Getting to know the Finance Ministry

It's definitely not "Finance Ministry for Dummies."

When Mike de Jong was appointed Minister of Finance on Sept. 5 by Premier Christy Clark, he got a 52-page package of information about the ministry, its operations and its key people. This is better known as the "briefing book."

It contains no major revelations, but it does offer a glimpse into how the most-important ministry of government works.

FIN MIN Briefing Book - 0214

Anyone working at the Ministry of Labour?

The British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union represents more than 25,000 government workers in B.C. and on Sept. 27 it reached a tentative agreement with the government.

The deal was announced the next day by Premier Christy Clark at the Union of B.C. Municipalities' convention in Victoria. It included the immediate corking of the controversial privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch.

I requested, via Freedom of Information, a copy of the labour accord from the Ministry of Labour. After the Sept. 5 cabinet shuffle, Jobs, Tourism and Investment Minister Pat Bell also became Labour Minister. My request was processed and, on Oct. 29, I received notice that the Ministry of Labour doesn't have a copy of the BCGEU settlement.

Truth is stranger than fiction. See below.

(BCGEU members will be glad to know their union has a copy of the tentative agreement, which can be read here.)

LBR-2012-00040

Premier's office claims no dimples & draught day records

Both Jonathan Fowlie, the Vancouver Sun's reporter at the Legislature, and I made Freedom of Information requests to find out about the investigation into the conduct of ex-Chief of Staff Ken Boessenkool. Fowlie Tweeted that the government claims there are no records, because the investigation was done verbally. See the government's Oct. 29 denial letter to me below.

Boessenkool became the ex-Chief of Staff for Premier Christy Clark on Sept. 23, when he tendered his resignation. The Premier said on Sept. 24 that it was because of an "incident of concern." She made the resignation letter public. She wouldn't offer any further information, hiding behind privacy laws.

The "incident of concern" happened Sept. 7 in Victoria at a bar, after a golf tournament attended by Boessenkool, among others. Yet, the Office of the Premier claims there are no records about the day's events.

This is part of a growing trend toward the government claiming no records exist. The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association has complained to the Information Commissioner. The big question is this: is the government hiding information or is it not documenting its business?

Boessenkool was replaced by Dan Doyle, the former highways deputy minister who was recycled from the chairmanship of BC Hydro and the executive vice-presidency of construction for VANOC. Here is Boessenkool's Feb. 10, 2012 appointment letter to the $195,148.22-a-year job. Doyle's Sept. 25 appointment letter is below. Doyle's appointment ends April 16, 2013 -- the eve of the provincial election campaign. Like Boessenkool before him, Doyle has Deputy Minister status.

OOP-2012-00659

OOP-2012-00666

Dan Doyle Appointment Letter

Why it's called PavCo, not AnswerCo

David Podmore vacated his chair on the B.C. Pavilion Corporation board of directors at the end of September, just before the first anniversary of B.C. Place Stadium's reopening from a taxpayer-funded renovation. 

It was also the end of interim president Dana Hayden's second full month as the replacement for Warren Buckley, who resigned at the end of July. 

Neither of them responded to my repeated email and phone requests for an interview. 

Stadium marketing and communications manager Duncan Blomfield (right) ran interference for his bosses. Instead of arranging an interview, he invited me on Sept. 25 to send questions. I did just that, the very next day. (See the whole list below.)

That was a month ago. I still don't have the answers.

Despite frequent reminders, Mr. Blomfield claims that the official response is going through an "approval process." 

Mr. Blomfield and others at PavCo were easier to deal with before the Sept. 5 cabinet shuffle that saw the affable Pat Bell hand the responsibility for PavCo to Rich Coleman. 

Deputy Premier Coleman's portfolio already includes energy, mines, natural gas, liquor, gambling and housing. Now he also oversees the stadium and the Vancouver Convention Centre. I honestly don't know how he rates on the affability scale, because Mr. Coleman has never agreed to a one-on-one interview with me. 

So I'm going public. 

On 2012-09-25, at 3:39 PM, Duncan Blomfield wrote:
Hi Bob,
Regarding the ‘one-year anniversary’ interview request – please send me your specific questions and I will endeavor to provide specific answers.
Duncan 

Bob Mackin
Subject: Re: media request: Terracover Date: September 26, 2012 4:16:28 PM PDT 

Unfortunately, I have not received any assistance in arranging interviews.
As you asked for my questions, I have many. My hard deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday. I look forward to your answers.  

A) What is the detailed breakdown of the $514M spent on the renovation?  

