Who went to the Preem's Prom?

Premier Christy Clark broke from tradition on June 7 with a Cabinet Naming Ceremony at Canada Place. In case you missed it, the entire 54-minute, 37-second extravaganza is available on YouTube.

Preem's Prom at the prow of Canada Place (Government of B.C.)

Normally, the members of executive council are announced the same day as they are sworn-in by the lieutenant-governor. The cabinet roster has traditionally been a well-kept secret until the swearing-in ceremony. When Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon finally made the formal appointments on June 10 at Government House in Victoria, the identities of those pledging the three-part oath of allegiance, office and confidentiality had been known to the public for three days. 

That means the ministers were not ministers under-oath for the entire weekend. Any communication any one of them may have had with a lobbyist would have gone unreported.

So who went? That is a good question. The attendance list was not released, but the list of invitees was. See it below. I pored over the 80-page document and made some lists of my own. 

For instance, there could have been a reunion of people whose names were attached to the BC Rail  privatization scandal. There were eight key figures from the 2003 controversy on the invite list: CN chair David McLean, ex-Premier/Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Gordon Campbell, lobbyist/strategist Patrick Kinsella, ex-lobbyist/Campbell aide Jamie Elmhirst, ex-BC Rail director Jim Shepard, ex-Finance Minister Gary Collins, ex-Deputy Minister/Pacific Carbon Trust chair Chris Trumpy, and ex-BC Liberal Party executive director Kelly Reichert. (No, Dave Basi and Bob Virk are not on the list.)

B.C.'s captains of industry were on the invitation list. Same with movers and shakers of the Vancouver real estate scene and holders of lucrative liquor licences. The B.C. Liberal campaign's inner-circle and some of Clark's closest friends and relatives gathered. The guest list included owners of the Vancouver Canucks, B.C. Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps and Vancouver Canadians and even some of the folks who are Liberal members but whose allegiance to the party was hidden from viewers when they appeared in that pre-campaign infomercial. (Surrounding a beaming Clark in the photo above are Ryan Beedie, Liberal MP Joyce Murray, Mayor Richard "Shutterbug" Stewart of Coquitlam, Industry Minister James Moore, federal cabinet regional affairs director Colin Metcalfe and ex-Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day.)

B.C. Federation of Labour's Jim Sinclair and B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union's Darryl Walker were invited. They would rather have been front-row-centre at Adrian Dix's premiership swearing-in, but that obviously didn't happen because of the Liberals' surprise win over the NDP in the May 14 election. 

Representatives of 13 industrial lobby groups, a half-dozen corporations and a federal Crown corporation donated money to fund the ceremony. How much? B.C. Trucking Association disclosed that it paid $2,500. Watch this space in the coming weeks to find out who else donated what.

Donors:

Private Forest Lands Association (Robert Bealing), Port Metro Vancouver (Alan Baydala), Microsoft (Barb Berg), Society of Notaries Public of B.C. (G.W. Wayne Braid), Eminata Group (Randy Cox), Domtar (David Cunningham), B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association (Jack Davidson), B.C. Interactive (Lance Davis), Independent Contractors and Business Association (Phil Hochstein), Clean Energy B.C. (Paul Kariya), B.C. Hotel Association (John Kearns), B.C. Real Estate Association (Jim McCaughan and Cameron Muir), B.C. Construction Association (Manley McLachlan), Happy Water (Ralph McRae), Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (Geoffrey Morrison), Rio Tinto Alcan (Richard Prokopanko), New Car Dealers’ Association of B.C. (Blair Qualey), B.C. Maritime Employers’ Association (Greg Vurdela), Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (Mark Von Schellwitz), B.C. Trucking Association (Louise Yako).

Business Titans: 

Jimmy Pattison, Telus’s Darren Entwistle, Washington Group’s Kyle Washington, Canaccord founder Peter Brown, ex-SNC-Lavalin chair Gwyn Morgan, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, East West Petroleum’s David Sidoo, Fiore Financial’s Frank Giustra, Belkorp chair Stuart Belkin, publisher/refinery proposer David Black, Rogers’ CEO Phil Lind, Kinder Morgan CEO Ian Anderson, Future Shop founder Hassan Khosrowshahi, and Rocky Mountaineer founder/NPA bagman Peter Armstrong.

