Exclusive: Libs keep lid on privatization plan

British Columbia Finance Minister Kevin Falcon revealed on Feb. 21 that the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution would be privatized. I reported on that day in Business in Vancouver that this was a priority for B.C. Liberal-connected lobbyist Patrick Kinsella and his client, Exel Logistics.

Then I became curious. What is the business case for this? Does a cost/benefit analysis exist? Is this a good deal for taxpayers?

On May 17, I got my answer. It is not satisfactory to me and it should not be satisfactory to you.

I received a Dec. 5, 2011 report to Cabinet and a Jan. 18, 2012 report to Treasury Board. Both are heavily censored and only contain information that is already in the public domain, via LDB service plans and financial reports. Bottom line: the government is keeping secret the reasons to justify selling off a key part of a profitable public asset. That is, if it has reasons to justify the measure beyond making Kinsella and his fellow lobbyist Mark Jiles happy.

Before you read the full FOI release at bottom, I want you to compare these two documents first.

"Exhibit 1" (with the Exel letterhead) is an excerpt from the Oct. 6, 2009 "Last Spike" internal memo by Exel Logistics vice-president Scott Lyons. The memo was Exel's playbook on how it wanted to privatize the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution. "Appendix C" is from the Cabinet documents, released under my FOI request.

Except for the headlines, both the Exel memo and the Cabinet submission employ an eerily similar font and warehouse icons.

The question I have is this: why would the B.C. cabinet have a document that looks (to my eyes, at least) so similar to one contained in an internal memo previously created by the company that has spent so much time lobbying the government to privatize liquor logistics?

BCLDB Model Mackin

Here are the heavily censored Cabinet and Treasury Board documents.

Heavily censored cabinet reports on liquor distribution/warehousing privatization


Read my full coverage in Business in Vancouver to learn more about this developing story:

May 8: Logistics giant targets lucrative LDB contract

May 15: NDP blasts liquor privatization process

May 15: Alberta’s experience: product diversity booms, costs balloon

May 22: Industry irked over Liberals' push for liquor privatization

"Vice Minister" Coleman wants more sports betting

Rich Coleman wants single-event sports wagering in British Columbia.

The so-called "3-B" Vice Minister, whose portfolio includes booze, betting and a bordello (yes, read about it here), wrote in April 2010 on behalf of the B.C. Lottery Corporation to Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, supporting a proposed amendment to the Criminal Code to allow single-event wagering.

Windsor, Ont., NDP Member of Parliament Joe Comartin's private member's bill is expected to soon become law with the support of the Conservative majority in the House of Commons and Senate. B.C. is planning a major relaunch of its SportsAction and PlayNow products this summer after hiring Irish sports betting giant Paddy Power.

"Provincial lottery corporations and Canadian casinos cannot compete for the potential Canadian sports betting," wrote Coleman. "Without the ability to offer the types of bets prohibited by the Code, lawful gaming offerings in Canada cannot compete with online gaming offered from outside Canada or Nevada tourist destinations like Las Vegas."

Coleman argued for a "level playing field" for lawful entities to compete with the plethora of online gambling entities that take an estimated $2 billion in bets a year. He said legalized, single-event sports gambling would "bring higher standards in responsible gambling, player protection, fairness, integrity and security to this aspect of the gaming industry as well as offer a lawful alternative to Canadian sports bettors."

"Moreover, legalizing single event betting would allow in depth and current reporting to regulators facilitating the response to suspicious activity. This would provide a much more effective way to detect and prevent attempts to 'fix' sporting events."

The text of the Coleman letter is in an Oct. 11, 2011 briefing note to Justice Minister Shirley Bond, whose portfolio included gambling until Coleman regained the responsibility on Feb. 8, 2012.

It is not known how much revenue this would bring provincial coffers, though it is likely to lead to problems. B.C. has enough problem gamblers to fill B.C. Place Stadium almost three times. Sports gambling on the Internet was pinpointed as a gateway to trouble for teenage males, according to the B.C. Problem Gambling Prevalence Study of 2008.

Five other gambling-related ministerial briefing notes are contained in the Freedom of Information documents obtained by me.