B) What is the cost of the ongoing work to repair leaks and stains on the roof? When will it be complete?  

C) How many people are in management positions at B.C. Place, vs. union positions? 

D) What is the total amount of bonuses paid to management in 2011-2012 vs. 2010-2011? 

E) Has an agreement been reached with Telus for official or exclusive supplier status? 

F) What is the total owed by PavCo to Telus for its 2011 installation in anticipation of the naming rights? 

G) What was the cost of the Terracover V system?  (Bob's note: that is the plastic field cover system used to protect the field during concerts and trade shows.)

H) What was the cost to remedy the problems experienced with Terracover in February and March?   

I) What is the ideal conversion time frame for laying the Terracover after a football or soccer game? What is the ideal conversion time for removing the Terracover after a trade show or concert?  

J) Why did B.C. Place use more power and pay higher hydro rates in fall 2011/winter 2012 versus fall 2008/winter 2009, the last regular fall/winter before the temporary VANOC takeover and before the old roof was removed?  

K) What was the methodology for the $58M in annual economic benefits pre-renovation and $100M in economic benefits post-renovation?  

L) How many times was the roof opened in 2011?  

M) Why is the roof not left open as a default position and closed only in case of inclement weather? As it is, the roof is only opened for events. Are there problems with the drainage?  

N) Are event promoters charged a fee for the roof to be opened and, if so, what is the cost? 

O) Are the Whitecaps and/or Lions paying any rent whatsoever, beyond a nominal fee? Is it true that PavCo receives food and beverage revenue in exchange for the teams not paying the full price of rent for regular season games? What precisely are the Whitecaps and Lions paying for rent?  

While we wait for the answers, mark Oct. 21, 2013 on your calendar. That's the scheduled beginning of an 85-day civil trial in B.C. Supreme Court between B.C. Place steel and cable contractors Canam and Freyssinet. It will provide the most complete glimpse into troubles encountered with the the most complex stadium renovation in history. 

Premier Photo Op and the $185,000 charter bills

Clark

Blackcomb Aviation corporate jet at YVR

On CKNW AM 980, during The Investigators segment on the Oct. 22 edition of the Bill Good Show, I revealed that Premier Christy Clark has spent $185,027.86 on 25 trips from March 18, 2011 through Aug. 1, 2012 on a charter airline owned by a prominent BC Liberal bagman.

It's important for politicians to get out and meet the people and know the land they govern. But, wondered NDP house leader John Horgan, is this just Premier Photo-Op on her permanent campaign?

“Ms. Clark has been campaigning since she started her run for the Liberal leadership, and she's continued to campaign for the last year and a half. What we'd prefer to see is good government. Most citizens would prefer to see good government. Most citizens would rather have their premier focusing on the systemic challenges with our fiscal situation, addressing child poverty, addressing problems in communities right across B.C., that's not necessarily best done on charter flights in and out to raise funds or to raise political awareness. What we need is a government that will roll up its sleeves and address the challenges of the day and that does not require charter jets.”

Clark has flown 29,000 kilometres around B.C., as far north as Yellowknife and as far east as Regina on the taxpayer dime since the fourth day of her Premiership. I learned this through a series of Freedom of Information requests.

You won't find information about Clark's charter flights in the Public Accounts. But you'll find all the relevant documents below.

McLean

Clark often travels with a communications aide and another staffer. Sometimes a minister or deputy minister. Almost always a bodyguard is aboard. She even brought a lobbyist aboard a Dec. 1, 2011 flight to Kitimat that turned back to Vancouver because of nasty weather.

Blackcomb Aviation is owned by David McLean, the CN chair who was a well-known friend of ex-Premier Gordon Campbell. BC Rail was sold to CN in 2003 in a controversial deal that has yet to be fully explained to the citizens of B.C. (Learn all about it on this Investigators documentary.)

McLean has donated more than $250,000 to the Liberals since 2005. Blackcomb Aviation gave Clark $23,000 worth of flights during the 2011 leadership campaign.

Cabinet members are allowed to take charter flights if they're on government business, their destination is not adequately served by scheduled service and/or if their schedule dictates they cannot wait for a scheduled flight.

Clark apparently tested the limits of what government business is. On May 26, 2011, she went on a one-day trip to a town hall meeting in Cranbrook. This was during her honeymoon spring and she was planning for a fall election, which was eventually scuttled. Kootenay-Columbia Conservative Member of Parliament David Wilks attended the town hall meeting. So did Doug Clovechok, who was hoping to run for the Liberals in that election.

