Two years on: her words don’t match the picture

Two years ago, on March 14, 2011, The Christy Clark Show: Taxpayer-Funded, Victoria Edition officially debuted. Political powerbroker Patrick Kinsella was among the guests in the live studio audience at Government House.

Christy Clark's swearing-in, March 14, 2011.

The Christy Clark Show: Taxpayer-Funded, Victoria Edition is a reality show that has been both a tragedy and a comedy. So many people are watching, despite the unpopular star and her supporting cast. The series will be cancelled as of May 14 if enough voters across this beautiful province go to the voting stations and (with the mark of an X on a ballot) figuratively say that they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. 

Conversely, Clark and Today's BC Liberals (not to be confused with Yesterday's BC Liberals or BC Christy) could be renewed for a four-year term. Stranger things have happened, but it is an extreme longshot, because March 2013 is only half over and it is shaping up to be as bad as, if not worse, than her March 2012. 

I said it before and I’ll say it again. March is the worst month to be a Premier in British Columbia. There is no “in like a lamb, out like a lion” maxim. If anything, it is a lacklustre month full of letdown for the person in the top elected office of the province. History shows the Premier is the author of his or her own misfortune.

March 2013 has been dominated by the Quick Wins Multicultural Outreach scandal, which actually began with the NDP's bombshell release of leaked Liberal election strategy documents on Feb. 27 (Clark's Pink Shirt Anti-Bullying Day). Clark's deputy chief of staff and closest confidant, Kim Haakstad, resigned March 1 because of it all. The Prince George plyscraper has received second billing on this month's scandal stage.

On March 4, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham slammed Clark for running an "oral government" in an investigation into the non-disclosure of records by the Premier's Office. On March 9, the Victoria Times-Colonist cited the Comox Valley Business Gazette's report on a February speech in which she poked fun at her ex-husband's manhood. On March 11, independent MLA John van Dongen fired his latest salvo at the Liberals over the unanswered questions about the BC Rail scandal and the Basi-Virk $6 million legal indemnity. 

The quagmire continued on March 15 (the Ides of March!) when Clark went to meet with the Christians at the B.C. Leadership Prayer Breakfast. 

Clark left without answering any questions from reporters about caucus chair Gordon Hogg’s pronouncement that he is in favour of an external investigation of the scandal. As opposed to the in-house review conducted by John Dyble, the deputy minister that she hired for his $310,000-a-year job. 

Dyble’s March 14-released, in-house review of his boss confirmed Liberals broke government rules by performing party work on government time for the taxpayers’ dime. There is no evidence that Dyble probed what the premier knew and when she knew. She only denied knowledge of the Quick Wins memo. 

Here is CKNW AM 980’s account of how the Premier -- a self-styled champion of public engagement and openness -- refused to answer reporters' questions. She may have said grace before breakfast, but she did not stay with grace after breakfast.

This is the same Clark who famously said during the last Question Period of the Legislative session on March 14, 2013:

“The essence of leadership is not to hide. It's not to run away.”

This is the same Clark who famously said in her March 14, 2011 swearing-in speech: 

“Our government will be open to the people of British Columbia. We will talk about our problems; we will set our priorities openly; and we will work with citizens to find solutions. And we will explain why we make the decisions that we do. You may not always agree with us and all the decisions that we make, but to the greatest degree possible, you won’t be surprised at the course that we take, and you will know for certain why we’ve chosen it.”

Many of us in the media are grudgingly accustomed to Clark hiding and/or running away. It is an unsettling trend. 

Two examples from 2012. 

• The famous “gum-chewing” incident on March 14, 2012 at the Globe 2012 convention involving newly hired communications gatekeeper Sara MacIntyre. 
• The April 2, 2012 incident at a downtown Vancouver hotel where CTV ace reporter Mi-Jung Lee pursued Clark for comment on the Liberals’ plummeting popularity. On the video, watch how Clark turns around and takes a step toward Lee to deliver her non-answer. 