Lottery Retailer Undercover Investigation
Jan. 18, 2012 (updated Jan. 19, 2012)
"(Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch) Investigations and Regional Operations Division has been carrying out an undercover investigation into lottery retailer theft of winning lottery tickets across the province."

Vernon Casino Patron Robbery
Dec. 2, 2011
"At 8:23 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2011, a female patron was mugged at the Vernon Lake City Casino. A male suspect stole the victim's purse and knocked her to the casino floor. The suspect then fled out an emergency door which triggered a silent alarm."

Lottery Retailer Undercover Investigation
Jan. 17, 2012
"GPEB's Investigations and Regional Operations Division has just concluded a provincewide undercover investigation into lottery retailer theft of winning lottery tickets. On Wed. Jan. 18, 2012, GPEB investigators will interview four individuals in connection with these findings."

DRAFT: Hastings Racetrack Horse Deaths
Dec. 7, 2011
"(GPEB) has received a request for "Veterinary medical reports and/or autopsies regarding all equine fatalities recorded at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver… The response package contains 20 post-mortem, final reports from the Ministry of Agriculture's Animal Health Centre."

Harness Racing BC Concerns: 2012 Racing Season and Financial Allocations
Sept. 12, 2011 (Updated Dec. 2, 2011)
"On Aug. 29, 2011, Harness Racing BC (HRBC) CEO Doug McCallum wrote to the BC Horse Racing Management Committee, advising that HRBC had voted to reject racing dates the committee recently added to the standardbred schedule for six months in 2012. The tone of the letter suggests HRBC may approach the media with their concerns."

B.C. Government gambling issues notes

And the winners are...

You read and you responded to the Rename the B.C. Liberals Contest. Since it was such a difficult task to decide a single winner, I have chosen co-winners to mark the one-year countdown to the next scheduled British Columbia election.

Lori Shenher offered four suggestions:

B.C. Libercons (party theme: "Never Gonna Stop This Train")
CCCP (Christy Can't Close Party)
PEP Squad (Perpetually Eluding the People)
DeRail B.C. Party

The last was her winner. It denotes motion and alludes to the still unresolved B.C. Rail scandal. If the Glen Clark-era NDP has to wear the Fast Ferries forever, then the Gordon Campbell/Christy Clark Liberals must be tattooed with the B.C. Rail scandal.

Ryan Painter is the other winner. He suggested Social Credit Alliance Liberal Party (SCALP), which I think would be the ideal name for a unite-the-right movement in B.C. Politics is akin to hair-pulling in B.C. Citizens feel frustrated when their government ignores them. They also are spectators to the no-holds-barred attacks among the parties.

Since one can't simply cut an e-book in half, Lori and Ryan both get a copy of Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics. (Arrangements will be made to transmit your copy. Enjoy!)

Honourable mention to Norm Farrell (Christy Clark's Corporate Cartel Coalition), Eric Doherty (B.C. 1% Party) and C. Russell Sprout (Friends In Business Buying Economic Reign=FIBBER).

A message to Premier Christy Clark: even if you stick around long enough to change the party's name, rest assured that you'll hear the phrase "...the party formerly known as Liberal" ad nauseam.

Putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact that it's still a pig.

Auditor General getting ex-Solicitor General's help

British Columbia Auditor General John Doyle's efforts to compile a report on government indemnity for government personnel involved in legal proceedings have been frustrated by resistance from the B.C. Liberal government.

John van Dongen, a former Liberal Solicitor General, applied May 7 for intervenor status in Doyle's lawsuit against the government.

Doyle is trying to get to the bottom of the $6 million payoff for Dave Basi and Bob Virk's legal bills in October 2010, which was connected to the abrupt end of a corruption trial. When the trial ended with surprise guilty pleas, various current and former B.C. Liberal politicians and party insiders breathed a sigh of relief. They wouldn't have to testify.

Van Dongen cited the legacy of the B.C. Rail privatization scandal as a central reason for his stunning March 26 resignation from the B.C. Liberal caucus.

The citizens of B.C. have still not been supplied with the promised explanation for how the B.C. Rail privatization was mishandled. Premier Christy Clark -- who was deputy premier when the Crown corporation was effectively sold -- has refused to call a public inquiry.

Through the efforts of Doyle, and now van Dongen, the truth may eventually be told.