Developers: 

Polygon’s Michael Audain, Beedie Group’s Ryan Beedie, Bosa Group’s Dale Bosa, Fairchild Group’s Thomas Fung, Ledcor’s Dave Lede, Concord Pacific’s Terry Hui, Westbank’s Ian Gillespie, “Condo King” Bob Rennie, and Wall Financial’s Peter Wall.

Pro sports franchise owners and executives:

Vancouver Canucks: Francesco, Paolo, Roberto, Luigi and Elisa Aquilini; Vancouver Canadians: Jake Kerr; B.C. Lions: Sen. David Braley, Dennis Skulsky, Wally Buono, Jamie Taras; Vancouver Whitecaps: Greg Kerfoot, John Furlong, Bob Lenarduzzi, and Rachel Lewis.

Lobbyists:

Progressive Group’s Cindy Burton, Bluestone Group’s Mark Jiles, Ascent Public Affairs' Kimanda Jarzebiak, Counterpoint Communications’ Bruce Rozenhart, Hill & Knowlton’s Steve Vander Wal, Western Policy Consultants’ Mike Bailey, Gary Ley Public Affairs' Gary Ley, Fleishman Hillard’s Anna Lilly, Canadian Pacific’s Mike LoVecchio, Earnscliffe’s Bruce Young and Adam Johnson, Guide Outfitters’ Scott Ellis, and Wazuku Advisory Group's Brad Zubyk.

Liquor licensees and food folks: 

ContainerWorld’s Dennis Chrismas, B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices’ Ian Tostenson,  Pacific Western Brewing’s Kazuko Komatsu, Cactus Club’s Richard Jaffray, Keg Restaurants' David Aisenstat, Alliance of Beverage Licensees of B.C. Ian Baillie, Earls’ Stan Fuller, Mark James Group’s Mark James, Mark Anthony Brands’ Anthony von Mandl, and White Spot Restaurants’ Warren Erhart.

Friends of the Party and/or Friends of the Premier:

Ontario import strategist Don Guy, campaign manager Mike McDonald, ex-deputy chief of staff/Quick Wins memo author Kim Haakstad, communications director Sam Oliphant, Alberta import strategist Rod Love, Government Communications deputy minister and bridesmaid Athana Mentzelopoulos (and her husband Stewart Muir), Ministry of Justice lawyer/leadership campaign volunteer director Doug Eastwood, regional director Bruce Burley, party fundraiser/new deputy chief of staff Michele Cadario, ex-Liberal MP/withdrawn MLA candidate Sukh Dhaliwal, ex-Liberal MP/cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal/Vision Vancouver strategist Diamond Isinger, lobbyist Steve Kukucha, pollsters/ex-assistant deputy minister Dimitri Pantazopoulos, Campaign Research principal Nick Kouvalis, Vision Vancouver director/advisor David Eaves, strategist Emile Scheffel, social media advisor Dave Teixeira, ex-Liberal leader Gordon Wilson and his wife/ex-Liberal MLA Judi Tyabji, B.C. Housing chair Judy Rogers, North Delta campaign co-manager Tim Crowhurst, Lululemon public relations/Liberal Women's Networker Erin Hochstein, Lawson Lundell lawyer Murray Campbell and wife/fellow Clark supporter/Private Career Training Institutions Agency of B.C. registrar Karin Kirkpatrick, ex-B.C. Lion Daved Benefield, strategist/gambling investor Jacee Schaefer, aide/wife of CBC reporter Stephen Smart Rebecca Scott, ex-Liberal MLA Harry Bloy, Chilliwack riding president Collin Rogers, justice reviewer/Liberal supporter Geoff Cowper, Canadian Bar Association president/Liberal supporter Dean Crawford, ex-Liberal Party of Canada B.C. president Bill Cunningham, ex-Conservative vice-president/Liberal turncoat Ben Besler, Coquitlam-Maillardville riding president Randy Paolo Rinaldo, Aga Khan Council for Canada president Malik Talib, ex-Young Liberals of Canada B.C. president/B.C. Pharmacy Association public affairs officer Coco Lefoka, ethnic outreacher Lita Nuguid, Vancouver Canucks' photographer Jeff Vinnick, CKNW sex show host Maureen McGrath, 99.3 the Fox morning drive host Jeff O'Neil, ex-Rock 101 morning drive host Bro Jake & Family, strategist Elizabeth Samuels, plus Clark's brothers Bruce and John, her ex-husband/aide Mark Marissen and son Hamish Marissen-Clark.