He was finally, officially nominated on July 31 at a party meeting in Golden. That was the middle day of Clark's three-day area tour. She was there and posed for photos with Clovechok. Blackcomb's bill was $7,741.99.

Clark made four trips in three weeks for $38,600 on Blackcomb Aviation during July 2012, including a one-day, $15,470.07 trip on July 19 to Regina and Edmonton. She met Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall during the first stop and Alison Redford, the Alberta premier, on the second. The meeting with Redford was called the "Secret Summit," because Clark was whisked in and out of the Alberta Legislature with no notice or fanfare. Along for the ride were deputy minister Neil Sweeney, aide Gabe Garfinkel and the bodyguard.

Such is life aboard charter jets, which use a private terminal on the south side of Vancouver International Airport.  

#LiquorLeaks and the Exel six-pack

Foreman

Exel, the BC Liberal-connected company thirsty to take over the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch, sent a six-pack of its big guns to the Vancouver head office and booze warehouse on Aug. 29, according to an LDB sign-in sheet obtained via Freedom of Information.

They were: vice-president Greg Foreman, director of operations Robert MacLellan, business development manager Stephen Dougans, director of human resources Mark Osborne, operations director Dave Martin and a sixth person, whose name I cannot read (reader tips are gladly appreciated).


Despite what it says, they were not guests of Pele. Sorry folks, the Brazilian soccer great that thrilled us all for a moment during the London Olympics closing ceremony (it was better in person, believe me) doesn't work at LDB. Whoever signed them in at the security office meant to sign "Pelle," as in Pelle Agerup, the B.C. government's senior director of procurement.

Agerup

South African-born Foreman, a part-time poet, is based in California, but shuttles to Alberta whenever needed by Connect Logistics. That's the Exel-owned company that has the Alberta liquor logistics monopoly. Exel wanted to expand across the Rockies and take over the B.C. LDB. Foreman, according to the "Project Last Spike" internal memo, was to become the new head of the B.C. LDB's non-retail operations if Exel's seven-year quest to win the business succeeded.

Aug. 29 was the last Wednesday before Labour Day weekend. Less than a month later, on Sept. 28, the government put a cork in the privatization of the LDB when it announced a new, two-year deal with the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union.

Did a sudden, favourable labour deal with the biggest provincial public sector union really kibosh the most-controversial privatization in years? Or was there something else lurking behind the scenes that scared the cash-strapped B.C. Liberals into sobriety on this file?

Exel visits LDB

Ex-union boss linked to Exel wins NDP nomination

George Heyman

Former B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union president George Heyman won the race to become the B.C. NDP candidate in Vancouver-Fraserview on Oct. 21 against Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs.

But what kind of MLA might Heyman be, if he can unseat B.C. Liberal incumbent Margaret MacDiarmid in the May 2013 provincial election?

MacDiarmid was the Citizens' Services minister who was the titular lead for the privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution, before she was shuffled to the Health Ministry in September.

MacDiarmid, to her credit, agreed to an interview with me. Liquor minister Rich Coleman, whose hands were all over the file, behind-the-scenes, did not.

Heyman was a key player in the years-long saga during his 1999 to 2008 tenure as BCEGU president. Under his watch, the BCGEU successfully thwarted the Liberals' 2003 bid to privatize LDB's retail and logistics. But, from 2005 to 2008, Heyman and BCGEU organizing director Jeff Fox held closed-door meetings with Exel Logistics' lobbyists Mark Jiles and Rob Madore. Exel expressed confidence it had support from the BCGEU in its Oct. 6, 2009 "Project Last Spike" internal memo. In a nutshell, the memo said the BCGEU was willing to sacrifice the warehouse workers in Vancouver and Kamloops warehouses in order to keep the workers who are employed across the province in the LDB retail chain. Current president Darryl Walker, who succeeded Heyman, denied that was the case.

Heyman, now executive director of the Sierra Club B.C., didn't want to answer any questions from me about BCGEU, Exel and LDB when I contacted him in June for this story in Business in Vancouver. 

“I prefer not to comment on BCGEU issues,” Heyman told me. “I've been gone a long time and am doing other work these days.” 

Now that Mr. Heyman has his sights set on a seat in the Legislature, he will have to comment on BCGEU issues. It is his claim to fame and his constituents have a right to know about what he did while the democratically elected head of one of B.C.'s most-powerful unions. 

Meanwhile, the latest #LiquorLeaks release (below, via Freedom of Information) offers a glimpse into how the bureaucrats managing the file were planning their summer and fall. Oct. 9-12 was supposed to be the evaluation committee's Phase three climax. A proponent was supposed to be recommended and approved by Treasury Board on or around Oct. 16. 

