Regime change: T-minus 104 days?

A desperate governing party is looking at the calendar and the opinion polls and just might be realizing its stranglehold on power is running out. Better do something, anything. Quick! 

The Christy Clark BC Liberals are where the Bill Vander Zalm (and Rita Johnston) Social Credit was in 1991 and the Ujjal Dosanjh NDP was in 2001. Running out of ideas, detached from voters, hungry for just one more election win. 

Despite what the deluded pom-pom wearers and hired spinners will tell you, the Liberals could wake up on May 15 as a spent political force. 

Oh, they’re spending millions of dollars to tell you Canada Starts Here, when Cape Spear, Nfld. actually gets the first sun rays every day and Charlottetown in 1864 was where historians say the Dominion of Canada was conceived. And the B.C. Jobs Plan means B.C. is standing tall, like a big, old, white iPod that cannot be toppled by many smaller, old black iPods. Even if the jobs statistics don't stand up to scrutiny.

Then there’s the Concerned Citizens for B.C., the political action committee otherwise known as Jim Shepard’s Christy Clark Fan Club. Shepard and his flock want to remind you NDP leader Adrian Dix backdated a memo in 1999 when he was Premier Glen Clark’s stepandfetchit and that the NDP ordered the three-vessel fast ferry fleet that cost more than $200 million higher than the original budget and didn’t have a proper business plan. 

Shepard is blind to the fact the Liberals have bigger, newer skeletons in their closet. Such as the memos to file by Dave Basi which seem to implicate Clark in the leaking of confidential cabinet documents to a bidder for BC Rail. Clark is under investigation after a conflict of interest complaint by ex-Liberal MLA John van Dongen. The saga of B.C. Place Stadium is like a bookend. The Liberals were pondering a $100 million pre-Olympic spruce-up and roof replacement in January 2008. The final cost was $514 million and included a German-engineered retractable roof that is rarely opened. Taxpayers weren't consulted and they weren't even shown a business plan. Roof contractors are inching their way to a 100-day B.C. Supreme Court trial scheduled to begin Oct. 21. On Jan. 30, a lawyer for Canam disclosed before a judge that the company's claim against Freyssinet would be increased by $13 million to $39 million. 

Remember the infamous NDP fudge-it budget of 1996, when an $87 million surplus became a $350 million deficit after Glen Clark won election? The Liberals don’t want you to remember their 2009 faux pas when they promised a $495 million deficit during the election but delivered a $2 billion deficit budget just months after Gordon Campbell won his hat-trick. Lest you think dirty thoughts that the Liberals are going to fudge the numbers in their Feb. 19 pre-election budget, Finance Minister Mike de Jong has found another "independent" Maritimer for hire. 

Remember Stanley Cup riot investigator Doug Keefe, the former Nova Scotia mandarin who collaborated with ex-Olympics boss John Furlong and got paid $174,000? Meet Dr. Tim O’Neill, a Prince Edward Island economic consultant who is being paid at least $25,000 to look over de Jong's shoulder until budget time and give a passing grade. 

Message to Premier Clark: save money, call the Office of the Auditor General. 

But all is not lost. There are actually tiny rays of light showing through the fog that suggest someone in the Liberal party has realized the writing is on the wall. 

But is it too little too late? Just for show? 

On Jan. 30, BC Hydro announced it won't force smart meters on those customers who are holdouts, the thousands of people who are refusing to allow Corix crews on their property to install the iTron devices. 

On Jan. 31 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Bill Bennett will announce the creation of a new agency for B.C.'s film, arts and creative industries -- a merger of the B.C. Film Commission, B.C. Film + Media and the B.C. Arts Council. They'll combine to form a new body similar to the Ontario Media Development Corporation. A one-stop shop for the creative industries. 

Bennett was at North Shore Studios for the #SaveBCFilm rally that drew 4,000 people on Jan. 22 and heard one of the many suggestions to revitalize an industry purposely left out of Clark's B.C. Jobs Plan.

