The Legislature Raids

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By BC Mary - June 16, 2011

I was born in Vancouver. I love the whole wild province more passionately than I had ever realized until the day police carrying Search Warrants marched into the BC Legislature and seized the information they needed. Then ... when the man they were tracking (Jasmohan Singh Bains) was put on trial in Victoria, found guilty of serious drug trafficking, and sentenced to 9 years plus heavy fine ... Big Media (for whom I also have a passionate affinity) turned rogue itself and published nothing about that. Nothing. Six silent months went by, until I broke the story on this blog.

Instead of acting as the responsible arm of government, with a duty of keeping citizens informed -- the Media were behaving like poor farmers -- share-croppers -- raising a sickly crop of poisoned voters. That's when I got mad. Big Media was treating us like a crop to be weeded, pruned, and changed to suit the needs of others. Harvest time was Election Day, and our votes were harvested as "they" wished. So there's no point asking why B.C. voted 3 times for a Campbell government ... any more than there's any point asking why 100,000 of us went nuts on June 15, 2011.

Sad and sorry as I am, that my countrymen have been shown to the world as looters, rioters, drunks and (dare we mention it? Big media didn't) druggies, the thing is: we must stop asking why 100,000 people went crazy in downtown Vancouver on June 15, 2011, as if it had something to do with the Stanley Cup. It doesn't. It had very little, if anything, to do with hockey. 

British Columbia has been dragged through this psychiatric horror-show time after time ... and ... it's people from somewhere else who are asking the questions today. Lady with British accent was first to arrive with her broom and dustpan. Mark Kelley on CBC "Connect" was asking: "What made Vancouver go crazy over a game?"  The question is echoing around the world.  Harming B.C. even more. Because why? Because of the stupidity.

It's no use telling us how nice we were (once upon a time), and that The Vancouver Olympics were us. Like hell. Most of B.C. was opposed to the Olympics, but nobody listened. "They" wanted the publicity, "They" wanted the big money opportunities (which "they" couldn't handle), "They" needed the distraction, the wild-eyed premier, the fake circus. The Vancouver Olympics was a done deal ... the best show money could buy ... and British Columbians sat like crash-test dummies and let them sink Vancouver  deeper into debt so "they" could find enough cash to pay the going rate.

The Vancouver Olympics would've happened if every British Columbian had simply gone to Tonga or Tasmania for a year and enjoyed themselves.

That was us in the June 16, 2011 riot, all right. The blind rage, the urge to get even, the animal-impulse to scream back at what  was being delivered to us once again ... a close brush with victory which in reality  was contrary to the hype. In the Stanley Cup Play-Offs, we were allowed to participate in an event which, once again, would only end up proving we were not The Greatest, not the Golden Era, not the Best Place in the World, not any of that cheap and dreadful publicity foisted on us by our own government, paid for by us. 

And no, no, no, not the Stanley Cup ... not even the H.S.T. ... but all those things stacked and stacked until it became impossible to avoid saying right out loud: "It's too much. We're mad as hell" ... knowing that nobody is really and truly going to want to know "Why?" much less wait for the answer.  My guess: even if you love British Columbia, most people can't handle the truth ... the corruption ... the gangs ... the infiltration of Organized Crime.

Why? We know why not. We're not stupid. We know that it might be tough-going for a while, to deal with the answers. We want our sacred forests back. They sold our rivers, we want our rivers back. We want our sacred salmon back. We want BC Rail back, and BC Ferries, and BC Hydro. We want our jobs, our small businesses, our schools and hospitals back. Fools, they gave away these priceless things to show how well B.C. was doing!

Indeed, there will be a lot of screaming when we find ourselves in a position to begin that conversation as to why 100,000 people can suddenly go berserk as they did on the night of June 15, 2011. But it's important to remember that it had very little to do with the game. Granted, hockey supplied the costumes, the National Hockey League supplied the production values, but brutal head-bashing politics has been going on throughout British Columbia for 10 years before June 15, 2011.

People do not riot for nothing.

