Of course what a surprise considering where the 'funding' came from... this guy was a political liability for anyone that touches him. When you're dealing with off shore hedge funds that deal in shady business and don't want any light shone on them these kinds of things can happen.

If this is a cover up of some sort then it makes one wonder if Dan is related to Peter Pocklington....

I think the BC liberals wear this one. They own it all the way from forest policy, to BC Rail, to the handling of the asset liquidation process. How they can justify the current situation of the Mackenzie pulp mill otherwise is not credible IMO.

"Edmonton Police say the Tuesday afternoon fire in the 90 year old Kelly-Ramsey building was deliberately set"

Must have had as cold snap and the furnace would not come on.

Eagleone, how can you blame politicians for this one? Wake and smell the coffee and let people (yes individuals) be responsible for their own actions in business not the politicians. Why is it then when business goes wrong its never the owner's fault. Remember the mill was sold by the receiver not the government. Might I remind you about how the NDP bailed out Skeena Cellulose to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars???

There is no question the B.C.government has this one all over themselves and in particular, Pat Bell.
There is a process normally used in business before any deal gets done called DD.
DUE DILIGENCE.
If anyone should have understood that, it's the Campbell government but obviously,Worthington was a little bit smarter.
The people of MacKenzie deserved much better.
How do you dry money after you wash it?

People must stop putting the blame on the govt for these type of problems. Remember the people are the govt and I'm sick and tired of bailing out the crooks, (private companies) that take the money and run and leave taxpayers holding the bag.

Eagleone you're one of the morons that continues to perpetuate the problem.
Why not change sides and put the blame where it belongs not where it benefits you.

I disagree lostfaith.
It is the government that has the final say, assuming they want it,and the means to ensure that any deal of this nature is above board and viable.
It would seem that in their haste to look like the good guys,(and that would include Pat Bell)they took this at face value.
Anyone in business knows that is the fastest way to commiting financial suicide.
Now we have the taxpayers holding the bag and the government trying to recover our tax dollars that they spent to clean up the mess and are probably still spending.
In my book,that is a screw-up, and the government deserves whatever heat they get.
Unfortunately,the real losers are the good people of MacKenzie who trusted and believed.

The govt doesn't own this mill, Worthington does and that makes them responsible for what happens to it, not the taxpayers.

The real losers are all taxpayers, not just the taxpayers in Mackenzie.

It is easy for all us sideliners to comment on it. The BC government (MoE) needed to step into prevent a chemical disaster from a abandoned mill site.

You can pretty much discount Worthington Properties, if they are so desperate that they need to excercise financial combustion.

Thus the question is, do we as a province continue to stick our head in the sand and pretend that Worthington will pay us. Or do we as a province assume owner ship of the property because of the current owners inability to maintain the site, which leaves the environment as a hostage.

The way I see it is, Eitherway, we are going to be stuck with the bill anyway. So send the invoice now, due and payable now, or we will assume 100% ownership of the mill in lieu of the payment. Have Worthington sign it off to the province. We remove all the dangerous chemicals from site, dormatize the plant, but still operational if the correct suitor shows up. This way, we get rid of all the current environmental liabilities.

The one thing the province should not do, is become a operator of a pulp mill or sawmill. Tried that before, did not work.

We can hold the mill until someone wants to buy it, than sell it to them with a sufficient bond or security for 24 months to ensure that we don't get back into this pickle jar again next winter.

If the province had not reacted as it did (to secure the chemicals at the mill site) the criticism of the ones who gloat at every opportunity (when they can hang something on this government) would be just as loud and condemnatory as it is now.

Therefore, its better to see some of these critical comments for what they really are: political haymaking, often devoid of any reasonable analysis.

I carelessly stubbed my toe on the leg of a chair this morning: It's Pat's and Gordon's fault, of course, not mine!

After having reached that conclusion it feels better already.

Funny though, diplomat, how you right-wingers have had no problem blaming the NDP for everything that's been wrong in the province since 1974...

Of course, totally unreasonable to blame Pat and Gordon for stubbing for stubbing your toe...but Glen Clark and Carole James...NOW WE'RE TALKING!!!

It's totally the provincial Liberals fault for this disaster. The province should have stepped in and made sure the sale was to a legitimate, credible, responsible buyer considering the liabilities that are involved. I would think if this were a nuclear powerplant that had gone into recievership that our provincial government would have looked out for the safety of our enviroment and our citizens of this province. Then none of you who think the province is not responsible for this mess would have anything to say.

totaly agree with He Who Speaks. That idea makes the most sense of all the opinions that I have read. Probably why it will not be put in place.