Another from 2013: the day her cabinet met for an emergency Sunday meeting on March 3, Clark finally emerged from Canada Place for a quick two-minute scrum at 7 p.m., conveniently after the local supper-hour newscasts had signed-off. When politicians are confident and have a message they want to share with the public, they crave the chance to be on live TV. But on this night, embattled Clark was not ready for prime time. 

I have my own snubbed-by-Clark stories. She wouldn’t answer my question in the elevator lobby outside CKNW on Oct. 23, 2012 about her spending of taxpayer dollars on charter jets owned by CN Rail chairman and Liberal donor David McLean. 

Clark (left) and Dennis Skulsky, March 8, 2013.

I also tried asking a question on March 8 at B.C. Place Stadium, about how she could justify the $2.7 million subsidy to buy the Grey Cup hosting rights for 2014, while selling public assets to claim a balanced budget. Earlier, while at the podium, she looked right into my camera lens. But in the post-news conference mixed zone, she turned away and walked out before I could finish my sentence. I was standing less than 10 feet away and had unsuccessfully tried to gain her attention twice before. I was not alone. Laura Baziuk of CKNW had also hoped to ask a question.

This wasn’t the behaviour of Gordon Campbell when he was premier. His answers may have been insufficient at times, but he took questions and dealt with them. This was also not the behaviour of Clark when she was on the opposition side of the Legislature and actively sought attention from reporters.

Which brings me back to the March 8 news conference to announce the British Columbia government had bought the rights to host the 102nd Grey Cup in 2014. The Canadian Football League conducted no open, competitive bidding process, so it is incorrect to say hosting was awarded to the B.C. Lions and their owner, Sen. David Braley. The news conference had apparently been a rush job, to help the Liberals end a week on a high note after the Quick Wins scandal exploded.

When Clark arrived, she sat between Lions’ president Dennis Skulsky and legendary Leos' lineman Al Wilson. Liberal MLAs Richard T. Lee and Doug Horne and Deputy Premier Rich Coleman were also in the front row. All wearing B.C. Lions’ #14 jerseys. (Notice about 20 seconds into the video below how she greeted Coleman with a perky “Richie, hi!”) 

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was not invited to the news conference; the decision was apparently Skulsky's, but protocol should have dictated a mandatory invitation for top officials at Vancouver city hall. Robertson was invited to the Feb. 27, 2009 news conference when Campbell announced the 2011 Grey Cup would come to B.C. Place in Vancouver.

Clark, in fact, did not even acknowledge during her time at the podium that Vancouver would be the host city. (Fast-forward to the 19:00 mark of the CFL YouTube news conference video and follow the transcript below).

She made reference to Burnaby, but didn’t even say “Vancouver College” when she took note of the school's football players in the purple jerseys who carried the trophy into the news conference. She only said “V.C.”

Vancouver is the city in which she is an MLA (Vancouver-Point Grey, to be precise) and it is also the city whose taxpayers will get the bill for keeping the streets safe and clean in 2014. Cops, firefighters and sanitation crews don’t work for cheap, and they’re necessary for a successful event. 

Here is what she was supposed to say (notice the references to Vancouver):

Grey Cup Speech March 8

Here is what she actually said (as seen on the video below, notice the lack of Vancouver references):

“Thank you very much, I'm absolutely delighted. And Travis (Lulay) and team, I know of course you can't guarantee we'll win it, I believe we will, and when we win it let's just promise we're not going to break it. What do you think? 

“Sen. Braley, I'm delighted to be here with you and all the great football players from VC. Thanks. I hope that some of you are going to have a great future in the CFL. 

“And Al Wilson, Jim Young, I grew up in a family of BC Lions fans, my grandfather was a season ticketholder, my father was a season ticketholder. I remember the days at Empire when we would go and we'd get free tickets to Playland afterwards.  

“This team has been a part of British Columbia families for generations. I'm just one example of that, and of course the original Lu, a fellow Burnabyite, who was a great representative for my city, for my province and made us all so proud.  

