Open letter to Premier Christy Clark: answers, please!

Madame Premier, some unsettling information was published by Alex G. Tsakumis on his blog on June 25.

Namely, an Oct. 8, 2003 lawyer-witnessed, memo-to-file by Dave Basi, a ministerial assistant who suddenly admitted guilt in the B.C. Rail corruption trial on Oct. 18, 2010. Remember that ugly chapter in British Columbia history? It surprised all of us citizens when police raided offices at the Legislature at Christmastime 2003. Bill Tieleman's feature is a worthy primer.

Basi and co-accused Bob Virk had their legal bills paid by taxpayers under an extraordinary and potentially illegal $6 million settlement deal in October 2010. The deal included a gag order. The people of the province aren't supposed to pay legal bills for guilty public employees. Auditor-General John Doyle is trying to investigate, but he has been met with resistance from your government. Your ex-caucus mate John van Dongen is an intervenor in the case. He cited this deal as a primary reason for quitting your caucus on March 26 in this speech. (That was the same day you had a mysterious phone call with ex-Premier Gordon Campbell.)

But you know all about the bungled B.C. Rail sale. A privatization that your party promised would not happen. You had a front-row seat. You were Deputy Premier. So I'll cut to the chase.

Below are questions that the people of British Columbia need answered. Much is at stake. It is about democracy and the integrity of the government, an institution that will outlast you.

A) Do you remember taking the oath of confidentiality when you were sworn-in on June 5, 2001 as a member of Premier Gordon Campbell's cabinet?

The oaths of allegiance, office and confidentiality, as delivered by Lt. Gov. Garde Gardom, are below for your reference. So is the news release that lists you as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education.

B) Is the Oct. 8, 2003 memo to file by Dave Basi accurate? Yes or no. Did you provide confidential cabinet information to a person other than a member of the Executive Council? Yes or no. 

C) If yes, were you authorized or required to do so?

D) Who gave you the authority or issued the requirement?

E) Or, were you acting on your own volition?

F) How often did you do so?

G) Your supporter, Harry Bloy, resigned from cabinet on March 15 after breaching the oath of confidentiality. Will you respect the honour and traditions of the Legislature of B.C. and resign from cabinet?

The people of British Columbia eagerly await your answers. The people of British Columbia deserve a public inquiry, to prevent a repeat of the B.C. Rail scandal.


British Columbia Oaths of Allegiance, Office, Confidentiality


THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA JUNE 5, 2001

What's the Premier's office hiding about Atwal?

Remember the story about the Ghuman and the gunman?

The Ghuman was Tariq Ghuman, a B.C. Liberal Party director. The gunman was Jaspal Singh Atwal, the buddy Ghuman brought to the 2012 B.C. Budget speech on Feb. 21 in the Legislature.

Atwal, a Liberal supporter, was convicted in 1987 for his attempt to murder Indian cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu, who was visiting British Columbia in May 1986.

On Feb. 27, Kim Bolan of the Vancouver Sun reported the following:

Shane Mills, Premier Christy Clark's director of communications, said Monday that Atwal only made his way onto the guest list when another person invited by the premier's office asked for an extra ticket to attend.

"His name was on a list. It was put on the list at the request of an invited guest," Mills said. "If we had known his background, he would not have been invited."

Mills said Atwal's name was just given to government the day before the budget speech.

"And we don't normally vet those kind of things. So we were unaware of the person's background and we will be working to improve the vetting and working with the Speaker's office on that," he said.

Ghuman resigned, but popped up at party events shortly after.

The Jaspal Atwal controversy garnered Clark the revulsion of commentators on opposite sides of the political spectrum, from Bill Tieleman (who found Atwal's buddy Ghuman literally rubbing shoulders with Port Moody-Coquitlam by-election candidate Dennis Marsden and former Tory MP Stockwell Day) to Alex Tsakumis (who claims a source told him Clark unsuccessfully lobbied an Indian diplomat to grant Atwal a visa so he could travel with her on last fall's trade mission to India). When I asked Mills about this, he denied the Premier did so.

I was curious. Who were all the people on the guest list? What did the invitation look like? What was being said internally in the Office of the Premier about Atwal? Could there have been correspondence with the Indian consul about Atwal? Or correspondence with Atwal, himself?