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Precious moments with Lara


BC Mary comment: Despite the fact that I barely understand what they are talking about on their Point Grey Waterfront ... I enjoyed this little visit with Lara Dauphinee and her new friends. It's a game, really. Lara knows everything we need to know. Above all, Lara understands the importance of not telling us ... but she's so cute, she can't stop herself from leaving a few footprints in the sand. So let's play along. First, go back in time until you remember where Lara Dauphinee, our former premier's Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant who was never seen far from his side ... our former employee ... remember after Gordo resigned, Lara was busy rattling the tin cup to help finance her new life of riding a bicycle to cure cancer, or some such thing. She was disarmingly friendly, as we always imagined she would be if she ever spoke directly to her employers. Remember how she shyly confided how much she would really really need good luck, as she cycled? She even confided in us, providing the names we'd like to know more about but probably never will. A game. Don't try looking it up. Like all else about Lara Dauphinee, those stories are no longer available. Now, however, I do believe that our valiant Lara is working the game again to save the starving.  Also, the homeless.


Excerpt:

Face the World pulls in nearly $1 million for the hungry


But attendees were starving as well, as Japanese-styled dinner was delayed to accommodate those arriving late from Canucks game


By Malcolm Parry
Vancouver Sun? June 11, 2011


ACTS FACED: The Face The World charity gala ran recently at Jacqui Cohen's Point Grey waterfront home, with Premier Christy Clark reluctant to face predecessor Gordon Campbell -in photos, at least. The event's 21st running raised a reported $900,000 for some who otherwise might go hungry.

Attendees sure were when dinner by David Aisenstat's Ki Modern Japanese + Bar was long delayed to accommodate heavy-billfold supporters' attendance at a Canucks-Bruins hockey game. They included Jamie King, whose wife Christie vamped in a raffle-prize Smart car with Sarah Arison of the Miami Heat team-owning clan.

A year's use of the tiny jalopy went to La Stella and Le Vieux Pin wineries principal Saeedeh Salem, who may no more drive it than shop at The Bay. That could change in February, when a 20,000-square-foot version of the Toronto Bay's The Room offers highfashion lines on our downtown store's second floor.

Cut loose with Campbell's demise, 10-year aide Lara Dauphinee soon got hired by mining mogul Frank Giustra, who had TV's Shopping Bags Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic on each hand at FTW's late supper. As for emcees and former broadcasters Vicki Gabereau and Pamela Martin, Cohen cracked: "I can't imagine why the two of you are unemployed."

{Snip} ...

If interested, read Malcolm Parry's complete article HERE:

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Face+World+pulls+nearly+million+hungry/4931236/story.html#ixzz1OySSnsKg

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BC Mary comment: Cute, eh? Or maybe juvenile. Because the gamers are having the really big fun game knowing how many secrets are wrapped up in Miss Lara who still lives among us, still strolls through our lives so effortlessly, knowing the whole story of what went wrong in BC under Campbell. She's met them all, knows them all, yet not a word passes her lips which would betray them. Lara knows exactly who did what to whom, and who was on top.  And she's still protected. Just try looking up her record, even about the Ride to Cure Cancer. Gone. Wiped clean. But she still plays games, trying to mess with our heads. What is that? Why doesn't some red-blooded journalist take the bit in his/her teeth and find out? Rumour has it that in the stable of cast-offs which now includes Lara, is also included Christie Clark. Furthermore ... pssstt ... over here ... behind the potted palm ... because, if you ask me, Lara was Campbell's "aide" much longer than 10 years ... it included his years as Leader of the Opposition too, remember ...?


New chair looks to extend social agenda

Group seeks to bring talents of business community to bear in helping governments find solutions to problems such as homelessness

By Darah Hansen,
Vancouver Sun - June 14, 2011


Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, president of the Absolute Spa Group, will take over the duties of chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade Thursday, June 16.

Photograph by: Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun [Visit the article to enjoy the photo!]
If Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia needed any affirmation the Vancouver Board of Trade was on the right track, she got it on a recent trip to the Big Apple.

There to learn from the best practices of the various New York chambers of commerce, the hotelier and president of the Absolute Spa Group instead found herself responding to her hosts’ questions about “how the heck” the B.C. business organization was able to attract so many members.

