NDP + BC Rail Investment Partnership Deal with CN Rail

Yesterday, Leonard Krog, MLA for Nanaimo and the NDP Critic for the Attorney-General tabled the following 70 Written Questions to the Attorney-General on the Order Paper of the Legislative Assembly:

Mr. Krog to ask the Hon. Attorney General the following questions pertaining to the BC Rail deal:--
1. Will the government hold a public inquiry into the sell-off of BC Rail as soon as the criminal proceedings conclude so that B.C. taxpayers can finally get the answers they deserve?
2. When did the government first learn that the BC Rail deal was the target of an in-depth RCMP investigation?
3. When will the government release all documents -- including documents which may not be directly linked to the charges -- that relate to government policies or decisions regarding BC Rail?
4. Has the investigation into the sale of BC Rail uncovered evidence that other government policies or decisions may have been illegally or inappropriately affected? If yes, will the government release all such documents -- including documents which may not be directly related to the charges?
5. Did the BC Rail Steering Committee discuss the potential for the BC Rail deal to collapse if only one bidder remained in the bidding process?
6. Will the government release all minutes for meetings of the BC Rail Steering Committee?
7. Will the government release all documents produced for the BC Rail Steering Committee?
8. Did members of the Steering Committee or other members of the government caucus meet with or communicate with any of the proponents or their representatives during the process to sell BC Rail?
9. Did the Premier or any of his staff meet with or communicate with any of the proponents or their representatives during the process to sell BC Rail?
10. Can the government explain why then-Solicitor General Rich Coleman briefed the Premier before the search warrants were executed?
11. Can the government explain why then-Solicitor General Rich Coleman briefed the Premier's Chief of Staff Martyn Brown immediately after the warrants were executed and before alerting the public?
12. Why was Martyn Brown given the go-ahead to fire Dave Basi immediately, prior to any charges being laid?
13. How can the government defend the propriety of the Solicitor General's actions against the charge that in briefing the Premier and his top political staffer, this government put its political interests ahead of the public interest?
14. Why was provincial government staff allowed to organize for the federal Liberals in the Legislature using taxpayer resources?
15. What steps did the Premier take to ensure that the BC Liberal Party did not benefit from illegal activities by staff?
16. Will the government release the tapes and/or transcripts of phone conversations between the Premier and government ministers that were gathered during the criminal investigation into the sale of BC Rail?
17. Given the government's own forecasts for significant coal mining activity, why were projections based on coal export growth deliberately left out of revenue calculations for the BC Rail line?
18. Did the government consider cancelling the sale of the BC Rail freight division?
19. Will the government release any and all correspondence with the RCMP and BC Rail about rescinding the sale of the BC Rail freight division?
20. If the government considered cancelling the sale of the BC Rail freight division, was compensation considered for any proponents?
21. What discussions took place concerning the issue of whether CN Rail had paid too much or too little for the BC Rail freight division?
22. What was the estimated value of former BC Rail assets in 2003, before they were sold? What is the estimated value of those former BC Rails assets now?
23. Did CP Rail express concerns about the clear breach of fairness in the process to sell BC Rail prior to their letter of Nov. 21, 2003?
24. Did the government -- including any and all government ministers, the BC Rail steering committee, the government caucus and/or its advisors or technical specialists -- ever discuss the consequences of OmniTRAX dropping out of the bidding process prior to or following the withdrawal of CP Rail?
25. Did the government consider the potential consequences of a small number of proponents or a single proponent during the sale of BC Rail for its goal of "maximizing value to the province"?
26. Did the government consider the potential negative political ramifications of a small number of proponents or a single proponent during the sale of BC Rail?
27. What was discussed at the Dec. 12, 2003, meeting held at Vancouver restaurant Villa del Lupo between the Minister of Finance and senior executives from OmniTRAX, the second-place finisher in the bidding process for the government-owned BC Rail?
28. Will the government ensure that tapes and transcripts resulting from the surveillance of the Minister of Finance's meeting with OmniTRAX officials are made public?
29. Did the Minister of Finance meet with other proponents during the transaction process?
30. Was it the Minister of Finance who ordered confidential government information to be leaked to a lobby firm representing OmniTRAX?
31. If it was not the Minister of Finance who ordered confidential government information to be leaked to a lobby firm representing OmniTRAX, was the Premier's Office or any other government official responsible for this order?
32. Will the government release the "meeting minutes, presentations and other documents" referred to in the Charles River Associates report on the BC Rail bidding process?
33. Did Charles River Associates review meetings, conversations or communications outside the official process -- particularly those including ministers and ministerial aides -- in their analysis of the fairness of the BC Rail transaction process?