“Thank you to my colleagues who are here today as well.  

“British Columbia this month created 40% of the new jobs in the country. One of the ways that we did that is because we stayed focussed on job creation.  

"This is a great sporting event, it is a great source of pride for all Canadians, it is a tremendous opportunity for Canadians to come together and celebrate what makes this country tick.  

“But it's also a great economic opportunity for us. So when we made that over $2 million investment in bringing the Grey Cup to British Columbia, when we made that decision as a province, we did it because it would create jobs for people here. We know that the over $100 million in benefits that will come to british columbia are going to put a lot of people to work. 

“I'd say that's a great investment for our province, it's a great investment economically, but much more importantly, or just as importantly, it's a great investment in pride, in our pride.  

“I'm delighted, here we are at this incredible stadium, one that some said should never have been rebuilt. Well if there is proof that it was the right decision, it's this announcement today.  

“Because it's this stadium that's allowed us to be able to win the Grey Cup, it's been this great team, this fantastic organization this proud legion of fans and our bright history.  

“We're going to keep making history folks, we're going to win this Grey Cup. 

“We're not just going to win it with the right to host it, our players are going to win the right to hoist that cup again, out here on this field and give British Columbians something to cheer about. 

“Thank-you very much.” 

Here's what she was going to say:  

Footnotes: 

The B.C. government granted $2.7 million to B.C. Pavilion Corporation to bring another event to B.C. Place Stadium. The renovations to make this a (pardon the cliche) world-class stadium were supposed to help it sell itself to promoters. 

I can’t wait for another Grey Cup. I have attended all eight at B.C. Place, including the Lions' 1994 and 2011 victories. There is, unfortunately, no academic or scientific study to quantify the net economic impact of the game for the host city and province. Big sporting events rarely deliver what their boosters claim, according to the research of respected sports economist Victor Matheson. It is a fact that the Grey Cup is a boon for the hotel and hospitality industries wherever it is held. It would otherwise be a dull November weekend in Canada without the festival. 

I only question the wisdom of a taxpayer subsidy at a time when the public finances are in shambles and hospitals and schools claim to be underfunded. The Lions are privately owned by a wealthy senator who is a respected, skilled businessman that knows how to turn an investment into a profit. Why does he need more taxpayer help, especially when taxpayers were already dinged for the $514 million stadium renovation? 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Enjoy the black beer, not the green. Be kind, not mean. Slainte! (I’m eager to see what kind of multicultural outreach activities the Liberals have up their sleeve!) 

Quick Wins scandal report soft on Clark

The first line of the Analysis and Conclusions section in the Review of the Draft Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan says everything.

"It is the conclusion of the review team that there were violations of the Public Service Standards of Conduct." 

Put simply, government employees were doing party business on government time, using the public dime. It confirms what you saw here first. That Premier Christy Clark's deputy chief of staff Kim Haakstad held meetings during government working hours, contrary to government rules. But it gets worse than that, as you can read below in the full report.

Instead of referring this scandal to an independent watchdog (such as Auditor-General John Doyle) for a thorough investigation, Clark opted for an in-house review. She appointed her Deputy Minister John Dyble -- the mandarin she hired for $310,000-a-year -- to rush it out in two weeks. It was tabled on the morning of the last day of the Legislative session. The scandal dominated the last Question Period, where Clark trotted out her well-rehearsed lines in response to hard questioning from NDP house leader John Horgan: 

"...the essence of leadership is not to hide. It's not to run away. It's not to deny responsibility. It's to accept responsibility when something wrong has been done and then do everything you can to make it right. That is the definition of leadership... When we make mistakes, we have a responsibility to step up, not to deny that a mistake was ever made. We have a responsibility to look into it, not to deny the opportunity for the light to shine on it. And we have a responsibility to fix it so that it doesn't happen again."

