Thursday, March 17, 2011

 

Citizen Journalists have their say on BC Rail court proceedings

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E.M has left a new comment on your post "BC Rail ... Basi-Virk evidence ordered destroyed": 


The Decision of March 15th of [Assoc.] Chief Justice MacKenzie 
Posted March 16, 2011: ONE MONTH FROM COURT DATE

Reading the decision Today(link below) [45] As a result, I am satisfied that because the proceeding is over for which the disclosure was provided, the respondents are not entitled to make any further use of the material that remains subject to the undertaking. I note that, as counsel for the Crown emphasized, in the event that Aneal Basi faces additional charges, he will at that stage be entitled to a fresh disclosure package.
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Interesting It was Aneal's Lawyer who I felt @ Court that day fought the hardest for the retention of the documents, I understood the reasons for this was the Public Enquiry and the possibility of a Civil Suit, presumably for wrongful dismissal, since his charges were stayed.(note above ADDITIONAL CHARGES) I still do not understand how that was possible when the evidence clearly showed he was laundering money from Bornman to David Basi.

The discussion in Court re Aneal was if all documents were returned and another case persued, it would be very difficult considering the massive materials to even know what material would be necessary to make full answer/defense, what to request, what material would assist,trying to remember what documents were available,after the passage of time even having to go through all the procedures to get access to the information.

63)[67] The Crown submits that in this case, due to the volume of documents, the nature of the issues, and the number of implicated third-party interests, the best way to protect the undertaking is through an order for the return of the documents.

[68] The Crown says that an order to this effect is necessary because the respondents have not agreed to return the material and, indeed, have clearly stated their intention to use it for purposes unrelated to this proceeding.

73-
Although I would not hold that the protection of the implied undertaking requires an order for the return of materials in all cases, I am satisfied such an order is necessary in the circumstances of this particular case.
NOTE (79)
each of the following investigations:

i. R.C.M.P. Vancouver Island Drug District Section;

ii. Anti-corruption;

iii. Breach of Trust;

iv. Agricultural Land Reserve;

v. Proceeds of Crime; and

vi. B.C. Liberal Contracts;

b. All Electronic Disclosure and all hardcopies of materials produced from the Electronic Disclosure or otherwise from the anti-corruption investigation and called “Project ERI”; and
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Anyone know that anti corruption case was called Project ERI ?

79- That counsel for each of the Respondents shall satisfy themselves that all Stinchcombe Disclosure and Application Materials have been returned to them by each of their respective clients and anyone else who has been in possession of Stinchcombe Disclosure or Application Materials and shall confirm same in writing to the Office of the Special Prosecutor within 30 days of this Order.

I HOPE THIS GETS APPEALED and J. Bennet gets the case ha ha
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/11/03/2011BCSC0314.htm

One other comment from the Judge
75)
In the case of Aneal Basi and Virk, I note they have clearly stated their intentions to use the material for purposes collateral to making full answer and defence in this proceeding.
I say Hopefully to write a book!!!


Posted by E.M to The Legislature Raids at 17 March, 2011

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Many, many thanks, E.M.

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Skookum 1 asks:

What are "BC Liberal Contracts"? Is that EM talking, or the judge. If EM, the answer is obvious. If the judge, what is she talking about?

Is it possible the sealed/confidential BC Rail contracts were part of the evidence we're not allowed to see?

Of course, we'd like them destroyed; but only once they're cancelled for illegal proceedings in connection with them; and it's always sounded like they have illegal/non-constitutional clauses, like the ones exempting CN from prosecution/court action because of their contents...
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BC Mary comment: Skookum1, I seem to be always in a hurry to get through the rivers of text which flow past my computer screen ... so I took that 

vi. B.C. Liberal Contracts; 

to mean those separate media monitoring  "dirty tricks" agreements between Dave Basi and the BC Liberal Party. Evidence for that is on the Basi - Collins wiretap transcripts in which pressure and fakery were used against BC Rail ... which seems to be illegal (as in, how many bosses can one person serve? can you legally buy a government decision which goes against the public wishes?) but somehow get shoved into place under the general heading of "BC Rail Political Corruption Trial".  


So Skookum1,  thanks for spotting the central issue here. 


Btw, there's a well-regarded candidate hoping to become leader of the NDP, and he is promising "a full Judicial Inquiry". Call me gun-shy ... but I nearly jumped out of my skin. What the heck is a Judicial Inquiry?!! I thought. Well ... it means a Public Inquiry with a judge presiding. Hmmm. [Look up Public Inquiry Act]

Well, OK ... maybe ... 


but boy-oh-boy, we the people are nervous, jumpy, and extremely unwilling to take anybody's word for these matters: no doggone way. So Legislative Dudes, spell it out CLEARLY and give people a fair chance to approve or not.  

Therefore: a full-scale judicial inquiry is a good thing, if ... if the presiding judge has the respect of the public. Someone like Elizabeth Bennett, I think. Or possibly Stephen Point. 


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About BC Rail having to seek out Chicago, now, when trying to put together enough rail cars to serve the B.C. interior, Skookum1 said:

Pretty crazy that a Canadian town has to call Chicago to get service on a formerly publicly-owned/operated railway though...weren't there service guarantees in the contracts? Oh right! - we don't get to see what's in the contracts. We're only the former owners.

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Comments:
If I had the documents I would hand them over. It would be worth the time in jail to convict those involved in this whole corrupt scandal.
 
Given the popularity of Wikileaks, I would be very surprised if the BC Government and long nose Campbell were not worried. They should be sh**ing bricks - it just needs a few documents to be put on the Wikileaks website, to tell the whole world just how corrupt British Columbia politics and the judicial system have become, under the nefarious eyes of Gordon Campbell.