William F. White's Vancouver general manager Garin Josey was spotted at the Canada Place Starbucks preparing for a Jan. 30 meeting in the Premier's Vancouver Office. Josey boosted the We Create B.C. social media campaign during the Jan. 22 North Shore Studios rally. He didn't tell me who he was meeting, but I confirmed independently that it was Bennett and Citizens’ Services Minister Ben Stewart.  

The Liberals are trying to looking kinder and gentler, but it’ll take more action to convince me of their sincerity. Here is my five-point, modest proposal for the Liberals to prove they're worthy of staying in office beyond May 14.

1. Notwithstanding Chief Justice Robert Bauman's Jan. 29 verdict, how about waiving the solicitor-client privilege and delivering the Basi-Virk indemnity agreement to John Doyle so he can finish his audit? 
2. Why not hire a retired judge and give him or her a one-year mandate and reasonable budget for a BC Rail public inquiry? 
3. Perhaps publish the B.C. Place renovation business plan and ask the Auditor General to launch a full-blown value-for-money audit? 
4. Possibly reveal the real reasons for the cancellation of the Liquor Distribution Branch logistics privatization? 
5. Maybe rescind all those the Freedom of Information delay letters that everyone’s getting these days? 

Mommy bloggers, but no grieving mother at summit

When Premier Christy Clark held her ERASE Bullying Summit on Nov. 13, 2012, the invite list included politicians and bureaucrats and cops and parents and students and more cops and more students and more parents. 

But no Carol Todd. 

She is the heartbroken mother of British Columbia's posthumously best-known bullying victim, Amanda Todd, and she only wanted to quietly observe the day-long, taxpayer-funded symposium. It was a symposium that took place just over a month after 14-year-old Amanda's suicide, which touched off a worldwide conversation about finding solutions for teen depression, suicide and cyberbullying. If not for this YouTube video, a cry for help, we may not have known about Amanda's story.   

Amanda Todd was the inspiration for the ERASE (Expect Respect And Safe Education) event. Clark, who was the driving force behind the annual Pink Shirt Day anti-bullying campaign, even said: "We lost Amanda and it was a tragedy but we should learn from that. She would want that from us." 

Below is the list of invitees, obtained via Freedom of Information. It includes an entry for Rissa Wilson, vice-principal of CABE Secondary School in school district 43. It says: "attending on behalf of Carol Todd."

Carol Todd, however, did not willingly give up her chair. She was shunned.  

Todd went to Twitter to publicly state her dissatisfaction. It was yet another political blunder for Clark and her beleaguered BC Liberals. If Clark is to lose in the May provincial election, her only legacy may be the worthy campaign to stamp-out bullying. But on Nov. 13, 2012, she had the minus touch. 

The government's damage control effort to explain it away claimed Carol Todd's attendance could have caused so much trauma for one of the allegedly vulnerable youths in attendance that it could have spurred a copycat suicide. I still don't buy that. 

One of the experts trotted out to support this was the well-meaning crisis counsellor Kevin Cameron, who runs a company called Canadian Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response. I asked him for references to any academic or scientific research on copycat suicides that would support the decision to ban Carol Todd, but he admitted there was none. 

So who else went? 

A cadre of "mommy bloggers." Clark's attempt to connect with female voters includes occasional coffee talks with mommy bloggers. I counted eight on the guest list: Alissa Hutton, Amber Strocel, Meghan Simington, Christine Pilkington, Lori McGrath, Susan Carraretto, Melissa Carr and Mary Zilba.

Yes, that is the Mary Zilba, one of the as-seen-on-reality-TV Real Housewives of Vancouver. 

Don't mistake this for a critique of who was on the guest list, because this is not. Moms are blogging and they're sharing ideas way more important than recipes. Hutton, for instance, is on the Vancouver School Board urgent behavioural intervention team.

But, after seeing the list, I still can't figure out why Carol Todd was not welcome. 

Anti-BullyingSummit-GuestList.pdf by BobMackin

Goodbye Steve, Hello Judy

Old: Point

One day, British Columbia had a chief for Lieutenant-Governor.

The next day it was a cowgirl.