On this day, Clark was taking "responsibility" for "mistakes." Admitting no culpability or knowledge, but minimizing the affair, by calling it a "mistake." She might as well have labelled it a "boo boo." It was a well-thought strategy and the Liberals got caught. Clark had previously apologized for only the "language" in the Quick Wins memo and denied that public funds were used improperly. Haakstad and Multiculturalism Minister John Yap resigned. Yap's aide, Mike Lee, also resigned. In the report, Lee communicated with the now disgraced Yap via private email about leaving no trace of evidence.

Clark pledged for the Liberals to repay the government $70,000 for the misused resources. That is the equivalent of 175 of the $400-a-plate tickets to the Liberals' annual Premier's Dinner on April 8 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. 

Dyble seems to have done the best he could under the circumstances, but there are holes that could have been filled by an independent investigator. We might have to wait until June -- after the May 14, 2013 election -- to see some of the 10,000 documents gathered (but not read) as part of the review! (More on that in a moment.)

Dyble only mentioned his boss, Premier Clark, three times: 

Page 3: On February 28, 2013, John Dyble, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the BC Public Service was asked by Premier Christy Clark and Cabinet to undertake a review of the draft Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan to ensure that no government resources were inappropriately used or violations of the Public Service Act (Public Service Standards of Conduct) committed.
Page 8: On February 28, 2013, John Dyble, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the BC Public Service was asked by Premier Christy Clark and Cabinet to undertake a review of the draft Plan to ensure that no government resources were inappropriately used or violations of the Public Service Act (Public Service Standards of Conduct) committed.
Page 19: Premier Christy Clark, MLA Harry Bloy and MLA John Yap were all interviewed as part of this review. All of them stated that they had never seen the draft strategy document or work plan until they were in the public domain in the week of February 25, 2013.

That's right, on page 19, she is said to have claimed to have never seen the "Quick Wins" document. The key question that is unanswered is this: did she know about the strategy? 

She met on a weekly basis with Haakstad to discuss communications and event planning. Haakstad was her closest confidant, a sidekick since 2001. 

If Clark, both Premier and leader of the BC Liberals, truly knew nothing, then is she oblivious to the activities of her staff and is she worthy of holding the Premiership?

As for those 10,000 pages, this is what the news release said: 

"With the completion of this review, the review team has directed the approximately 10,000 pages of records be prepared for public release consistent with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act within 60 working days from release of this report, to post them on the Open Information website."

This is a nifty trick played by the government, to keep the background information on Dyble's in-house review secret until after the election. 

Section 20(1)(b) of the Act says a public body may refuse to disclose records that are to be published within 60 days. The government gave public notice in the news release that it intends to release thousands of pages "within 60 working days." So, by my count, there were 43 working days until the election when the report was released on March 14. A "document dump" in early June, perhaps? 

The full report is at the bottom of this post, but read the timeline first. 

Appendix D: Detailed Chronology

March 14, 2011: Harry Bloy appointed Minister of Social Development and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism.

September 26, 2011: Harry Bloy appointed Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. 

December 1, 2011: Kim Haakstad calls the Meeting: Brian Bonney, Dave Ritchie, Mike Lee, Barinder Bhullar, and Pamela Martin attend along with caucus employees, Primrose Carson, Jeff Melland, Lorne Mayencourt, a fourth caucus employee and Fiera Lo for the BC Liberal Party. 

December 5, 2011: The first draft of the excel spreadsheet (work plan) is developed by Mike Lee and Dave Ritchie. 

Dave Ritchie sends the first draft of the work plan to Primrose Carson. 

December 20, 2011: Stephen Harris creates the first draft of draft Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan. 

January 6, 2012:  Dave Ritchie sends the documents to Primrose Carson (Caucus) as the “coordinator” of the documents. His note says that Kim Haakstad’s edits are incorporated. 

January 10, 2012: Kim Haakstad uses her personal email to send the final drafts of the documents to some of the meeting participants using their personal email accounts. She references a conference call on January 11, 2012. 