Of course, the government and BCGEU reached a surprise tentative agreement for a two-year contract on Sept. 27 that scuttled the tendering process. Even NDP critic Maurine Karagianis was in disbelief, speculating that something else drove the Liberals to end the privatization and that the BCGEU settlement was a convenient cover to hide behind.

Response - CTZ-2012-00133

When "swoosh" becomes "flush": Armstrong dumped

It only gets worse for the Premier Pariah of the Peloton, Lance Armstrong.

On Oct. 17, a week after publication of the comprehensive and damning Reasoned Decision by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Lance Armstrong stood down as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation and, swoosh, was dumped by his biggest sponsor, Nike. Both were inevitable. Armstrong did not continue the fight against USADA and its mountain of evidence.

Despite the USADA lifetime ban, which effectively strips Armstrong of his achievements, Tour de France officially still considers Armstrong the all-time champ with seven wins and Armstrong still has an Olympic bronze medal from Sydney 2000. It is only a matter of time before the Tour de France and the International Olympic Committee revoke those awards. (Coincidentally, the IOC announced on Oct. 16 that it would be outfitted by Nike beginning in 2013.)

On the Livestrong website, Armstrong said: "to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship."

It is important to note, that the statement did not include any denial of the doping code infractions released by USADA. Armstrong will remain on the board of the charity, which I say will most certainly have to rebrand. Look for a new name and new colour scheme.

Nike's terse, two-paragraph statement blames "seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade."

During that decade, Lance Armstrong came to Metro Vancouver to shoot a TV spot. Under the headline "Cycling champ wheels in for commercial: Lance Armstrong rockets over Port Moody trails for international shoe giant Nike," The Province ran a story on Oct. 20, 2001 about crews shooting Armstrong while he rode the trails of Belcarra Regional Park in Port Moody. The ad was supposed to begin airing in November of that year.

Armstrong appeared in this 2001 Nike TV ad that portrayed him as a clean athlete. Nike gave him a platform from which he could fight back against his critics. It was part of the Armstrong cover-up campaign.

The end of 2001 was a turning point for Armstrong. He had three Tour de France titles at the time. Tyler Hamilton left the team. Floyd Landis joined. A decade later, Hamilton and Landis would eventually admit they were guilty of doping and broke the code of silence to accuse Armstrong of being the ringleader.

Armstrong also came to Vancouver in September 2007 for a weekend of cancer-fighting, fundraising charity rides. Armstrong appeared in front of the media before setting off from the University of B.C. on a Sunday ride with Premier Gordon Campbell and hundreds of others. Here's my story from the Sun Media wire.

It was his first time in front of microphones and cameras since his ex-teammate Floyd Landis lost a bid just three days earlier to overturn disqualification of his 2006 Tour de France win.

I asked Armstrong about his thoughts on the matter. "I'd love to answer the question, but I'm out of that business. I'm here to fight cancer."

In hindsight, if Armstrong truly cared about his sport and if he truly had been a clean athlete, he would have said something. Anything.

Now we know he was on more than just his bike.

Greek Coke: moved to a new beat

How's this for irony? 

Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company -- recession-battered Greece's biggest company -- is moving its headquarters to Switzerland, according to an Oct. 11 announcement. 

The sponsor of the Olympic movement since 1928 is moving from the country where the Olympics began to the country where the International Olympic Committee is headquartered. 

The move was eerily foreshadowed during the London Olympics. Inside the Games broke an Aug. 17 story about how Greece wasn't even on the map displayed at the Coca-Cola-sponsored pin-trading centres at Olympic Park and Hyde Park. 

There were no Coke logos at Ancient Olympia on Oct. 21, 2009 when I attended the dress rehearsal for the next day's launch of the Vancouver 2010 torch relay. 

Pep vs. Pops: Will Cummins be goins?

High noon came and went on Oct. 10. John “My Way Or the Highway” Cummins is still the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party and he says he’s not going anywhere.

Fourteen people resigned by the deadline and, he claimed, 381 had signed up since Sept. 3. But a posse of four, three from the Lower Mainland and one from Vancouver Island, want a new sheriff in town. Ooh-hah. Wah-wah-wah.