The province's first aboriginal to occupy Government House, Steven Point, was given a farewell ceremony Nov. 1, 2012. Point was appointed in 2007 by Premier Gordon Campbell and served through the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Judith Guichon, the incoming representative of the Queen (number 29 in the province's history), was sworn-in a day later. Both once-every-five years happenings took place at the Legislature with the required amounts of pomp and circumstance.

In a rare show of frugality, the two events came in way under budget. The farewell was budgeted at $7,915 and the swearing-in $7,835.

New: Guichon

Point's swan-song actually cost $2,860.42, including the parting gift of an $1,114.50 guitar inscribed with his name, from Riversong Guitars in Kamloops. For those keeping score at home, the government correctly spelled his name this time (unlike the embarrassing spelling errors on the forms signed by incoming cabinet ministers at their swearing-in ceremonies).

Guichon's installation cost only $2,666.76.

Add it up and taxpayers were only dinged $5,527.18. See all the documents, including the invitations, programs and guest lists, below.

Yap's secret swearing-in

Compare that with the $3,600 closed-door ceremony held March 24, 2012 when Premier Christy Clark shuffled her cabinet. Point presided at a swearing-in ceremony for John Yap at Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre (right) that was a secret affair until a news release was issued after the unusual Saturday afternoon event.

Goodbye Steve, Hello Judy by BobMackin

Stadium on strike

B.C. Place workers on a one-day Jan. 28 strike.

Trying times at B.C. Place Stadium.

Not only has the Auditor General agreed to take a look at the costs of the renovation project.

And not only is a massive lawsuit inching its way toward a 100-day B.C. Supreme Court trial beginning Oct. 21.

But there is labour strife.

For the first time since February 2005, members of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union local 1703 are on strike. Albeit, only for one day on Jan. 28.

Local 1703 chair Dave MacDonald was not available for an interview, according to spokeswoman Karen Tankard.

Tankard said the main issue is job security for the 38 full-timers and 460 event workers. (Food and beverage workers are represented by a separate BCGEU local).

"We're out on strike for a fair contract, we have offered the employer informal mediation," Tankard said. "We're hoping to get back to the bargaining table as quickly as possible. Our members want to be inside, doing their jobs.

"There is work that has been going on inside B.C. Place by private contractors that we believe our members should be doing. That is our work."

A strike was averted in fall 2011, when the stadium's rocky reopening occurred. All events went ahead as scheduled, but with increasing participation by contractors, such as Genesis Security, Panther Constructors, Pace Group and Riggit Services. The stadium has also become top-heavy with management.

The one-day strike has minimal impact on B.C. Place operations. The Year of the Snake Chinese New Year Expo begins on Jan. 31, and move-in isn't scheduled until the day before.

According to a statement released by the Pace Group, stadium general manager Howard Crosley said: "We are disappointed at this development in the bargaining process and remain committed to securiing a positive outcome in negotiations with the BCGEU. Our people are an important resource and we hope that ongoing discussions will allow us to reach a solution that meets the needs of both parties. We also have an ongoing commitment to our clients during this time and contingency plans are being developed to minimize disruption to scheduled events."

BCGEU local 1703 has an arm-long list of grievances with stadium management on a variety of fronts. For example, workers were furious last October when management sank their boat cruise with only one day's notice.

That week ended with a mysterious meeting among PavCo minister Rich Coleman, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle and Peter Brown, the BC Liberal Party bagman who quit the PavCo board of directors in February 2012 when the Liberals kiboshed Telus's naming rights sponsorship of the stadium.

The Telus Park sign remains in a Pattison warehouse and talks are underway about resurrecting the deal. In August 2012, Telus and the Liberal government secretly came to a supply-only deal. The government, however, won't tell us how much it paid Telus in compensation for the goods and services supplied.

There's #IdleNoMore and now #IdaKnowMore

When British Columbia Premier Christy Clark shuffled her cabinet on Sept. 5, 2012, Mary Polak was gone from Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation and into Transport and Infrastructure.

Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong became the new Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Minister.

Whenever this happens, staff prepare "briefing books" to get the new minister up to speed on the people, finances and issues faced by the ministry and its agencies.