January 11, 2012: Kim Haakstad chairs a conference call at 11:30 am to discuss the documents.

February 29, 2012: Dave Ritchie is appointed Ministerial Assistant to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. 

March 16, 2012 (sic):  Minister of State Harry Bloy resigns. (Bob note: Resignation was March 15). 

March 24, 2012: John Yap is appointed Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. 

May 3, 2012: Chair of Treasury Board approves spending plan for Minister of State for Multiculturalism office. 

May 28, 2012: Fiera Lo is appointed Executive Assistant to Minister of State for Multiculturalism. 

June 11, 2012: Request for Qualifications for Multiculturalism Community Liaison Contractors is released. 

June 16, 2012: Minister Yap attends an event in Richmond organized by one of the Community Liaison Contractors. 

June 28, 2012: Mike Lee confirms to Minister Yap by email that he has assisted with three prospective proponents with the procurement process. 

July 4, 2012: Request for Qualifications for Community Liaison Contractors closes. 

July 31, 2012: Shannon Baskerville, responsible Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, confirms with Minister Yap by email the names of the six people confirmed as qualified for the community liaison consultants. 

August 2, 2012: A decision note is prepared by program director Mark Seeley to Shannon Baskerville confirming the decision to select and proceed to contract with four of the six community liaison consultants. 

August 7, 2012: Minister of State Yap sends an email to Sarah Welch, Fiera Lo and Brian Bonney suggesting an agenda for a meeting to be held with the caucus outreach workers and the community liaison contractors. 

August 7, 2012: Mike Lee is appointed Executive Assistant to the Minister of Transportation and Sarah Welch is appointed Ministerial Assistant to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism. 

August 9, 2012: Brian Bonney sends an email to Minister Yap confirming that he’s booked the room for a meeting on August 13, 2012 and suggesting that he’ll call both the caucus outreach workers and the community liaison contractors to confirm their attendance. 

August 13, 2012: A meeting is convened in Minister of State Yap’s office with Minister Yap, Brian Bonney, Fiera Lo, Sarah Welch, the two caucus outreach workers along with the four proposed community liaison contractors. 

August 14, 2012: Brian Bonney sends an email to the four community liaison contractors saying he would like to set up individuals meetings with them to go over job duties, expectations and processes and references a template document that he will soon be sending to them. 

September 5, 2012: Minister of State responsibilities are transferred to the Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology and John Yap is appointed the Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology and the Minister responsible for Multiculturalism. 

September 18, 2012: Brian Bonney sends an email to the community liaison contractors advising them to submit their event profiles but not to use the “party” form that had previously been provided. 

September 26, 2012: Another anonymous call is made to Mark Seeley, Multiculturalism program director. The caller advises Mark that they provided their name and personal information, which seemed odd to them at the time. Following that, they began receiving political information at their home and made the connection that this must have resulted from the meeting. 

September 28, 2012: Anonymous call made to Deb Zehr, the former Executive Director at Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, to complain that they were being “threatened” that if they didn’t put on an event for the minister, their organization may not receive funding under the grant program. 

Early October, 2012: A third anonymous call is made to Madhavee Inamdar, (sometime between the 5th and the 16th of October). The caller states that they were at a function and pressured to provide a full list of the names and phone numbers of all club members. The names of Fiera Lo and Brian Bonney were mentioned. It was also suggested by Fiera Lo that the caller should not call the Chair of the Multicultural Advisory Council to report this as it would make trouble for the organization. 

October 24, 2012: Dawn Minty, Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Multiculturalism program meets with Rishi Sharma and Sarah Welch, the two Ministerial Assistants to Minister Yap, and advised them that she will be recommending that the contracts not proceed with the community liaison contractors. 

November 9, 2012: A letter is sent to the four proposed community liaison contractors to advise them that the contracts will not proceed. They are invited to submit invoices for any planning work undertaken. 

January 15, 2013: A payment is made to one of the contractors in the amount of $6800.00. 

January 24, 2013: Brian Bonney resigns with an effective date of February 21, 2013. 