I pray that someone actually carries out a similar act - the more papers, the merrier !

Thank you
 
The Defence had these documents and yet nothing was advanced from them, expect for further requests for more and more documents, in their ever quest for a document that would set Basi and Virk all free.

Obviously that document does not exist, for if it did, the Defence counsel would have recognised it for what it was, played that card, and Basi and Virk would have launched the biggest and most expensive wrongful dismissal suite in BC history.

But alas, that didnt happen.
 
What are "BC Liberal Contracts"? Is that EM talking, or the judge. If EM, the answer is obvious. If the judge, what is she talking about?

Is it possible the sealed/confidential BC Rail contracts were part of the evidence we're not allowed to see?

Of course, we'd like them destroyed; but only once they're cancelled for illegal proceedings in connection with them; and it's always sounded like they have illega/non-constitutional clauses, like the ones exempting CN from prosecution/court action because of their contents...
 
For the anonoPab who posted:

"Obviously that document does not exist, for if it did, the Defence counsel would have recognised it for what it was, played that card, and Basi and Virk would have launched the biggest and most expensive wrongful dismissal suite in BC history."

You ignore the fact that just because the documents wouldn't completely exonerate Basi/Virk doesn't mean they wouldn't also IMPLICATE unamed and uncharged co-conspirators, indeed the captains of the corruption in which Basi and Virk were merely minor participants and convenient scapegoats.

BTW, six million is a pretty fair settlement for ANY kind of dismissal...........anyone could hire and fire me for six mil anytime and we don't even have to go to court.

If the hands of the Campbell Crime Family are so clean, it is difficult to imagine why they spent years fighting disclosure and destroying evidence..........

I see today that the Awesome Barry Penner is miffed about the payout for the Basi/Virk legal bills, but hey, how could we sentence them to really mellow, loosely restricted house arrest if we took away their nice houses. Then we would have to put 'em in a homeless shelter with ankle bracelets!
 
aparently on interview at 222 pm on nw 98 it was stated that bc rail is now a monopoly and people have to phone cn in Chicago to get rail cars in short supply for forest product transport.
 
http://www.corusradio.com/Shared/AudioVault/CKNWAMaudioVault.asp?VaultDate=20110318&VaultTime=14&mysubmit=Listen
 
Anon 2:57,

Could you say a bit more about this? How is BCRail a monopoly now?
 
In places like Prince George or Fort St John it necessarily would be now, wouldn't it? Maybe Anon means it as a locational monopoly. Pretty crazy that a Canadian town has to call Chicago to get service on a formerly ppublicly-owned/operated railway though...weren't there service guarantees in the contracts? Oh right! - we don't get to see what's in the contracts. We're only the former owners.

Isn't democracy wonderful?
 
plutocracy?/oli?/plutarchy?

http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/letters/117718088.html
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcuQkk576WY
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIbF4J5impc&feature=related
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKL1mRKtjg&feature=fvwrel
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accenture
 
At least the Americans know how to monitor Mergers and Violations, with a 5 year oversight monitoring
The US Surface Transportation Board (STB) is comparable to Transport Canada.
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Canadian National fined $250,000
Regulators say railway underreported Chicago-area crossing delays
December 21, 2010|By Duaa Eldeib, Tribune reporter
Federal regulators reached an unprecedented decision Tuesday to fine Canadian National Railway a quarter of a million dollars, just two years after they approved the railroad's plan to redirect freight traffic through dozens of Chicago suburbs.

The Surface Transportation Board levied the penalty against Canadian National for "knowingly violating" the board's orders to report delays at railroad crossings between Mundelein and northwest Indiana.

CN had initially stated there were only 14 instances in which trains blocked crossings for 10 minutes or longer last November and December. An independent audit revealed such delays occurred 1,457 times, more than 100 times greater than CN reported.
snip

"We're disappointed with the fine," CN spokesman Patrick Waldron said. "In no time did CN mislead or attempt to mislead STB officials or local leaders or the general public through our reporting."

Despite an outcry from residents, CN purchased the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern line for $300 million in December 2008. After the acquisition, regulators outlined a five-year monitoring period. The decision Tuesday extended that period by a year — until January 2015.

Organizers with The Regional Answer to Canadian National, or TRAC — a band of suburbs that opposed the purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern line and complained about CN's reporting — saw the STB's judgment as an affirmation of their efforts.

"We're pleased that the STB has taken seriously the importance of monitoring this situation. … (CN) needs to be vigilant in not just preventing crossing blockage but reporting what's going on, which hopefully will result in better outcomes," said Karen Darch, Barrington's village president and TRAC co-chairwoman.

CN has reached voluntary mitigation agreements with 26 of the 33 communities along the railway.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked the Illinois Commerce Commission for increased transparency by requesting copies of those agreements be made public in order to hold CN accountable.

deldeib@tribune.com
(sorry no URL.)

STB has also extended its regulatory oversight of the CN-EJ&E merger for an additional year, to Jan. 23, 2015, and said it will conduct another audit in 2011. This decision can also be viewed on the STB’s website. An STB official stated that the extra year of review by regulators “will likely cost CN hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional staff, legal and consultant fees.”

Further, the STB has established a website for monitoring CN Rail’s acquisition of the EJ&E railway.

However, in all this, we feel that one thing is certain; that all the attention from the media, elected officials, and from the public that CN Rail has drawn to itself from its underreporting of blocked crossings in the Chicago area is just one more thing that we bet this railway just wasn’t counting on.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-21/news/ct-met-cn-fines-20101221_1_cn-spokesman-patrick-waldron-cn-officials-report-delays
 
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