2012 05 07 Notice of Application

Mischievous Bloy

When Harry Bloy resigned from cabinet on March 15, for leaking an email from a Province reporter to the company of a B.C. Liberal Party supporter, he tried his best to make it look like an honourable departure. He "felt it important" to take responsibility for his actions, according to his resignation letter.

It was either quit or be fired. He simply could not have continued as Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

I obtained, via Freedom of Information, Bloy's three-part oath of office. It includes an oath of confidentiality. The release of a reporter's email to an outsider breached his oath of office.

Interesting to note: the document signed by Bloy and Lt. Gov. Steven Point contains a key error: the first name of the lieutenant governor, the Queen's representative in B.C., is misspelled. The website for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of B.C. indicates Mr. Point's first name is correctly spelled "Steven" -- NOT Stephen, as it appears on Bloy's oath of office.

Harry Bloy's oath of office

Women's World Cup is coming to Vancouver

Soccer, on the front lawn of Parliament Hill in Ottawa?

You bet. A girls youth friendly match is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time May 4. before Canadian Soccer Association president Dominic Maestracci and FIFA president Sepp Blatter unveil the list of cities to host matches for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

One of the cities will be Vancouver. But you'll have to wait a bit longer to find out whether it hosts a semi-final, bronze medal match and/or the championship final.

"The schedule will be released in the second half of 2012," said CSA communications manager Michele Dion.

B.C. Place Stadium's only serious competition for the final is Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. Olympic Stadium in Montreal is a darkhorse. Toronto will be hosting the 2015 Pan American Games, so BMO Field and Rogers Centre will be off limits. The British Columbia government committed $2 million of taxpayers funds to the CSA to bring matches to Vancouver. We do not know the full cost to taxpayers for the tournament. The federal government has promised at least $15 million.

B.C. Soccer Association executive director Bjorn Osieck will be there, as part of a delegation of seven from the west coast for the weekend's annual general meeting. Maestracci faces a leadership challenge, as Canada's four professional clubs are backing candidate Rob Newman in the May 5 election. The SBC Insurance CEO, formerly from Saskatchewan, has been a CSA vice-president since 2006 and chairs the governance committee.

The CSA will be patting itself on the back all weekend over so-called governance reforms. It's still an organization that has not met the challenge of transparency. If it really wants the public to believe in reform, the best, first step would be to release a financial report. Until then, it'll be up to us in the media to pay $5 to the government under the Access to Information Act to get a copy.

Dion said Blatter will stay for the Saturday AGM and banquet. Will it be his last visit to Canada? Blatter is serving his third and final term as FIFA president after his 2011 re-election. The world's soccer governing body is under fire for allegations of widespread corruption.

Face and voice of VANOC switches off Hydro

Very quietly, BC Hydro's senior vice-president of communications quit her post in mid-March.

Renee Smith-Valade went to the most-powerful (in more ways than one) Crown corporation in British Columbia after the May 2010 hiring of Dave Cobb as chief executive. Cobb was deputy CEO to John Furlong at the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee. Cobb was also vice-president Smith-Valade's boss at VANOC, where she ran the 2010 Winter Games' communications and media relations department. She brought staffers Chris Brumwell, Greg Alexis and Jennifer Young with her.

Last fall, Cobb quit his $550,000-a-year job at BC Hydro to join the Jim Pattison Group where he works as managing director of corporate development, with president and ex-Premier Glen Clark and billionaire chairman Pattison.

Brumwell, a former Canucks and VANOC communications manager, preceded Smith-Valade out the BC Hydro door to work for Vancouver yoga wear juggernaut Lululemon.

When I broke the news of Smith-Valade's departure via Twitter on May 2, Bill Tieleman was quick to re-Tweet and then add his speculation:

@BillTieleman
Twitter math: Premier Christy Clark's office - Rebecca Scott + BC Hydro spokesperson Renee Smith-Valade quits = new Clark staffer? #bcpoli

Scott's move out of Premier Christy Clark's office and into Government Communications and Public Engagement (read: propaganda office) became public earlier in the day. Scott's position became newsworthy in recent months because her husband is the CBC's talented Legislature reporter Stephen Smart. One of their wedding guests was Premier Christy Clark. The Smart/Scott relationship was the subject of an investigation by CBC's ombudsman Kirk LaPointe. LaPointe "found a violation of CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices."