February 27, 2013: The memo with the draft Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan attached is tabled in Question Period.

Review of the Draft Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan

Reading the tea leaves, pondering the end of the Liberal dynasty

Premier Christy Clark emerged March 3 from Canada Place's World Trade Centre (where her office is on the seventh floor), at 7 p.m., to spend just two minutes in front of cameras and microphones after the emergency, Sunday afternoon cabinet meeting.

Her cabinet ministers had left earlier. All trained seals, claiming to support her 100% amid growing calls for her resignation to save the BC Liberal Party from decimation in the May 14 election -- which would end 12 years of Liberal rule.

Was the timing of Clark's appearance by chance or designed to coincide with the sign-off of local suppertime TV newscasts? A lost opportunity, stemming from bad advice? Or a calculated decision to avoid the risk of embarrassment? 

Liberal Quick Wins strategy included translation

Any politician who is confident and sincere, or wants to appear to be, and wants to convey an important message directly to the masses will crave the opportunity to appear on live TV. Evidently, not Clark when it comes to this controversy which may prove to be the tipping point for her Premiership. 

Clark’s two-minute scrum ended with an apology for the Quick Wins/Multicultural Outreach Strategy scandal, but her words were very carefully chosen. 

"I sincerely apologize for the language that was used in that document. It's language that just isn't worth repeating. I think when you make a mistake, when somebody in your organization makes a mistake, the right thing to do is to own up to it and to make it right. That's why I apologize.”

The key word is "language." She said it twice. It was not an apology for government workers breaking the rule that prohibits doing party work on government time (see the evidence here). It was not an apology for trying to hide that work from the public, by using private email addresses that can't be searched under the Freedom of Information law. It was for the "language" in the memo, evidently crafted by the March 1-resigned deputy chief of staff Kim Haakstad. 

Make no mistake, Clark and the Liberals are absolutely demoralized. The key BC Liberal playbook for the 2013 election is exposed, out in the public domain, after it was leaked to the NDP and tabled on Feb. 27. 

"If not done correctly, we will appear opportunist," are the ominous words contained in the document. 

The Quick Wins memo discussed the use of video greetings, translated name tags, giving equal time and effort to the ethnic media, attempting to match and exceed NDP ethnic campaign efforts, and to "Identify and advance government initiatives and projects that would be resonant in ethnic communities… Identify and correct 'historical wrongs,' ie Komagata Maru apology in the House.” (More on Komagata Maru in a moment). It mentioned "anecdotal reports suggest that some ethnic communities, particularly Chinese, feel that they are ignored by government between elections."

Any policy, program or photo opportunity that has involved or will involve a multicultural issue by the Liberals can (and should) be viewed skeptically through the lens of the "Quick Wins" memo.

Consider some of the milestones since January 2012: 

• March 24, 2012: John Yap sworn-in as Advanced Education and Multiculturalism Minister in private ceremony at the Chinese Cultural Centre. No advance notice was given, but a video of the rare Saturday ceremony was released afterward. 
• June 3, 2012: Clark declares “In my heart, I'm Filipina” at the Philippine Independence Day picnic.
• Sept. 10, 2012: Clark meets for tea with Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing during a trade mission to Hong Kong, Tianjin and Beijing. 
• Jan. 16, 2013: Liberals announce CHMB AM 1320 CEO Teresa Wat is named Richmond-Centre candidate and Richmond School Trustee Grace Tsang, who wanted to run, was instead named co-chair of the Premier’s Chinese Advisory Committee. 
• Jan. 22, 2013: Clark announces the Times of India Film Awards for B.C. Place Stadium on April 6, to celebrate Bollywood cinema, to be underwritten with $12 million B.C. tax dollars.
• Feb. 7, 2013: Clark, Wat, MLAs Rob Howard, Blair Lekstrom, Colin Hansen, Dave Hayer, Jane Thornthwaite, Richard Lee, John Yap, Ida Chong and Ralph Sultan appear at feast at Chinatown’s Floata restaurant to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake. Clark reminds the crowd she was a 1965-born Year of the Snake baby. A sign on the podium (see above) displays her name in Chinese characters, Jian Hui Zhi (jan-WHAY-juh). Hui’s English equivalent is “smart.”
• Feb. 11, 2013: B.C.’s first Family Day occurs a week before statutory holidays in neighbouring Alberta (Family Day) and Washington state (Presidents’ Day), but the day after the Chinese Lunar New Year was marked. The B.C. government effectively (and cleverly) created a Chinese New Year Long weekend during election year! 