34. Will the government release all documents including emails, reports, interview transcripts relating to the two information leaks referenced in the Charles River Associates report?
35. Can the government provide concrete evidence for their claim that the information leaks referenced in the Charles River Associates report did not materially affect the sale of BC Rail?
36. Will the government provide the full list of files and issues in the purview of or involving David Basi, Aneal Basi and Bob Virk between June 2001 and December 2003?
37. Did the government order an internal investigation into every file that Mr. Basi touched while he worked as a top political aide to the Minister of Finance -- and if not, why not?
38. Did the government order an internal investigation into every file that Mr. Virk touched while he worked as a top political aide to the Minister of Transportation -- and if not, why not?
39. Will the government provide an explanation as to why Dave Basi was fired immediately -- prior to any charges -- while Bob Virk was only suspended?
40. Can the government provide assurances and evidence of the statement made by the then-Finance Minister in December 2003 that Dave Basi "was not involved in the budget process, never has been" and "was not involved in the drafting of legislation or policy development."
41. Will the government conduct a review of every decision made to remove land from the ALR while Mr. Basi worked in the Campbell administration?
42. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities and files that involved Dave Basi and/or Bob Virk and the principals and staff of Pilothouse Public Affairs?
43. Is the government aware of any other potential or ongoing investigations that involve Basi, Virk, or Pilothouse and any other minister, ministry or public body -- and if so, what are they?
44. Will the government provide a full enumeration of the roles played in this investigation -- or any other related investigation -- by Mark Marissen, husband of then Deputy Premier Christy Clark, and Bruce Clark, the brother of the then-Deputy Premier?
45. What materials did the Special Prosecutor withhold from the defence that were the subject of the February 27, 2007 defence application?
46. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities associated with Pilothouse Public Affairs?
47. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities associated with K&E Public Affairs?
48. Why did the government allow Erik Bornman of Pilothouse Public Affairs to continue his lobbying activities after he had informed Bill Berardino that he had bribed Dave Basi?
49. Why did the government allow Brian Kieran of Pilothouse Public Affairs to continue his lobbying activities after he had informed the RCMP that he had tried to bribe Dave Basi?
50. Can the government assure British Columbians that lobbyists Erik Bornman and Brian Kieran no longer have access to senior government staff?
51. Why did the BC Liberal Party continue to accept money in 2004 from lobbyists named in the original warrants, long after the raids on the Legislature?
52. Why won't the BC Liberal government allow an all-party review of the Lobbyists Registration Act in order to have greater accountability over who is influencing government and how?
53. When did the Attorney General and Premier first become aware that the lead RCMP inspector was the brother-in-law of Kelly Reichart, Executive Director of the BC Liberal Party?
54. How did Kelly Reichert learn that Erik Bornman had been granted immunity in exchange for providing information about David Basi and Bob Virk?
55. When did the Attorney General and Premier first become aware that information related to the investigation was leaked to Kelly Reichart and was subsequently leaked by Mr. Reichart to principals in the investigation?
56. Does the Attorney General agree that the actions of Mr. Reichart risked compromising the investigation?
57. Why does Mr. Reichart continue to serve as the Executive Director of the BC Liberal Party?
58. Given that one of the government's objectives for the BC Rail transaction was "ensuring integrated North American access to preferred markets and carriers for interline rail shipments", why would the government attempt to sell the Roberts Bank Spur line separately, following the withdrawal of CP Rail?
59. Is it true that in November 2003, Dave Basi advised OmniTRAX that the then-Minister of Finance had authorized a consolation prize for OmniTRAX in exchange for that company staying in the bidding process?
60. Was this consolation prize the BC Rail spur line?
61. How much was the consolation prize valued at?
62. Was OmniTRAX offered any Delta ALR lands for expansion of the port as part of this consolation prize?
63. If it were not for the alleged criminal actions of high-ranking aides, would the government have proceeded with the sale of the BC Rail spur line?
64. Does $900,000 represent the total cost to taxpayers of cancelling the sale of the spur line, or did the final tab come in even higher than that? What was the final tab?
65. What was the estimated value of the spur line in 2004, when the sale was put on hold?
66. What was the estimated value of the spur line when the sale was totally cancelled in February 2006?
67. What is the estimated value of the spur line now?
68. Why won't the government exercise its rights under article 10.2 of the Revitalization Agreement to inspect all of CN's maintenance records for the former BC Rail line?
69. When will the government investigate the rash of tragic derailments since 2004 in order to shed light on this safety scandal?
70. Why has the government refused to provide evidence for its claim that the government discussed safety and maintenance with the proponents during the negotiations to sell BC Rail?