So I filed a Freedom of Information request. Lo and behold, the Office of the Premier claimed it had no records. My laughter ensued.

See the two denial letters below. Then compare them with the records received when I asked for the guest list and invitation for the Clark-and-cabinet swearing-in ceremony of March 14, 2011. Remember how Clark claimed she was a champion of openness and transparency? Apparently not anymore.

Message to the Office of the Premier: I was born at night, but not last night. Kindly cough up the guest list for the B.C. Budget speech, show me the Atwal correspondence. I just hope the documents, didn't grow legs and jump into your paper shredder on their own.

UPDATE (April 24, 2012): I have formally asked for the Information and Privacy Commissioner to intervene.

Another request denied

Another request denied

Premier Christy Clark's swearing-in guest list

Riot report ghost writer reluctant to talk about BC Rail briber

I got a call from Stewart Muir on Friday afternoon. Turns out he was the ghost writer for the report on the 2011 Stanley Cup riot that bears the names of John Furlong and Doug Keefe. Furlong, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics boss, hired him, he said.

The former Vancouver Sun deputy managing editor didn't seem very enthusiastic when I asked him about whether his wife, Athana Mentzelopoulos, influenced or was informed about the content of the report. His denial was emphatic, yet defensive.

It's not an unreasonable question. Muir is a veteran journalist who obviously knows our job is to watch those in power and keep an eye on those close to them. He has a family connection in the Office of the Premier. Mentzelopoulos was hired in August as Premier Christy Clark's deputy minister of corporate priorities. Mentzelopoulos was a deputy minister under ex-Premier Gordon Campbell and even served as a bridesmaid at Clark's wedding. Clark is a big Canucks' fan and enjoys the support of donors like Canucks and Rogers Arena owner Francesco Aquilini.

You can read my story on Muir here.

Before I finished the interview, I took the opportunity to ask about records mentioning Muir and Mentzelopoulos that are displayed on this blog entry by Alex Tsakumis.

Tsakumis managed to obtain expense reports filed by OmniTrax lobbyist Erik Bornmann that were collected by the RCMP in their investigation on the corrupt 2003 sale of BC Rail to CN Rail.

Bornmann was an admitted briber of public employees while he worked as a lobbyist for the BC Rail bidder. He was never charged in the BC Rail affair, but he agreed to become the star witness against ministerial aides David Basi and Bob Virk. Those two men accepted cash and gifts from Bornmann in exchange for information about the BC Rail sale.

Basi and Virk mysteriously copped a plea bargain in October 2010 just when the trial was about to get interesting. The B.C. Liberal government, under then-Premier Campbell, agreed to pay their $6 million legal bills, despite the fact they were guilty. Auditor General John Doyle is examining the highly unusual transaction.

Bornmann was admitted into the Law Society of Upper Canada, meaning he can practice law in Ontario, after this 2-1 decision. Read BC Railscam ace chronicler Bill Tieleman's blog here.

Bornmann's records on the Tsakumis blog show that Muir met with Bornmann on three occasions for what appear to be expensive meals, in the months before the BC Rail privatization was announced and the infamous raid on the B.C. Legislature happened:

July 8, 2003: "Entertainment Stewart Muir/Athana" $366.44
July 15, 2003: "Entertainment Stewart Muir and guests" $319.21
Oct. 7, 2003: "Entertainment - Business Editor - Vancouver Sun" $774.18

I sought Muir's comments on his infamous host and whether it was simply a traditional "reporter-source" relationship. (I was hoping he might have some insight about the scandal that dominated headlines in British Columbia for more than seven years.)

"I haven't seen the material," Muir said.

I offered to email him a link, but I told him I didn't have his email address. Could I have his email address? He didn't seem interested.

"You can Google it," he said.

I have no proof whatsoever of any wrongdoing by Muir or Mentzelopoulos. Just because they met with Bornmann does not mean you or I should think less of them.

I remain interested in what Muir might have to say about those meetings with someone who eventually became known as a central player in the BC Rail scandal.

If he wants to comment, he does not have to Google my contact information.