Back on the Komagata Maru incident apology. 

It was made in the Legislature on May 23, 2008. Today's BC Liberal Finance Minister Mike de Jong was the minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation then, and tabled Motion 62.

"Be it resolved that this Legislature apologizes for the events of May 23, 1914, when 376 passengers of the Komagata Maru, stationed off Vancouver harbour, were denied entry by Canada. The House deeply regrets that the passengers, who sought refuge in our country and our province, were turned away without benefit of the fair and impartial treatment befitting a society where people of all cultures are welcomed and accepted." 

The Liberals admit an apology for the Chinese Head Tax is coming, but won’t say when or in what form. 

Consider this interesting historical trivia: The Chinese Head Tax's successor, the Chinese Exclusion Act, was finally repealed federally after the efforts of veteran Toronto Jewish civil rights lawyer Irving Himel and Vancouver-born lawyer Kew Dock Yip. Yip was Canada’s first lawyer of Asian descent, who was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1945. 

Yip was the second youngest son of Vancouver Chinatown’s patriarch, Yip Sang. Yip Sang lived at what is now the Wing Sang Building, which was renovated into offices and an art gallery by real estate marketer Bob Rennie. Rennie supported Clark in her leadership bid and was appointed to the board of directors for the B.C. Housing Crown corporation.

What was the date that Himel and Yip made history, when the racist head tax was repealed? 

That was May 14, 1947 -- exactly 66 years before the date of B.C.'s 2013 provincial election. 

Party all the time

UPDATED March 4, 2013

If you remember the 1980s, you'll remember Eddie Murphy's brief foray into the world of music. The brilliant comedian who rescued Saturday Night Live hooked up with Rick James for "Party All the Time." The one-hit wonder went to number 2 on the Billboard hit parade in 1985.

Murphy deserves a spot in the Comedy Hall of Fame. But not in any musical hall of fame.

"Party all the time" also applies to Premier Christy Clark and her gal-pals in the Office of the Premier. Not in the context of celebration, but in the context of using any means necessary to keep Clark in the Office of the Premier and the BC Liberal Party as B.C.'s ruling party. However a futile task that may be, because all signs point to defeat on May 14.

Clark's nearly two years in office have been heavy on campaigning and light on governing. The BC Liberals limited debate on budget estimates in spring 2012 and cancelled the fall sitting of the Legislature. They did so for campaign purposes and to avoid being held accountable by the Opposition NDP. Clark tried to justify the lack of Legislative debate in a National Post story. Remember her comments about the capital's alleged "sick culture"?

In the democracy of the modern media age, we are burdened by the permanent campaign. The campaign doesn't begin when the writ is dropped or lawn signs mushroom in your neighbourhood. It actually begins the morning after an election win. This isn't peculiar to the BC Liberals. The Harper Conservatives in Ottawa and the Robertson Vision Vancouver at 12th and Cambie operate in similar fashion, aiming to end every day, week and month with positive media coverage and improved opinion poll results. But it is not healthy for our democracy when leaders put party loyalty, propaganda and prolonging of their power above the interests of the populace.

"Quick Wins" Kim

The latest evidence of how the BC Liberals are blurring the lines between governing and partying (and misusing public resources) came Feb. 27 when the NDP published a leaked email and report about the BC Liberals' Multicultural Outreach Strategy (aka "Quick Wins" memo), dated Jan. 10, 2012. A crass strategy to win ethnic votes for the Liberal party, crafted in secrecy during government time funded by taxpayers.