“We have over 5,500 members, which, proportionately, is absolutely phenomenal,” she said. {Snip} ...

Joining her around the board table this year will be her two chair appointees, Lara Dauphinee, vice-president of the Fiore Financial Corp., and Bob Lenarduzzi, president of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

“I just really can’t say enough about both of those appointees. They are fantastic in their own trade, but they also have an excellent, wide scope understanding of other communities, other businesses and how they mesh together and, therefore, what forms Vancouver,” Lisogar-Cocchia said.

Eight new directors are also expected be named Thursday, including George Cadman of the Boughton Law Corp.; Cactus Restaurants president Richard Jaffray; Dueck Auto Group president Moray Keith; Blackcomb Aviation’s CEO Sacha McLean; Gordon Nelson, general manager of Rogers Communication Group; David Podmore, CEO of Concert Properties; Dr. Mark Schonfeld, CEO of the BC Medical Association; and Robin Silvester, CEO of Port Metro Vancouver.

In all, 37 directors — all volunteer positions — make up the Vancouver Board of Trade. All bring expertise in business leadership from a variety of fields, as well as a strong commitment to community building, a necessary combination for today’s board, Lisogar-Cocchia said.

Over the past decade, the board has made a conscious move to embrace and address a wide range of social issues that effect the region’s success and prosperity.

In recent years, the board has produced reports on everything from kids and the crime rate to Canada’s ailing health care system.

“We have realized that we can bring more value to our members by making the connection for them of a healthy community and their success,” said outgoing chair McLean.

“Rather than taking a narrow, parochial view of sticking with the HST or beating up governments on budget decisions — and we do that — we need to broaden our focus to long-term societal issues, where we can bring the talents and interests of the business community to bear in helping governments and other decision-makers find solutions,” McLean said.

Lisogar-Cocchia said she hopes to expand the debate this year to include homelessness and mental health.

The board has also added its voice to a national business initiative pushing for better job-skills training for prisoners to boost their employability after they serve their time.

“We are one of the leading chambers of commerce, without question, around the world and well-known within the professional community not only for providing a healthy economy, but also working toward having a healthy community and that is something to really be proud of,” Lisogar-Cocchia said.

{Snip} ...

According to Lisogar-Cocchia, all the applicants to date have ties to Vancouver. Many have lived and worked in the city, while others have business connections in the region.

Thursday’s AGM is promising to be a lively event, with U.S. journalist Lesley Stahl scheduled to make the keynote address, followed by an onstage “chat” with Premier Christy Clark.

“Things are going really well with the board of trade and they are going to get even better,” Lisogar-Cocchia said.

Read the whole amazing story HERE.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/chair+looks+extend+social+agenda/4946555/story.html

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BC Mary comment: This item really got under my skin. Please don't ask me to explain what this article has to do with BC Rail, because I can't make it any more clear: that the inherent value of something (a railroad, a grandmother, clean water, life itself) means virtually nothing to those who think they can grab something, force it into legislation, and arrange that it sells for a profit (preferably secret) to themselves.  Nothing is sacred. Nothing has universal value. 
 
As shown in Abbotsford-Mission where water itself is at issue, powerful people behind the scenes can work to arrange the  sell off of anything -- from the large, beneficial BC Rail to the water we need to stay alive. Please don't overlook this item. The  P3-fools have been doing their best in secret to sell the commonly-owned drinking water from Vancouver's virtual doorstep. And "they" are government! Just like what happened to BC Rail.


Mission and Abbotsford's Public-Private Water War

By Lynn Perrin
June 11, 2011


Quote:

Abbotsford's Mayor George Peary is not making any friends by damning
his neighbours in the media, chastising Mission Council and residents
for their decision to keep their water system in public hands, and
threatening to move forward with the public-private partnership
project regardless of the will of Mission residents. There really is
no room for bullying and egos when planning how to deliver water for
life, not profit, to the public.  (End quote)



The proposal to privatize the water services in my community seemed to hit us from behind - it was negotiated for over a year in secret and sprung on us without warning. This $300 million project, that would inevitably give control of our water to a foreign consortium, was not something Abbotsford or Mission residents asked for, but part of an agenda being pushed by the federal government and certain corporate individuals on Council.