At the bottom of this post is the first phase of a Freedom of Information release of the briefing book prepared for Chong by the Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Ministry. I call the document "Ida Know More."

The document also contained a map showing the locations of British Columbia's First Nations (almost all of whom have outstanding land claims but no treaties), and a First Nations pronunciation guide, which includes such tongue-twisters as Anderson Lake (An-der-son Lake) and Peters (Pete-rs).

Know Your British Columbia First Nations by BobMackin

#IdaKnowMore (Phase 1) by BobMackin

"Copycat" Indian Oscars coming to B.C. Place

The International Indian Film Academy awards aren't coming to Vancouver in 2013, but an event that IIFA organizers deemed a "copycat" is. 

Clark and actor Anil Kapoor announcing IIFA bid in 2011.

During a November 2011 trade mission to India, Premier Christy Clark announced a bid for the 2013 edition of the IIFA awards. The event, which was referred to as the "Oscars of Indian film, was held in 2011 in Toronto at Rogers Centre. The 2013 host remains to be announced.

The Surrey Board of Trade was part of the IIFA bid. Its president, Anita Huberman, said via email on Jan. 18: "It is not going to be IIFA but something better. I am not allowed to say at this time -- but an announcement will be made on Tuesday."

UPDATE (Jan. 21): Clark will be appearing at a 10 a.m. news conference on Jan. 22 in the Vancouver Convention Centre to announce the Times of India-sponsored event in April. B.C. Place Stadium is the venue for the awards, but the news conference isn't going to be there. That's odd. Might that be so as to shield the Premier from questions about the continuing controversy over the stadium on several fronts? Such as a major lawsuit among roof contractors and the Auditor General's fact-finding exercise on the cost overruns. Meanwhile, Bollywood director Karan Johar Tweeted that he arrived in Vancouver at 7:57 p.m. 

Another source told me that B.C. Place Stadium will be the venue. With an election nearing, the government is in desperate need of propping up the taxpayer-owned stadium as a major lawsuit by roof contractors looms in October and the Office of the Auditor General examines the controversial project. 

Global TV reporter Jas Johal asked Clark about the show during a Jan. 16 news conference. Clark gave a vague answer, hinting an announcement was imminent, but she did not deny that taxpayers would be subsidizing the event. (Ontario taxpayers spent $12 million on hosting the IIFA in 2011.)

This, while the province's own film and TV industry is in decline and struggling workers are furiously calling for government action to match Ontario's generous tax credits after I revealed in Business in Vancouver that their industry was deliberately omitted from Clark's B.C. Jobs Plan. (An industry town hall meeting is planned for Jan. 22 at North Shore Studios.) 

IIFA organizer Wizcraft International issued the following news release on Jan. 21, to reiterate it's not coming to Vancouver in 2013: 

IIFA confirms not going to Vancouver in 2013~ 

IIFA fans react to copycat event; management responds to overwhelming number of inquiries from fans ~ 

Monday, January 21^st, 2013 - The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) today confirmed that the bid from the British Columbia government on behalf of Vancouver was rejected for 2013 and the world's biggest international celebration of Indian cinema would not be held in Vancouver this year. 

IIFA shared that the dates and venue for the 2013 edition of the IIFA Weekend and Awards would be formally announced soon.

The need for the clarification was necessary following thousands of fans inquiring about the IIFA celebrations following rumors of a few copycat efforts being attempted in international markets.

Recently, IIFA received a copious number of emails and enquiries from fans in Canada and around the world for tickets to the Awards. But Wizcraft International, the organisers of the extravaganza, today confirmed that the city is out of the running for June 2013. The bidding process for the Awards is currently on with a number of countries from the Middle East, South America, Europe and Africa vying for the biggest extravaganza of Indian Cinema to come to their city. 

In 2011, IIFA successfully forayed into North America, marking its premiere in Canada, in the city of Toronto. There has since been keen interest from the country to play host once more in 2013, with Christy Clark, the Premier of British Columbia formally extending an invitation to Wizcraft International Entertainment, the initiators of the unique IIFA Celebrations, to hold its 14th edition in Vancouver.