The sender of the "Multicultural Strategy Action Items" email at 12:50 p.m., from her private email account (to avoid it being caught by nosy Freedom of Information requesters), was Clark's deputy chief of staff Kim Haakstad. Haakstad is a former liquor lobbyist who supported a bid by Exel Logistics to privatize B.C.'s liquor distribution, according to an internal Exel memo.

"Outreacher" Pam

Recipients included Pamela Martin (outreach director and former news anchor), Barinder Bhullar (outreach coordinator), Fiera Lo (a Liberal party worker now listed as executive assistant to Multiculturalism minister John Yap), David Clarke Ritchie (ministerial assistant to the Premier), Brian Bonney (a friend of Harry Bloy's who was the multiculturalism director of communications until February 2013), Lorne Mayencourt (the ex-MLA and current Liberal outreach director), Primrose Carson (executive director of the Liberal caucus) and Jeff Melland (a consultant whose Linkedin profile says he was involved in the Chinese-language media program for the Liberal caucus).

Now I have more to add.

Notice how Haakstad's Jan. 10, 2012 email (to which the 17-page memo is attached) says "Here is the strategy for the meeting tomorrow."

Pages from Haakstad and Martin's daily agendas, obtained via FOI and published below, show that on Jan. 11, 2012 -- the day after the infamous Haakstad memo -- Haakstad and Martin were both involved in a conference call about “Multicultural Outreach plan” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During government working hours.

Notice how the entry in Martin's agenda is censored. This is a key observation. The 15 means section 15 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. That is the loophole that can allow redaction of information if a public body fears that disclosure may harm law enforcement. Sec. 15(l) covers "security of any property or system, including... a computer system or communications system."

The 17 means section 17 of FIPPA. That is the loophole that can allow the redaction of information if a public body fears that disclosure may be harmful to the financial or economic interests of a public body. Section 17(c) covers "plans that relate to the management of personnel of or the administration of a public body that have not yet been implemented or made public."

On Feb. 13, 2012, Haakstad's agenda shows an entry for an 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. "Multicultural Outreach -- Conference Call." During government working hours. And, on March 12, 2012, Haakstad's agenda shows a “Multicultural conference call with Prim and Kim” from 11:30 a.m. to noon. During government working hours.

"Prim" Carson is on the email from Jan. 10, 2012. She was quoted in Cassidy Olivier's Nov. 18, 2012 Province story about how government employees were using public time to create a political attack website against NDP leader Adrian Dix. 

"You can't be doing party work here. For sure, I would agree with that," Carson told Olivier.

The B.C. Public Service Agency standards of conduct are clear. Employees’ political activities “must be clearly separated from activities related to their employment. 

“Employees must not engage in political activities during working hours or use government facilities, equipment or resources in support of these activities.”

Clark, through Deputy Premier Rich Coleman, issued an apology on Feb. 28 and tasked her Deputy Minister John Dyble to investigate. That's not good enough, according to Integrity BC.

Integrity BC says this should be a case for the Auditor General, John Doyle. But we know how the Liberals aren't fans of Doyle because he is independent and he tells it like he sees it.

Haakstad quit on March 1. Clark held an emergency cabinet meeting in Vancouver on March 3. But trouble may not be over for Haakstad.

According to a March 4-published report by Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, Haakstad apparently deleted records regarding ex-chief of staff Ken Boessenkool. Haakstad claimed they were transitory and, therefore, could legally be deleted under the FOI Act.

Since Haakstad cooperated with Denham, she was not placed under oath. But Denham is looking at the Quick Wins scandal and may investigate the use by government officials of private email addresses intended to elude the FOI requesters.

Thankfully, however, people like Haakstad and Martin cannot delete their agendas or hide them from FOI requesters.

Martin and Haakstad agendas, re party business on government time by BobMackin