Clark has had a revolving door of press secretaries. Chris Olsen, the consumer reporter who was "On Our Side," quit CTV to be on "her side." Now he's on the outside. In January, Clark figuratively kicked Olsen on the backside, with a $67,000 severance.

She filled the job with Sara MacIntyre, who was an effective spokesperson for the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation but went on to work in the Prime Minister's Office under Stephen Harper. MacIntyre is part of Clark's bid to be a Liberal in Conservative clothing. It hasn't worked so far and MacIntyre was notorious for the poorly handled photo and interview opportunity with Clark at the Globe 2012 trade show.

At Hydro, Smith-Valade's job included leading the marketing communications, website management, media and public affairs, community relations and customer care and conservation teams. On her LinkedIn page, Smith-Valade describes herself as a "creative consultant" with her own RSV Strategic Communications firm. Her list of qualifications ends with "government/public affairs support."

Here is the email to BC Hydro staff announcing her departure:

From: News, BCH Corporate 

Sent: 2012, March 14 12:21 PM

Subject: A Message from Charles Reid: The Departure of Renee Smith-Valade, Senior Vice-President, Customer Care, Conservation and Communications

Good Afternoon:

After a year and a half leading our Communications team and, more recently, also the Customer Care and Conservation teams, Renee Smith-Valade has resigned from her position as Senior Vice-President on the Executive Team to take some time off and then pursue other opportunities in communications.

Renee joined BC Hydro shortly after finishing up five years with VANOC and jumped in with both feet into leading the Communications team. Over the last 20 months, Renee has confidently led the Communications team through many challenges including supporting the rollout of the Safety Taskforce recommendations and the Smart Metering Program, the Fraser River Towers incident, rate increases, the communication of the Government Review and its outcomes, and the rollout of seasonal Power Smart marketing communications programs, to name just a few highlights. Through all of this, she maintained dedication and passion for her team and BC Hydro. Most recently, she relished the chance to start working with the Power Smart and Customer Care teams in August to help them to continue to deliver strong conservation programs and our highly regarded customer service.

Renee has often commented on how fortunate she is to work with such a strong team and how enjoyable it has been to work with the dedicated people at BC Hydro. I am taking some time to assess how we can best ensure the continued strong performance of the Communications, Customer Care and Conservation teams, and particularly how to maximize the strong leadership of these areas that Renee has told me she values enormously. I will let you know when those decisions are made. In the meantime, I am confident that Lisa Coltart (Power Smart and Customer Care), Steve Vanagas (Corporate Communications), Cynthia Dyson (Marketing Communications and Brand Strategy) and Thoren Hudyma (Community Engagement and Capital Projects Communications) will continue to do a great job as we meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.

On behalf of the Executive Team, I would like to thank Renee for her hard work and dedication through a very challenging year. I know all of you will join me in wishing Renee the very best as she takes some well-earned time off with family and explores other opportunities.

Thank you,
Charles

Will she end up in government, helping Clark rescue her political career? Will she be reunited with Cobb at the Jim Pattison Group or Furlong with the Vancouver Whitecaps? Or somewhere else? For now, she's not talking.

Asked for an interview about leaving BC Hydro, her emailed response to me was:

"I appreciate the request and your interest however I'm going to decline for now. Can we revisit this again In a few weeks time?"

I'll wait to find out what she says and does.

Contest: Rename the B.C. Liberal Party

Fresh from two by-election losses on April 19 amid the continuing unpopularity of Premier Christy Clark, the B.C. Liberal Party is desperately searching for a way to prolong its grasp on power in British Columbia.

Meanwhile NDP leader Adrian Dix positions himself as Premier-in-waiting and Conservative leader John Cummins could become leader of the opposition.

Some Liberal strategists are trying to convince themselves that the problem is not their leader, but on their label. They're pondering a name change, which can be a risky proposition. There have been many failures in the high-stakes world of rebranding.