Embarking on its 14^th year, Sabbas Joseph, Director, IIFA & Wizcraft International said, “We are truly excited about the bids we have received from various countries. The decision is subject to many contributing factors that are required of a host destination in terms of support-initiatives for Hindi cinema production, funding and distribution; event-funding, support, facilitation, and infrastructure. We are committed to the film Industry and hosting an IIFA in any destination must meet the larger interests of Indian Cinema and a spectacular-staging of the annual celebration.” 

Over the years, IIFA has emerged as the most prestigious platform recognizing excellence in the Indian film industry. The biggest names of Indian cinema congregate at the IIFA Weekend and Awards to celebrate the best contribution made to the world of films in the previous year. IIFA is a global platform that gives the Indian film fraternity an opportunity to reach audiences in international territories and is among the most-watched global events with an audience of over 800 million, annually. A number of destinations have played host including London, Yorkshire, Johannesburg, Dubai, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, Colombo and Macau. 

 About IIFA 

Conceptualized and produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and supported by the key members of the Indian film fraternity, IIFA is the most appreciated South Asian film academy. Also, the IIFA Awards is India's biggest media event. With a viewership of almost 800 million, it is among the world's most-watched annual entertainment events. From a one night celebration in 2000 at the Millennium Dome, London, the last thirteen years have seen the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) movement grow into a packed weekend of film-festivals, workshops, exhibitions, film-showcases, a global business forum and sporting events, all of which climax into the highlight of the Weekend, the IIFA Awards. 

For more information, contact –Lizel Noronha
WizSpk Communication | PR

Film folks furious, Premier Photo Op censors Facebook comments

My story in Business in Vancouver about the B.C. Liberal government purposely omitting the film, TV and video gaming industries (collectively known as "screen-based entertainment") from Premier Christy Clark's BC Jobs Plan has struck a chord.

You can read the story here.

Film and TV workers suffering from a lack of work have bombarded Clark's Facebook page with hundreds of passionate pleas for her to help the industry, which has fallen to fourth in North America after Ontario lured producers with lucrative tax credits that B.C. has yet to match. Premier Jobs! Families! is being reminded that many families rely on jobs in film and TV, but there have been fewer jobs of late, meaning hard times for some families.

They're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, because they think the Premier frankly doesn't give a damn and she can't handle the truth. They want to remind her she relies on the kindness of strangers (aka voters) to keep her employed. Show me the money, they say.

However, what we've got here is a failure to communicate. Someone in Clark's office cleansed the Facebook page of the comments (which did not appear to me to be offensive). Furious Facebookers have responded with a slew of new comments, complaints about the apparent censorship and even this digest of the comments that were deleted. 

Dax Belanger There was nothing in those posts that was a personal attack. The comments were well thought out and respectful. The deletion of them speaks volumes. Shame on this blatant disrespect for the voters of BC.
Sanchia Wong  Ms Clark, you might need to hire some new people in your office. I am not sure if they deleted the postings based on your instructions or they deleted them so that they do not have to tell you about them, and hence addressing the issue. I am pretty sure this will get deleted as well.

Below is a file showing some of the comments posted on Jan. 11.

UPDATE (Jan. 13): Sometime during the Golden Globe Awards, when the name Sarah Palin came up on a few occasions, a message attributed to Clark was posted on her Facebook page. The alleged response from the Premier offers no hint that any help whatsoever is on the way.

The film, television and digital media industries play an important role in B.C.'s economy.
Despite a challenging fiscal climate, the Province continues to make significant investments to support these industries through more than $200 million in tax credits, development program funding, funding film festivals, and through supporting projects like the new Centre for Digital Media and the Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and feedback. If you want to learn more about how we are supporting these important industries, please write me at Premier@gov.bc.ca.

UPDATE (Jan. 16): Clark held her first news conference of 2013 and was asked to address the film industry's call for increased tax credits. She did not offer much hope of relief, though the budget is almost a month away on Feb. 19. Here is what she said:

"It's a hugely important industry for our province, in particular in the Lower Mainland. It's an industry that's great for our image, it's great for our culture here, it's great for jobs. And it's a green, clean industry.  