To understand my experience and learn how to respond I turned to water documentaries such as FLOW (For Love Of Water) - a documentary about the privatization of drinking water - and saw that this is the typical modus operandi of P3 (public-private partnership) proponents. The film addresses the problems that have occurred in Europe with regard to water systems that are privately operated. However, most of the film is about P3s in the developing world in Africa and South America. I was surprised to find myself relating to the experiences of water consumers in those countries or villages. Even though I consider myself to be a strong, assertive woman, I wept at the similarity of what had happened to them and to what was now happening to my community of Abbotsford, B.C., Canada. I was amazed at the parallels between the fifth largest city in B.C. and communities in the developing world.

A number of concerned citizens of both Abbotsford and Mission have begun exhaustive research on the impacts of public-private water systems on consumers and communities. Water, is after all THE essential to all life. What became evident at the outset was that a very small percentage of water systems in Canada are the design, build, finance, operate model that the elected representatives of Abbotsford and Mission and their consultant Deloitte & Touche had opted to pursue. In B.C. and Canada the vast majority of local governments opt to have water systems operated publicly. Usually the private sector is limited to the design/build activities of water systems.

The need for more water was not a fact that Council members in both Abbotsford and Mission were unaware of. Two very extensive consultant reports were released in 2006 and 2009 that made it very clear that in order to approve more residential, commercial and industrial development much more water was needed. The estimated cost of the 2006 Water Master Plan was just under $197 million and in 2010 it was $198 million. Both Water Master Plans used costs related to Stave Lake as the source for additional water. A 2009 report prepared by Polis which recommended conservation as a way to have a sustainable water system and save up to 70% was released by the Abbotsford-Mission Water and Sewer Commission. See that report here.

Just months after the 2010 Water Master Plan was released the cost has gone up to $300 million, according to a Deloitte & Touche “business case” commissioned by the city. In addition, the cost to operate the public-private water system Stave Lake section would be $1+ million more per year over the proposed 25 year contract. Apparently, significant cost increases are quite common when P3 design/build and finance/operate “business cases” are submitted to senior governments for funding assistance. Historically, the assistance has been as much as 60% of the capital costs. The public-private “business case" for the Abbotsford/Mission water upgrade was submitted to PPP Canada Inc. - a relatively new crown corporation created by the Harper Conservative government in 2007. According to information available from the Government of Canada, PPP Canada Inc. will “grow” the P3 market in Canada; manage a $2 billion+ P3 Fund, providing up to 25% of municipal and provincial P3 costs; review and assess proposals for P3s seeking federal contributions using a new “P3 screen”; provide advice and expertise for P3 matters; and target municipal and small projects in particular. 



Local governments have proclaimed that they have no choice but to opt for a public–private water system if they want to access federal funding (now lowered to 25%). With the P3 cat out of the bag a group of concerned water consumers from both Mission and Abbotsford met and formed Water Watch Mission-Abbotsford. News of this was met with a full page ad in the local media in Abbotsford and Mission, quoting Abbotsford Mayor George Peary erroneously accusing CUPE (the union that represents civic workers) of misleading the public about the impact of P3s. Then Deloitte & Touche was contracted and directed to not even consider anything other than the design/build and finance/operate option. Their recommendation was finally debated in public on Apr. 4, 2011. Abbotsford Council and staff refused to answer any questions. They looked like deer in the headlights according to one observer.

A large contingent of the public expressed such strong opposition to the P3 option that Council voted to delay the vote and (finally) address the numerous concerns voiced at the meeting. On the same evening with both Council and staff available to respond to concerns from the public, Mission Council decided to respect the concerns of its citizens and take the bull by the horns and voted the P3 water scheme down. This caused yet another very disrespectful public comment from Mayor Peary who humiliated residents by stating that the tail (Mission) would not be allowed to wag the dog (Abbotsford). Most of the water Abbotsford currently taps - from Norrish Creek - is not in Abbotsford but in Mission, as is Stave Lake.