The PEPPy 4’Oclock Four -- Ian Pyper, Ariane Eckardt, Dr. Allison Patton and Rick Peterson -- held court with the media at the Pan Pacific Vancouver at 4 p.m., to publicly tell Cummins they are staying put, but he should refrain from buying green bananas. The party’s going nowhere with him at the helm, they say, and it’s time for the former fisherman to cut bait and sail away while there is time. Only 30 weeks remain until the May 14, 2013 provincial election and they want him to quit as the $4,000-a-month leader by Friday, almost three weeks after the party's lone, underappreciated MLA, John van Dongen, quit. 

Who are the four? 

Pyper is the Oak Bay-Gordon Head constituency president. Eckardt is president in Burnaby North. Patton, the Surrey White Rock president, is a naturopathic physician with biochemistry and psychology degrees from the University of Victoria. Peterson is an investment banker and investor relations specialist, an ex-Liberal who had his eyes on the Vancouver-Quilchena riding held by retiring Liberal Colin “Co-Father of the HST” Hansen. He is, most importantly, deputy chair of the Conservative finance committee.

Together, they're officially dissenting non-dissenters, who claim they aren’t out to depose Cummins. No, they're not challenging the results of the 71% vote against a leadership review, but won't hesitate to remind one and all that only a paltry third of the party's membership voted. Peterson is a leadership wannabe, but he claims he’s not. And the sky above isn’t coloured blue at noon on a cloudless day.

The Globe and Mail’s Sunny Dhillon asked Peterson about his obvious aspirations, after witnessing the passionate speech in which Peterson made sure he looked squarely into the lenses on the TV cameras, with immediate 6'oclock news ambitions. 

“That question is not relevant,” Peterson protested. He said he wouldn’t answer the question, then claimed he hadn’t even thought of the concept of leadership. 

Peterson’s time at the podium included a passionate warning of the oncoming “orange wave” represented by Adrian Dix and the NDP, “a tax and spend wolf in sheep’s clothing” who is “from the left-wing of a left-wing party.” 

Despite seven months remaining until election day, Peterson claimed there is plenty of time for 70-year-old leader Cummins to get out of the way so someone else could be followed. 

“I'm looking for change,” Peterson said. “I will not accept the status quo. John (Cummins) has the mandate to make change. I side with the CA presidents who are looking for change.

“You're all here looking for blood on the floor. Really what is going to happen is we’re all going to come out of this stronger.” 

Patton is a naturopath, but, for a moment, she was a telepath. 

Before I could finish asking about a photograph from the B.C. Blue blog of her standing between ex-finance minister Kevin Falcon and Premier Christy Clark at a barbecue last summer, Patton flashed an 8x10 glossy of the photo. 

She explained she was invited to the event at Conservative Sen. Gerry St. Germain’s ranch. She was representing the B.C. Naturopathic Association, which had come to know Falcon while he was health minister. 

“In terms of the photo itself, I thought it was kind of funny two top Liberals were endorsing a B.C. Conservative such as myself, and that's why I'm standing in the centre," Patton said. 

Patton and Peterson could be the future of the Conservative party. That is, if Cummins will get out of the way. 

UPDATE Oct. 11: The latest press release (below) from half of the Four O'Clock Four, explains the timing of the Oct. 10 news conference and some of the day's backroom intrigue -- including the bombshell that Cummins was offered $4,000-a-month for six months to step aside so that Rick Peterson could be installed as the leader!

Press Release

Our original press conference Oct 10th was scheduled for noon. Unbeknownst to us, David Wilder (80 year old retired lawyer, the CA Vice-President, Vancouver-Quilchena), had initiated negotiations with John Cummins’ group. He became aware of our press conference and contacted us and indicated that an agreement had been made with John Cummins; he was ready to resign and that the details of his resignation were being worked out. We found out that Mr. Wilder had met with Will McMartin, Al Siebring, John Cummins via two phone calls during the meeting and another unknown individual. Apparently someone else also accompanied Mr. Wilder. Mr. Wilder also informed us that he found Mr. McMartin to be one of the most unpleasant men he had ever met.

Mr. Cummins arranged for a statement with CKNW at noon and this was delayed twice to 1:00 and then 1:30 and so our understanding was that the delay was because he was going to resign. We were made aware that the terms negotiated with Mr Cummins were that he resigns by Friday with $4,000 per month for six months and that Mr Rick Peterson would become interim leader. According to further reports from Mr. Wilder, we discovered Mr. Cummins did not want Mr. Peterson to assume the position but that he wanted one of the women as Deputy Leader until he resigned by Friday. We accepted the terms of his resignation via Mr. Wilder. To our surprise by 4pm when our press conferences took place, Mr Cummins had made no indication of this arrangement.

Allison Patton, President Surrey White Rock CA

Ariane Eckardt, President Burnaby North CA