Should they co-opt the old Social Credit name to rejuvenate the free enterprise coalition? Should they call it the Pacific Dogwood Party, after the provincial flower? Or just simply call the whole thing "Gordon," for the first names of ex-leaders Gordon Gibson, Gordon Wilson and Gordon Campbell? (Maybe they could adopt the red, white and blue ball icon from the Barenaked Ladies' "Gordon" album as a symbol of the liberal/conservative coalition?)

What do you think? What should be the new name for the B.C. Liberal Party?

The best, most creative suggestion for a monicker makeover wins a personalized copy of my new e-book, Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics. Deadline is noon PDT on May 12.

The winner will be announced May 14, which is, coincidentally, the one-year countdown to the next scheduled provincial election.

Vote early, vote often. Comments accepted below or via email to 2010goldrush (at) gmail.com. Be tasteful and stay classy, please.

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

Elimination is inevitable, commiserate responsibly

Vancouver Canucks: three-time Campbell Bowl winners. Two-time President’s Trophy winners.

Stanley Cups? Zero.

There is no doubt in my mind that fact will not change in 2012. The team is 0-3 and one loss away from the golf course. Regardless, if they steal a win at Staples Center, elimination remains inevitable. Stanley Park's Lord Stanley statue will not be getting a visit from a Cup-holding Canuck in 2012.

Just as it is hard to defend a Stanley Cup championship, it is equally difficult for a runner-up to return immediately for another challenge.

Losing in Game 7 on home ice, as the Canucks did in 2011, meant the players had the longest and shortest summers of their careers. It was a long summer of wondering why, how come and what could have been for the Canucks while members of the Boston Bruins enjoyed sharing the Cup with friends, families and communities.

Short, because (with the exception of the Bruins) the time to relax and recover before beginning the cycle anew at training camp was extremely limited. It was only 91 days since Game 7 and the players reporting for pre-training camp medical exams.

By virtue of geography and their playoff schedule, the Canucks are the most-played and most-traveled team in the NHL since September 2010. General manager Mike Gillis hired sleep consultants and other experts to mitigate the wear-and-tear, but that has only gone so far. The team exhibited weariness and unfocussed play since the so-called “Game 8” win over the Bruins in Boston. The team was 4-3 in tiebreakers before the Boston game, then went 11-6.

In March 2011, the Canucks went 13-2 (including 2 shutout wins and 1 overtime win) and outscored opponents 43-27. In March 2012, they went 9-6 (including 2-1 in overtime) and were 35-35 in the goals for/against columns. In 2011, the Canucks were hot, they were feared and they were dominant in regulation time down the stretch. In 2012, they were not. The final three regular season games in April were a preview of the 0-3 depression in the Kings’ series. The only regulation win, in which they clinched the President’s Trophy, was a game they struggled to win 3-0 over the lowly Edmonton Oilers.

Only twice since the NHL began expansion in 1968 has a runner-up rebounded. The Canucks will not be the third.

Why?

This is not a team like the 1984 Edmonton Oilers, who were led by young Wayne Gretzky, Jarri Kurri and Mark Messier. They lost in 1983 but stormed back the following year when Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders passed the torch.

This is not a team like the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost in 2008, had a mediocre start to the next season and fired coach Michel Therrien with a 27-25-5 record. They replaced him with Dan Bylsma, who guided the team to a hot 18-3-4 record down the stretch. Centres Evgeni Malkin (113 points) and Sidney Crosby (103) continued their dominance in the playoffs with 30-plus-points each. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was solid, from wire-to-wire.

To get to the Stanley Cup, a team needs to be a healthy team, working as one. It requires the right decisions by management and coaches. It also requires luck. The 2011 Canucks had all that, including the first round-winning overtime goal by Alexandre Burrows over Chicago and Kevin Bieksa’s bizarre Western conference-clinching ricochet goal against San Jose.)

In 2012, they were not dominant and decisive down the stretch. Gillis traded up-and-coming star Cody Hodgson for underperforming Zack Kassian. Daniel Sedin was injured with a concussion. Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond are not the same players they were before 2011 playoff injuries. Gillis failed to find a grizzled vet to play a Mark Recchi-type role. Gillis couldn’t coax Mike Modano from retiring and Owen Nolan was a training camp cut.

The runner-up jinx remains. May the Canucks have better luck in 2013.