Many hoped that would be the end of the P3 as both Abbotsford's Water and Sewer Commission Report on the matter and the “business case” required both Councils to agree to the P3 water scheme. But as far as Mayor Peary was concerned it was still “full steam ahead”. When Abbotsford Council voted on April 18, 2011 on a quickly revised Deloitte & Touche “business case” - which “reduced” the cost to $284 million - to proceed with the P3 water scheme, one Councillor even expressed disgust at being bribed with our own money while we endanger our “gentleman’s agreement” with Mission, our longstanding working partner. However, during the recent federal election campaign Abbotsford Conservative incumbent candidate Ed Fast said that the P3 water scheme is not compulsory in order to obtain federal funds. 



The voters of Abbotsford will now be asked to approve the P3 water project in a referendum in November 2011, including a long-term 25 year private contract to finance and operate the water system and the borrowing well over $50 million. The City of Abbotsford is launching a massive communications plan to convince the electorate to vote in favour of this privatization of their water services.

However, public opposition to the idea is mounting, along with the logistical problem Abbotsford faces in accessing water located in Mission for which they need right-of-way access. In May Mission Council unanimously refused to consider a request by Abbotsford to grant access to Mission’s roads for the P3 project. 



Abbotsford’s Mayor Peary is not making any friends by damning his neighbours in the media, chastising Mission Council and residents for their decision to keep their water system in public hands, and threatening to move forward with the project regardless of the will of Mission residents. There really is no room for bullying and egos when planning how to deliver water for life, not profit, to the public.



Lynn Perrin is the Abbotsford Spokesperson for Water Watch Mission-Abbotsford.

To learn more about the battle over Mission and Abbotsford's water and how you can help:

Web / Facebook / Youtube / Contact: waterwatchma@live.ca


Source is HERE: 

http://thecanadian.org/k2/item/814-mission-and-abbotsford-water-war

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By BC Mary
4 June 2011

Go ahead. Call me old-fashioned.

At first, I never quite knew what to think of our latest governor-general (David Johnston), especially in comparison to the lady he replaced. Michaelle Jean was a class act. Didn't need interpretation. Easy enough to see that she gladly represented us ... all of us ... and that she wanted the best for us, and would try to make it so ... with that one, unnerving exception when we desperately needed the Queen's representative to stop Harper ... and instead, she listened to the wrong advisors, and let Harper cancel Parliament rather than answer the people's questions. 

But, fair enough after two terms for Jean, it was time for a new governor general. I was pretty much OK with that, except for thinking that Jean might've taken that episode to heart, and would do an even better job as Governor General with an extended term of office. But no. Too late ... the prime minister had someone else in mind.

So up pops David Johnston. And I can't say I've paid much attention to David Johnston until recently. After the recent federal election, to be exact. And here's where things get old-fashioned. I figure it's quaintly OK to have Queen Elizabeth as the head of government as long as she remains absolutely clear of political favouritism. She's done pretty well on that, so far. But there was a nasty incident in Australia when a reigning governor-general scooped an elected prime minister (Gough Whitlam) and replaced him with a man who had "the right stuff". The facts gradually came out, over the decades ...

But this new dude of ours (David Johnston), I could see him doing quite the opposite: keeping a prime minister when the citizens are screaming for help. Why do I think this?

Well, the new governor-general (David Johnston) gave the game away at the swearing in of Stephen Harper's new Cabinet.

At the swearing-in, the whole Harper Gang was at Rideau Hall, official residence of the Queen's Representative in Canada. Seated, row upon row, they awaited the semi-royal personage (David Johnston) and Harper.

Do you remember the part where Himself and that other fellow (Stephen Harper) were shown on TV news as they walked toward the seated mob of new Reform/Alliance/CPC Cabinet Ministers?

Shoulder to shoulder, the two men  marched across the carpet. Then all of a sudden, our Governor-General, absolutely  bursting with joy, raised his arms above his head, clenched his two hands vigorously together ... brandished them ... thus greeting the large new Harper Cabinet with the sign of victory! With the beaming approval of the dude at his side.

