News of the World UK ; New York Times ; London Times ; LATimes Editors ; Independent ; Guardian newspaper ; globe and mail 2 ; Globe and Mail ; Daily Telegraph
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010

Subject: CANADA'S BC RAIL CORRUPTION TRIAL IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BC - DELAYED AGAIN UNTIL MONDAY 7TH JUNE 2010

More delays in the long awaited (six years) trial on the BC Rail Sale Corruption charges being held in the Supreme Court of British Columbia (Vancouver), were announced this morning. The trial is to continue on Monday 7th June 2010.

The corruption charges surround the BC Rail sale by the provincial government is unprecedented in the history of British Columbia. For some unknown reason, this province had always had a political atmosphere that has been charged and often, controversial , happenings and events. However, the history of this province has nothing to compare with this trial - where government aides, officials including the premier Gordon Campbell, are implicated in rigging the sale of the provinces own railway. US companies as well as other Canadian companies initially showed interest, but later backed out claiming that the bidding was rigged.

This court case, once it is completed, will show beyond any reasonabel doubt, the corruption and underhand maneouvering that has been going on in the provincial government. There have been many other claims about rigged bidding in other minsteries with regard to bridge and highway contract bidding - where the rules seem to change after the project bidding has started. Numerous other irregularities have occurred that have allowed private timber companies access to Crown Lands and timber at a fraction of the real values.

No doubt, as they court progresses through the daily grind, there will be many examples of questionable behaviour by the government officials.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Basi+Virk+jury+released+until+Monday+after+third+delay/3107784/story.html


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/basi-virk-case-put-back-until-monday/article1591132/

the two links above give some deatils form The Province (Vancouver paper) and the Globe and Mail )National paper).

Also listed are a couple of other websites of interest - the first deals with the BC Rail Sale scandal and the second about the provincial governments questionable antics - including the highway and bridge building contracts among other things. Both links well worth looking at.


http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/

http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/
.
 
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Washington+state+faster+than+responding/3105821/story.html
 
Anon 2:53,

Thanks for your link. I haven't been posting much from the [ahem ... cough] "accredited" media lately;
perhaps when they have some news to report, I'll print a reference to it.

The item you sent, for example, had a different headline when I saw it early this morning. Presumably on orders from On High, they sanitized it from the original, which was

Washington leaves Campbell red-faced

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Washington+leaves+Campbell+red-faced&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

I guess when you've been "accredited", you can do stuff like that, to fool the folks in B.C.
.
 
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