We have a rule in the British Commonwealth's Parliaments and that is when there is a case before the courts, the Crown doesn't answer any question(s) relative to that case. It is commonly referred to as sub judice. This is one principle that the NDP doesn't want to understand. But then again, anything that isn't owned by the Crown is a bad thing according to the NDP. Look at BC Rail / BC Ferries for example. If the NDP had any sort of brains, they would wait until all court actions relative to BC Rail are completed, then by all means, ask all the questions about the BC Rail Partnership Deal that you want. But the sub judice rule is clear: If there is a case before the Courts, it is inapproriate to ask anything that relates to that case during Oral Questions and hopefully House Speaker Bill Barisoff will apply this rule to Mr. Krog's 70 Written Questions, as posted on the Order Paper of the Legislative Assembly

New Teacher Registry Legislation

On Tuesday, March 27th, Shirley Bond (Minister of Education and Deputy Premier) introduced legislation to amend the School Act, Independent School Act and the Teaching Profession Act to require the BC College of Teachers' to publicly report the name of any teacher who is disciplined for misconduct involving sexual, emotional or physical abuse

The BCTF has already come out and condemned the legislation as an attack on teachers and the creation of more bureaucracy. Why is the BCTF against the public knowing what teacher is guilty of professional conduct involving sexual, emotional or physical abuse?? That is the right of parents to know that so they feel 100% sure that their kids are safe at school.

I applaud the provincial government for this kind of legislation and is long overdue. It will also make sure that school districts hire teachers' that are free of any kind of misconduct that is harmful to kids

But, then again, the BCTF is against anything the provincial government does. Whether the party in power was NDP or BC Liberal. Nothing is good enough for the BCTF

WL Council Commitee of the Whole Session

At tonight's Council "Committee of the Whole" Session, the following was discussed:

1) 2007-2011 5 Year Financial Plan

Council give Staff authorization to bring forward at the April 3, 2007 City Council Meeting the 5 year Financial Plan Bylaw for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Reading. Also, Council has asked Staff to look into topping up the Equipment Reserve Fund, as well as looking into accelerating paving projects for 2008

2) City of Quesnel invite to all Muncipal Councils' in Cariboo regarding the CRD Relationship

Council agreed to meet with Quesnel Council regarding the relationship between muncipalities and the CRD in April. It was noted that Quesnel Council met here once so it was time to return the favour. It was also noted that it would be a good sharing experience with Quesnel in terms of how Williams Lake's working relationship with the CRD Board is working out.