Sheesh.

The official representative of our carefully non-political Queen Elizabeth -- our "Man of Steel" -- was using the universally-understood signal to declare before the world that "WE WON!" The WE meaning Harper's Gang. Our new Governor General (David Johnston) was confirming, with that Victory sign, that he was Harper's man. That the Harper Gang is comprised of "the right stuff" while the rest of us, apparently, are not and never will be. "You bastard!" I decided.

It doesn't surprise me one bit, that the hotel where I am staying, which calls itself "Grand", is so old-fashioned that it spreads around free copies of Reader's Digest. What's worse, people actually read them. This morning, I was walking past a small lounge when I saw a picture of Himself (David Johnston) on the cover of an old Reader's Disgust for November 2010; the story was: "Canada's Man of Steel."  With the divisive sub-title, "Why David Johnston, our new Governor General, has the right stuff." It should be HERE but it isn't.

The right stuff? Written by Wah Keung Chan.  In my mind's eye, I could see that Victory Salute again. "We won!"

Call me old-fashioned, but I think that was a disgraceful moment in Canadian history ... as Himself (David Johnston) with Harper at his side, declared "WE won!"

It's not as if the whole country approves of Harper's agenda. Read about that HERE.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/stop-harper-placard-gets-senate-page-turfed-from-throne-speech/article2046548/?service=mobile

I picked up that old Reader's Digest and read the story a couple of times. No mention of His (David Johnston's) huge mistake in cheering Harper's team on. Even though the Governor-General is not supposed to be cheering ANY faction on, much less deciding which team was "right" and which team is "wrong".

Wah Keung Chan created a beautiful story about David Johnston, a renowned story-teller, a star HOCKEY player, who even married his "childhood sweetheart" after, of course, sending her a rose every day for a year ... after which... well, never mind. Let Reader's Digest tell the story. Only ha ha! good joke on us ... you can't do that on-line. If you're made of "the right stuff" you'll buy a subscription.

The hard copy says nothing whatever about Johnston's cozy relationship with Stephen Harper. I thought I'd look up the original story under its Reader's Digest headline for November 2010 ... but guess what? No chance. "Page overboard" they say coyly.

Instead, they offer other tantalizing stories such as "5 things you can do with steel wool".  Call me old-fashioned, but I could suggest a 6th thing they should do with steel wool.

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BC Mary comment:  It's Friday, the day we brace for sneaky document dumps. I thought my readers might be intrigued by this column from Ian Mulgrew. It was Mulgrew, you may recall, who stands out as the only journalist who mentioned the 2008 trial and sentencing of Jasmohan Singh Bains. And you remember Bains? When police raided the BC Legislature, Bains was thought to be Mr Big on the West Coast. He had made 26 phone calls (caught on RCMP wiretaps) to his cousin, Dave Basi, at the Ministry of Finance office during 2003. This naturally made Bains a "person of interest" who was arrested and charged with drugs trafficking when police raided the BC Legislature. Read that story HERE [Drug dealer linked to Legislature Raid imprisoned. Vancouver Sun - Feb. 17, 2009.]


I've never understood how ... or why ... Big Media chose to suppress that very significant fact. Or how Ian Mulgrew was able to step safely around all those land-mines to get his column (citing me as his source) published 8 months later in a February 2009 edition of Vancouver Sun. Still without raising any other voices.
 
Well ... today we have a fresh new story about the process of high-level skulduggery. Involving the high courts, today's report offers 1,000 clues as to how these nefarious deeds are pulled off, right in front of our eyes.  

Well Done, both times, Ian Mulgrew!

Read Mulgrew's story HERE including video. 


U.S. used 'unmitigated gall' and B.C. court to jail exec

Judge's stinging rebuke aimed at Cisco and U.S. prosecutors


By Ian Mulgrew
Vancouver Sun - June 3, 2011

 
The giant computer company Cisco and U.S. prosecutors deceived Canadian authorities and courts in a massive abuse of process to have a former executive thrown in jail, says a B.C. Supreme Court judge.