"We offer huge, lots of advantages for filmmakers, TV and filmmakers, here in the province, partly look outside. There's all that majestic beauty that you can't capture anywhere else in the world. 

"In addition to that, we offer about $285 millino in tax credits to film and TV in B.C. which is a very substantial benefit for a specific industry.  

"That's a good investment, it's a  big investment for taxpayers, but I think it's an investment taxpayers support. So we're going to continue to do that. We've been talking to leading members of the film industry and I understand the pressure, the race to the bottom that we've seen in economies that are really struggling. I understand the pressure that that's created. But here in B.C. we offer a pretty good deal for filmmakers and we do it for the right reasons because it's an important industry for us. 

"There's been a range of different requests (for financial assistance) that have been made, but I think in B.C. where we are also going to balance our budget, we don't have a bottomless pit of decisions to be able to make.  

"If that (90% unemployment rate in the industry) was true. Absolutely not, it's inaccurate."  

Facebook users urge Clark to support struggling film, TV industry by

Roof rip 6 years ago caused costly domino reaction

B.C. Place's roof ripped and collapsed Jan. 5, 2007

UPDATE (Jan. 14): NDP Critic Spencer Chandra Herbert complained to Auditor General John Doyle on Jan. 11, seeking an investigation of the cost of B.C. Place Stadium renovations. Read my story in The Tyee here and see the letter to the Auditor General at the end of this blog post.

UPDATE (Jan. 18): Auditor General John Doyle responded to Chandra Herbert on Jan. 16 and will conduct a fact-finding exercise. A very important first step. See his letter at the end of this post. Here's my latest story in Business in Vancouver. 

Was the skyrocketing cost of B.C. Place Stadium renovations the product of simple scope change or its evil twin, scope creep?

Government has refused to release a business plan or cost/benefit analysis for the renovation of B.C. Place Stadium, begging the question: does one exist? 

When it comes to B.C. Place, there are always more questions than answers. 

Ultimately, there is one question about B.C. Place that needs to be answered, after the half-billion-dollar project. It is this: did taxpayers get value for their money? 

The only hope may be for the Office of the Auditor General to step-in and investigate the blizzard of spending that happened at the 1983-opened stadium after its roof ripped and collapsed on Jan. 5, 2007 in a disaster that was deemed preventable. (It happened, whether by coincidence or convenience, after a drastically censored, 15-page, June 20, 2006 report to the Tourism Ministry by B.C. Pavilion Corporation that proposed major improvements at the stadium because it had "worn out assets which are critical to basic tenant operations.")

John Doyle’s predecessors investigated the NDP’s controversial Fast Ferries project (which was supposed to cost $210 million but rose to $462 million) and the Liberals' Vancouver Convention Centre expansion (which was supposed to cost $495 million but rose to $883.2 million). So why not put B.C. Place under similar official scrutiny? Why not before voters go to the polls to elect a new provincial government on May 14, 2013? 

In a Sept. 28, 2012 interview with Bill Good on CKNW AM 980, outgoing B.C. Pavilion Corporation chairman Podmore maintained “there’s only one budget, that’s the $563 million.”

"What government did is they authorized an expenditure of $12 million to allow us to completely design and engineer the building. To go out and obtain firm prices from contractors and subtrades. 

“And then we bundled all that together and went back to government and said OK, we completed the engineering, this is going to cost $563 million, we can get a fixed price contract to cover that work, do you want to proceed?”

Podmore also maintained the final price tag was $514 million. His math and chronology are a tad too simple for both you and me. 

What is now known is that he told Vancouver city manager Judy Rogers in a Jan. 22, 2008 letter that the cost was “in the order of $100 million, which includes replacement of the roof.” Podmore did not use modifiers, qualifiers or asterisks in his confidential letter. He didn’t mention whether the roofing cost for the stadium "rehabilitation" included an updated inflatable top or a new retractable system. 

By late April 2008, PavCo internal documents estimated the cost of a renovation with a "spoke-wheel" Frankfurt-style retractable roof would be $253 million. Application of such a roof before the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics was nixed, because the best estimate for completion was less than two weeks before the Feb. 12, 2010 opening ceremony.