Allegedly average people, as seen on the Liberal election infomercial: 

Adrian Lu, Joey Lu, Jackie Hollis, David Fraser and Rick & Julie Marzolf (Also invited: "Celebrity endorsers" ex-Conservative MP Stockwell Day and Brad "Grandson of W.A.C. and Son of Bill" Bennett; Producers Don Millar and Eric Hogan).

Who went to the Preem's Prom

Exclusive: Meet the other Quick Wins

Governments are intricate webs of offices, boards and committees that quietly go about much of their business away from the public eye.

One of the many such groups in British Columbia’s government is called the Procurement Council, an arm of the Ministry of Finance.

I obtained, via Freedom of Information, agendas and minutes for this group of bureaucrats involved in finding suppliers of goods and services to government. These documents were an instant source of curiosity and hilarity when I noticed numerous references to Quick Wins. 

You may have heard of the BC Liberals' Quick Wins scandal: Aides to Premier Christy Clark conceived the Multicultural Outreach Strategy in late 2011/early 2012 and their "playbook" included a list of so-called "Quick Wins" to score points with ethnic voters. The document, released by the NDP, was evidence that Liberal aides violated the government's code of conduct by spending the public dime while doing party work on government time. It is now under RCMP investigation. 

The Procurement Council documents show that there were other Quick Wins being contemplated elsewhere in the B.C. government around the same time. Procurement Council minutes mention the Enterprise Contract Management Solutions working group conceiving a list of 25 Quick Wins.

The specific list wasn’t disclosed in the documents I obtained, but “Quick Win #1” was. That was a specific proposal to consider raising the $25,000 threshold for competitive tendering on government contracts to $50,000 “to allow for a simpler selection process":

“Tamara McLeod advised that any increase in the thresholds would require a rational and defensible justification. The ECMS Working Group (Janet McGuire and,Jenny Hutchison) will do some quantitative analysis research to support the increase, including on the administration costs connected with preparing and soliciting RFPs.”

Provincial procurement rules state government contracts estimated to be worth $25,000 to $75,000 (or $25,000 to $100,000 for construction) “must be awarded using a competitive process.” 

“Opportunities can be posted on BC Bid or at least three quotes must be obtained.” 

Loopholes exist for direct awards to maintain security or protect life and health, in case of unforeseeable emergency, if a supplier is uniquely qualified supplier or the contract is with another government body. Contracts under $25,000, the rules say, "should be competed to the extent reasonable and cost-effective." Notice that the word is "should" (instead of "must").

The threshold remains $25,000. A representative of the Finance Ministry, who refused to permit publication of his name, told me: 

“The enterprise contract management solutions working group is tasked with finding ways to streamline and standardize contract management across all ministries. Any proposals put forward by this working group regarding possible changes to government core policy would require Treasury Board and Cabinet approval prior to implementation.”

Could change be on the way? 

The BC Liberals’ 2013 election platform promised to increase small business procurement by at least 20% and: 

• Streamline RFP processes for government procurement to ensure small businesses can compete for government contracts on a more level playing field.
• Limit RFP paperwork for government to a maximum of two pages for contracts under $250,000 so that small businesses can apply and compete.

On Aug. 29, the government appointed veteran bureaucrat George Farkas (the assistant deputy minister in the Management Services Division) to lead the "Small Business – Doing Business with Government" project. 

Keep an eye on Farkas and the red tape-cutting Liberals to see if that $25,000 threshold does get raised after all. 

Increasing the number of no-bid contracts might streamline government operations and please some small businesses, but it could also elevate the risk of waste and cronyism. 

Procurement Council Agendas and Minutes

BC Hydro using $24K fee threat to withhold SNC-Lavalin payments info

If you’ve been following Canadian news for the last few years, you probably heard of Montreal-based engineering giant SNC-Lavalin and its troubles. 