I completely agree with "Posted by: He speaks on March 27 2009 9:50 AM."

The NDP is beyond criticism.

Could the govt. even regulate the sale of a private asset such as this? If so then maybe the govt. blamers have a point. If not, then there is no point at all in slinging mud at the govt. On yet another aside, isnt it a little impolite to call polititions or others by their first names? I know folks might not agree with their politics but it is sad to see all decorum thrown out the window.

Now that this has happened are they (government) gonna rename the pulp mill "The Peoples Pulp Mill of Mackenzie" before or after the election? After all, we're paying for it. Would keep the NDP comfy.

Caranmacil:" On yet another aside, isnt it a little impolite to call polititions or others by their first names? "

Well, first names only is definitely not proper etiquette altogether but it is a lot more respectful than *Hamburger Patty & Gordo.*

:)-

I'm not perpetuating the problem lostfaith. How would I 'gain' from that? I know you're jealous that I have better ideas than you... maybe you need to prove your point? You make no sense to me.

The facts are that when the company was in receivership the provincial government had to agree to any transfer of tenure rights associated with ongoing operations at that pulp mill... any transfer would have required provincial approval for any number of reasons from environmental to all sorts of permits that would need to be transferable to say nothing of the role the BCSC should have been playing in this whole mess.

The liberal government played a role in promoting the Worthington purchase as a good deal and made political capital of that at that time issuing a press release taking the political credit for making the whole deal come together.. can it be a coincidence that it is rigid Pat (deregulator) Bell that was at the heart of this deal going ahead? Good due diligence deregulator... your constituents count on their MLA to defend them and be the loud voice looking out for their interests... doing the due diligence in deals that make or break their town... what they got was a deregulator making a bad deal for political capital that sold out all hope for that town for at least two years and may well have killed the town.

Any basic due diligence would have wanted to know where the money would come from and how much was committed to start with... and then the real due diligence should have started. This was government oversight at its complete worst.

Its a good thing for the BC liberals that they know the BC Supreme Court and the BCSC will facilitate their abnormal activity... otherwise these people would have to find another way of doing business.

I think He Speaks comments makes the most sense to me for a solution at this point. I wouldn't trust anything the ndp came up with either... both parties are enemies of free enterprise and carry an agenda for sale to the highest bidder.

If I was to try and one up He Speaks idea... I would suggest if the province seized the assets for environmental costs and considerations... then we would have to say at that time that those assets are no longer worth their whole costs, and an argument could be made that the former employees could be offered the company for what is owing to the provincial government. It could be done as per a type of bond offering for equity type of thing... contingent upon the new employee ownership group getting operating financing from the bank... contingent upon the employees sharing in the cost restructuring and trading that sacrifice for the profit potential.

The problem with todays economy is that it is the result of a multi decade long ponzi scheme where value was sacrificed for profit and profit at all costs and especially short term profit has killed the golden goose for a lot of entire industries let alone companies. Profit can be a dirty word for a companies long term survival.

If you have a company that has a low liability for its assets, and a low cost level from its employees, and a high potential to deliver value (motivation, process, innovation, resources, ect), then that has potential for positive cash flow and a cost structure that its competitors couldn't compete with. Competitors will be the ones looking for failure in Mackenzie IMO.

If the government seizes the assets then I think the employees should be given a chance to organize a local buyout from the provincial government at liquidation prices to cover costs incurred.

BTW I wonder what the total lose is for the government when you consider all the tax revenue they forgo from this mill not operating... especially when this is all export dollars earned. I bet the payroll tax alone is an 8-digit figure in lost revenue for government.. handing this thing over to the employees for free would make economical sense for the government purely from a tax revenue perspective if the place was operational and producing tax revenue.

Gentlemen, lets not forget who recommended the sale to the judge. The receiver was the one who should have performed all due diligence before recommending to the courts to approve the sale. Lets not forget who sold the chip aggreement to Canfor on a side deal no one was expecting. If anything killed the community of Mackenzie and sealed its fate was the receiver, not the provincial government. We have this mess on our hands because of the lack of due diligence on the receivers part, maybe, just maybe, there should be an investigation into the dealings of the receiver????????