Podmore and Premier Gordon Campbell announced the project in a May 16, 2008 news conference at B.C. Place, but both steered clear of telling taxpayers how much it would cost for that Frankfurt-style retractable roof. 

On Jan. 9, 2009, PavCo issued a news release announcing a $365 million funding envelope for top-to-bottom renovations. 

The budget was updated to $458 million on Oct. 23, 2009. Government eventually admitted the all-in price would be $563 million. On Aug. 15, 2012, the ruling BC Liberals claimed it was $514 million -- or $49 million under budget. (Still, that’s $414 million more than what Podmore said in his 2008 letter to Rogers.)

Along the way, Podmore said the sale or lease of PavCo lands around the stadium and a naming rights sponsorship would help lessen the burden on taxpayers. The sale option was tossed and the name remains the same. 

Paragon Gaming’s proposed casino/hotel complex west of the stadium was put on hold indefinitely when Vancouver city council denied an expansion bid in April 2011. Edgewater Casino is staying put at the Plaza of Nations until at least 2015, but Paragon is talking to PavCo about using city council authority to move the existing licence to a scaled-down complex. 

Telus had a $35 million to $40 million, 20-year deal to rename the stadium Telus Park, but government cancelled the agreement in February 2012. Evidence suggests the sponsorship was scuttled because of ongoing complaints and legal threats by competitors Bell, Rogers and Shaw over the June 2011 direct award of a $1 billion, 10-year government-wide telecommunications contract to Telus. 

Instead of giving Telus a second tier, official or exclusive supplier designation in exchange for goods and services already provided, government did a straight supply-without-recognition deal with Telus in August for an undisclosed sum. Yes, the government doesn’t want to tell us how much it paid Telus for goods and services that were supposed to be provided under the sponsorship. 

And, finally, the trial of the year is scheduled to begin in B.C. Supreme Court on Oct. 21, 2013 and it's all about the roof. Cable installer Freyssinet Canada sued steel contractor Canam Group for nearly $6.5 million. Canam fought back with a $26.15 million countersuit. PavCo and general contractor PCL are listed as defendants. The legal battle has been complicated by the grease that leaked from the Geobrugg-supplied cables which stained the fabric roof. The next procedural hearing is Jan. 10 and will involve applications to add more defendants and third-parties. (Meanwhile, B.C. Place workers represented by B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union local 1703 voted 96% in favour of striking. Contracting out and scheduling are the big issues.)

Recent legal filings by a lawyer for Canam suggest the cost of damage to the roof from leaking grease may be worth $15 million and it may not be covered by insurance. PavCo knew the leaks existed more than six months before roof fabric installation.

Apologists for PavCo and those desperately hoping to keep the B.C. Liberals in power and the NDP out of power after May's election will try to play-down any concerns about B.C. Place costs by claiming stadium-related economic activity rose from $58 million to more than $100 million after the renovation. But they have no real evidence to show you or me. This is par for the course around North America, according to The Stadium Gambit and Local Economic Development by sports economists Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys. They say that stadium and arena developments never do for a local economy what the boosters say. 

“A stadium is a public investment in real capital, as such, the rules for sensible public investment apply to stadium finance as much as they apply to public provision of highways, schools and airports... 

“Unlike most studies commissioned by stadium advocates, the consensus in the academic literature has been that the sports environment has no measurable effect on the level of real income in metropolitan areas.”

The money that’s spent on B.C. Place is spent. It’s like toothpaste that cannot be stuffed back into the tube. But now is the time to analyze what went right and what went wrong. The public has a right to know how its money was spent and whether it was spent properly. Look what happened to Quebec’s construction industry because of opaque government tendering and spending. Revelations of Mafia involvement and resignations of mayors have been among the results so far of the Charbonneau Commission inquiry into that province's construction corruption.

Lessons can be learned which can be applied to future government mega-projects in B.C. New ideas can and should be floated to make the stadium a daily revenue generator, so that it can deliver dividends to government instead of rely on annual subsidies. It is a building with great potential. 