The company has extensive operations in Vancouver, some of which only became apparent when the World Bank blacklisted SNC-Lavalin in April over corruption at infrastructure projects in Bangladesh and Cambodia. Here is my Business in Vancouver story. 

I also reported on how SNC-Lavalin announced a company-wide whistleblower amnesty, in an effort for it to root out corruption from the inside. 

SNC-Lavalin was given the contract to build the Evergreen Line, the SkyTrain extension to the Tri-Cities. It also was involved in the Canada Line, Sea-to-Sky Highway project, Canada Line, Bill Bennett Bridge and as one of the last sponsors to sign-on with VANOC for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It has ongoing contracts with BC Ferries and BC Hydro. (Check out Laila Yuile's blog for much more on SNC-Lavalin).

In 2011, its Operations and Maintenance division began a five-year outsourcing agreement for BC Hydro facilities management services. 

SNC-Lavalin was paid $40,091,145 by BC Hydro for the year-ended March 31, 2012. For the previous two fiscal years, it was paid a combined $76.1 million. 

I recently filed Freedom of Information requests to BC Hydro, to get lists of payments made by BC Hydro to SNC-Lavalin and vice versa since 2010. 

In response, BC Hydro wants me to pay a combined $23,368.47 to fulfil my stated request -- not including 6 cents a page for photocopying. (BC Hydro's FOI department stubbornly insists on photocopying and mailing or couriering instead of the 21st century method of scanning and emailing. Power Smart and Penny Foolish, perhaps?)

BC Hydro’s long-winded, pessimistic fee estimate letters are below. Two years ago, Premier Christy Clark issued an edict for open data and information across government. Certainly BC Hydro can follow the leader. Unless it is hiding something for some reason. 

These excessive fees that BC Hydro wants to charge remind me of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat-Vermont) and his Sept. 30, 1986 statement on the tendency of governments to threaten FOI requesters with big bills, in order to prevent information from being accessed by citizens.

"Indeed, experience suggests that agencies are most resistant to granting fee waivers when they suspect that the information sought may cast them in a less than flattering light or may lead to proposals to reform their practices. Yet that is precisely the type of information which the (Freedom of Information Act) is supposed to disclose, and agencies should not be allowed to use fees as an offensive weapon against requesters seeking access to Government information...."

Needless to say, I will be appealing BC Hydro's excessive fees.

BC Hydro $17,692.20 FOI Fee Request

BC Hydro $5,676.27 FOI Fee Request

Exclusive: Health ministry "requested" seniors wheelchair tax

The B.C. Liberal government didn't just change policy to allow health authorities to impose a new, $25 a month wheelchair fee on seniors in care. Documents I received under Freedom of Information say that it ultimately asked Fraser Health Authority to charge the controversial levy.

“A proposal to introduce Wheelchair Rental Fees at the Owned & Operated Residential Care Sites was submitted in the (Program Budget Marginal Analysis) process,” said a May 6 Fraser Health briefing note on wheelchair maintenance fees in residential care facilities. “Subsequent to that submission, the MOH (Ministry of Health) requested FH to implement wheelchair maintenance fees to align with a similar proposal made by (Vancouver Coastal Health). This request was based on a desire to have similar practices in all Health Authorities and to align with the practices in (Community Care and Assisted Living Act) facilities.”

The briefing note and undated Wheelchair Rental Revenue report were released to me by Fraser Health via Freedom of Information. The report forecast “Moderate risk that implementation will cause significant political concerns.”

The appropriateness and acceptability of the charge were both deemed “moderate overall negative impact.” 

“Complies with policies but the additional cost may be burdensome for some residents and families,” said the report. “Staff may have difficulty charging for equipment that used to be free. Families/residents may object to user payment.” 

The report estimated $266,000 net revenue for 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 combined. 

Maintenance charges for wheelchairs of seniors in-care are permitted under the Ministry of Health’s Home and Community Care regulations. Fraser Health planned to collect fees from residents’ comfort funds and offer a waiver for those who cannot afford to pay the $300 a year. 

“Residents will be encouraged to purchase or rent wheelchairs from outside healthcare equipment vendors and the cost to purchase a wheelchair ranges from $1,000 to $3,500 for a manual wheelchair and a typical wheelchair rental from an outside vendor is $70-$100 per month,” said the briefing note.