3) Letter from CRD Chair re: Mountain Cariboo Recovery Strategy

This item was deferred to the next meeting as Councillor Paul French has received some information relative to this subject, so he will work with City Staff to put a report together for the Committee of the Whole consideration in 2 weeks

4) Proposed new Corporate Logo

This item was deferred for 2 weeks as the Administrator is away and it will be considered at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on April 10, 2007

BC Fed of Labour Demands Minimum Wage be $10.00 per hour immediately

Good morning...

Over the weekend, The BC Federation of Labour organized a rally to demand the provincial government raise the minimum wage from $8.00 to $10.00 per hour immediately, following on the heels of the Ontario Provincial Government Budget, in which they are moving to raise Ontario's mininum wage to $10.25 per hour by March 31st, 2010.

Personally...I'm not convinced that raising the minimum wage alone will do anything to solve the issue surrounding poverty except to kill job creation in this region. But if we, as a society, want to solve the issue around poverty, then we have to look at using other measures in combination with the minimum wage to help those who find themselves at the poverty line.

What do you think?

Email me at apsecrty@telus.net

City of Quesnel's Relationship with the Cariboo Regional District

On Tuesday, March 27th, Williams Lake Council will meet as a "Committee of the Whole" to discuss a letter that was received from the Office of the Mayor - City of Quesnel inviting Williams Lake Council to a meeting to be held in April (on a Saturday) to have meaningful discussion and dialogue on how to improve the muncipalities relationship with the Cariboo Regional District based on commonalities and differences that each muncipality may have with the CRD (Cariboo Regional District). I'm told that both the District of 100 Mile House and Wells muncipal Councils' will not be in attendance due to scheduling issues, thereby leaving Williams Lake and Quesnel to be in attendance at this meeting. Having only 2 of the 4 Muncipal Councils in attendance at this meeting makes the meeting not worth having. So, if Quesnel truly wants to have a harmonized relationship with the Cariboo Regional District, then they must do the following:

1) Remove all CRD Function Service Reviews from the table (Sub-Regional Recreation and Library)

2) Mayor Bello must quit negotiating the new Quesnel Library location in public. Leave that to the respective Staffs' to do that on behalf of the CRD Board of Directors' and Quesnel City Council. He is the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Quesnel. Even when he suggests a location, it tends to have weight in the eyes of the public.

3) At the beginning of each new term of Council, sit down with the North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee and map out 2-3 common goals for the North Cariboo Region to be completed by the end of the local government 3 year term.

4) Change voting rules at the North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee immediately from Majority Vote to Voting by Consensus. This will address the issue of Wells not feeling like a true partner at the NC Joint Planning Committee Table and will show that each person's opinion at the Joint Committee Table is no more valuable than the other. Also, it will, in time, end of the practice of Us-versus-Them at the NC Joint Planning Committee

5) End the practice of linking financial participation in One CRD Function to an another, otherwise know as bartering of CRD Functions. It doesn't work except to antagonize the relationship between the CRD and the City of Quesnel.

What Quesnel has been doing with its' relationship with the Cariboo Regional District doesn't work because Williams Lake did exactly what, Quesnel is doing now, years ago and only now for the good and hard work of former Mayor Rick Gibson and CRD Area "F" Director Duncan Barnett were they are able to turn the relationship around in Williams Lake and now Williams Lake has been able to work with the CRD to get a number of projects that affect the Central Cariboo Region completed including a newly renovated Cariboo Memorial Complex, completion of a Beef Cluster Strategy among others.

By acting on the above over a matter of time, this will rectify the situation between the City of Quesnel and the CRD and allow everyone to see the benefits of a good, hard-working relationship between members of the CRD Northern Directors', Quesnel City Council, CRD Board of Directors' and their respective Staffs'.

What do you think?

Email me at apsecrty@telus.net

First Time Post

Hello all:

This is my post on my new blog...

I will attempt to post once a day as to what the NDP are saying/doing in the House (when it is sitting) and local/provincial media

Hopefully, we'll all make use of this media to reach our ultimate goal of having a BC Liberal MLA in the riding of Cariboo-South in 2009