The point, said Justice Ronald McKinnon in a stinging decision delivered orally on Tuesday, was to derail a lawsuit launched by the former employee, and involved a series of machinations that would make a normal person “blanch at the audacity of it all.”

In a rare move, McKinnon stayed extradition proceedings against Peter Adekeye, a British computer entrepreneur who once worked for Cisco Systems, Inc.

The judge said U.S. prosecutors acted outrageously by having the respected executive bizarrely arrested in Vancouver on May 20, 2010 as he testified before a sitting of the American court he was accused of avoiding ...

{Snip} ...

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... "But in legal circles - specifically in the defence bar - it's notable for being the biggest gravy train in the history of the province."  

Today also, BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon declares boldly that "There needs to be, frankly, more clarity."  Right. So isn't the BC Liberal government shutting down the Legislature today, too?

  
No answer to the $6-million question

By Les Leyne
Times Colonist - June 2, 2011

... There isn't another case in history here - or likely elsewhere in the country - where a government was dumb enough to open the vault, let the lawyers in and then leave them to gorge for six long, lucrative years.

When two ministerial aides were first implicated in the scandal, there was some dimly understood obligation on the part of the government to cover their costs, to some extent. The political leadership was too busy running away from any potential involvement in the case to have anything to do with putting control in place.

So it fell to two deputy ministers to handle the time bomb as best they could.

They basically agreed to have the government cover the defence cost on an ongoing basis for the duration of the case. Which turned out to be over a half-decade in length. Which amounted to a staggering $6 million in fees.

There was some vague understanding that the indemnity would lapse if there was a conviction or a guilty plea. But that concept disappeared in the blink of an eye when Dave Basi and Bob Virk entered their guilty pleas last year.

From a practical point of view, it was considered an impossibility to get the millions back from the disgraced former aides.

And waiving any attempt to try was key to securing the pleas and saving the cost of finishing the trial, according to the Opposition's interpretation.

Finance Minister Kevin Falcon was grilled in the legislature this week on how the legal bonanza came to be.

He's the second minister in two weeks to be questioned on the $6-million payout, after Attorney General Barry Penner took the stand, so to speak.

Neither of them could shed much light on the story. And the utter opacity that cloaks the whole saga is remarkable.

The government accounts for every nickel it spends every year. Asked where in public accounts the funds are recorded, Falcon said it wasn't specifically listed. The openended obligation was disclosed once, in 2005, in an obscure statutory report.

He also confirmed there is no limit, once an indemnity is set. It was essentially extended on the assumption the individuals were acting in good faith and were innocent until proven otherwise, he said.

Was it in writing?

The only thing in writing about covering legal fees is a part of the public service manual that applies mostly to civil suits.

"That is really the extent of the policy, which is part of the problem," Falcon said. "There needs to be, frankly, more clarity."

There was only one control the government had once they opened the vault. It put a charge on the title to at least one of the defendants' houses.

That was quickly extinguished as part of the plea bargain.

Questioned by NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston, Falcon said there was never any internal audit of the deal.

Falcon acknowledged the legal payout "caused much political angst for government and members of the public."

The rest of his explanation consisted of repeatedly citing the independent review of the mess by University of British Columbia president Stanley Toope. Penner has retained him to write a comprehensive new policy.

Penner's explanation of the situation earlier was just as weak.

He didn't know who sat down for the government and negotiated the deal with Basi and Virk.

He said "ordinarily" an independent lawyer would check all the incoming bills, but he couldn't say it happened in this case.

And when asked to produce a copy of the actual deal, he said it's protected by "solicitor-client privilege."

So the cheques rolled out for years on end with no internal audits as to what they were about. No politicians had anything to do with anything.

The bureaucrats they relied on to clean up the mess had no policy to go on, so they made one up.

Whatever deal was done directly with the defendants at the outset of the case you can't see, because it's privileged.

And whatever deal was reached to conclude the case was explained in a one-page news release that no politician now wants to explain.

{Snip} ...

Read Leyne's full column HERE.

http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/answer+million+question/4879457/story.html