The briefing note estimated that 60% of the 1,178 residents in Fraser Health-owned and operated facilities use a wheelchair from the aging Fraser Health-owned fleet.

“A wheelchair rental program would serve as a cost recovery initiative that would finance the cost of replacement equipment and ensure that equipment is maintained in optimal condition. This rental program will not apply to other mobility devices such as walkers and canes,” said the briefing note.

I asked both the Ministry of Health and Fraser Health for comment. In particular, I wanted them to tell me the date of the Ministry of Health request to Fraser Health. 

A Fraser Health statement provided by email, credited to Keith McBain, Executive Director for Residential Care and Assisted Living, said:

“The decision to implement the wheelchair maintenance fee occurred after many discussions, some dating back to the end of 2012, and were part of a larger discussion regarding the general issue of charging of fees in residential care. The over-arching concern was the lack of consistency across the residential network of care, not just within Fraser Health, but the whole province. Residents in contracted facilities or in the community, faced one reality with regards to wheelchair purchases and rentals; while those in owned and operated facilities faced a very different one. 

“Understanding that this decision would likely meet public resistance, we did not limit our decision-making because the decision is unpopular. We have a responsibility to all members of our community. Seniors living at home or in a contracted facility, are required to buy or rent their own wheelchairs, walkers or canes at considerable cost. However, seniors living in an owned and operated facility can borrow a wheelchair for personal use at no charge. To bring consistency, the maintenance fee is being introduced as of September 2013. We recognize that this may pose a financial burden to some residents, so a hardship waiver process has been established. Each case will be considered on an individual basis, but no senior requiring a wheelchair will be denied one. 

“We will continue to maintain our existing stock of wheelchairs, but will require more as some of these will need to be retired and demand increases. It is also important to keep in mind that when a wheelchair goes from one person’s use to another, it must go through several infection control measures which can be costly. 

“The intention has never been to cause stress or anxiety to our seniors, but to establish some consistency across the entire residential care network.”

What does the Health Ministry say? Spokesman Ryan Jabs sent me a link to a June 14 information sheet. 

“Fraser Health should be able to provide you some details on your questions,” Jabs wrote.

Like McBain, Jabs didn't answer the question about the date when the Ministry of Health requested Fraser Health charge the fee. 

The information sheet emphasizes the $1.7 billion annual subsidy for residential care and assisted living, which covers more than 31,000 beds. It said the new policy requires operators to clearly explain fees and all health authorities have hardship provisions in place for clients unable to pay. 

“Residents in B.C. are left with at least $325 a month for personal expenses and other allowable charges,” boasted the information sheet. “This is one of the highest minimum retained incomes in Canada.”

The controversy was at the top of the list in Question Period on July 24 when NDP Leader Adrian Dix asked Health Minister Terry Lake a simple, straightforward question and got spin in return.

NDP Leader Adrian Dix: "Last month we learned the Fraser Health Authority will begin charging the Premier's $300-a-year wheelchair tax on vulnerable seniors in residential care, taking advantage of a government policy change that enabled the tax. Today we learn that not only did the government enable the new tax on vulnerable seniors, it actually made it happen. A Fraser Health briefing note obtained through freedom of information shows: "The Ministry of Health requested Fraser Health to implement wheelchair maintenance fees.
"Can the Minister of Health confirm that in fact it was on the ministry's instructions that Fraser Health decided to charge this uncaring tax, and can he further confirm if the ministry asked other health authorities to do the same?" 

Health Minister Terry Lake: "I would remind the member opposite that British Columbia currently spends $1.7 billion every year to subsidize the province's comprehensive residential care and assisted-living services. That is an increase of $600 million in the last 12 years.
"While residential care is a person's home, and while the public health system covers the cost of medical and health care needs, residents pay for the cost of their personal equipment and supplies just as they would if they lived in the community, as I explained during estimates debate yesterday.
"But I will say this. No vulnerable senior citizen will be denied a service if they cannot afford a particular equipment or aid in a publicly subsidized residential care space in the province of British Columbia."

What do you think? Are you a senior in care who uses a wheelchair? Are you a relative of a senior in care who uses a wheelchair? I want to hear from you. You may comment below or email me.

Fraser Health charges seniors wheelchair tax