NDP complains to Auditor General to investigate B.C. Place renovation costs by BobMackin

Auditor General agrees to examine B.C. Place renovation costs by

Gary Bettman, the $8 million man?

The Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) for 2010 filed by the National Hockey League is a 40-page document and a tad interesting for those curious about Big Hockey which finds itself mired in another Big Lockout. 

The league reported $378,926,644 in assets and liabilities on this form, which says its mission is to "perpetuate professional hockey in the United States and Canada." (Note to Canadians: this is your beloved sport, but Canada comes second in the collective mind of the NHL.)

Commissioner Gary Bettman received $4,628,853 compensation from the NHL and $3,354,900 from related organizations. That's $7,983,753 combined. Compared to player compensation for the 2011-12 season, Bettman was paid more than Marian Hossa and less than Steven Stamkos. 

NHL related organizations are listed as: NHL Enterprises, NHL Enterprises Canada, NHL Network US, NHL World Cup of Hockey, 3918921 Canada and 3918939 Canada, NHL Network (Canada), NHL Interactive Cyber Ent., NHL Enterprises BV, NHL Coyotes Holding, Coyotes Newco, Arena Newco, CFV Holding, 3051349 Nova Scotia, Universal Ice Services, CFV 1 and CFV II

Bettman gets some of the same perks as the players. The form says "the Commissioner travels predominantly via a chartered plane. The other officers and key employees travel via a chartered plane occasionally… per the Commissioner's contract, he is permitted to use a charter plane for certain personal use, which is treated and included as a taxable benefit."

Bettman also received a $5 million loan from the NHL, approved by the board or committee. The balance due was listed as $1,071,428. 

Bettman is a lightning rod for criticism, mainly by Canadian hockey fans, but the form reinforces the fact that he serves at the pleasure of the 30 franchise owners. 

"The governing body reviews and approves compensation and the written employment contract of the Commissioner put forward as recommendation by the compensation committee."

It's also interesting what can be found in the small print. It says: "Part VI, Line 19 The National Hockey League's governing documents, financial statements and conflict of interest policies are made available to the public upon request."

Remember: if you're a hockey fan and this lockout makes you angry, you have the power to do something about it. Stop being a customer of the NHL and its entities. 

National Hockey League form 990 for 2010

#LiquorLeaks reveals: B.C.'s booze cops a busy lot

They're part of a little-known division of law enforcement in British Columbia, responsible for policing the service and consumption of liquor. They're decked out in body armour and they take use of force lessons from trained professionals.

B.C.'s liquor cops have a big territory to cover, with more than 1,000 retail outlets and 8,000 restaurants and bars. To gain insight into their activities, there are agendas and minutes of Liquor Control and Licensing Branch compliance and enforcement managers meetings that I accessed via Freedom of Information 

Some highlights of meetings held between Jan. 10, 2012 and Nov. 13, 2012:

Jan. 10: a cop in Kelowna rang in the new year in a fight with a Hells Angels' member and a government vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.  

Feb. 21: LCLB got headsup that the government would try to privatize the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution. 

March 6: A promoter was giving away beer in Vancouver streets, called Beer in a Bag. (Hey, why didn't anybody tell me about this?) 

April 6: Cash used by undercover teens in the Minors as Agents Program was going missing and LCLB was seeking a "petty cash alternative following problems with the issuance and tracing of petty cash for minor agent purchases."

May 15: LCLB ordered 60 coffee mugs, ostensibly for coffee (not "special" coffee) and an application for a 500-person beer garden at the Vancouver Festival of Lights (Celebration of Light fireworks) was denied. 

July 10: a ubrew/uvin was selling 40% alcohol and testing found it was actually 43.2%.

Aug. 21: increased gang activity was noted in Gastown, a possible spillover from the Granville Mall (aka entertainment district) and LCLB investigators were granted access to the Canadian Police Information Centre database.  

Sept. 4: Three of seven private liquor stores in North Vancouver contravened liquor laws according to the undercover teens from the MAP program who tried to buy booze.  

Nov. 13: gang activity was noted in the Okanagan. 

A peek inside the B.C. booze cops