Famous phrases are going to be "I don't recall, I can't remeber, I think we shredded that, Who's that.

The challenge for the former owners of BC Rail [... ahem, cough! that would be us, like you and me and every BC citzen]

The challenge will be to keep track of what's said in BC Supreme Court about this BCR - CN deal. This is where we finally get a chance to find out w.t.f. happened to Canada's 3rd largest railway.

I've watched this story since 2006 when the trial of Basi, Virk, Basi was first scheduled (and postponed). I've published record of whatever was said about it.

Only today, for the first time, the BC Rail Case is receiving the press attention it deserves.

I'm keeping a roster of published reports at my blog:

The Legislature Raids
http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/

It has always amazed me at the hands off approach the main stream media has taken with this case.
Why they have ignored it is a mystery,but it doesn't smell very good.
Considering the time line here and the delays in actually dealing with this case,I give it about a week to 10 days before this case is dismissed.
Oldest legal trick in the book...delay,delay,dealy.
The really scary part is that it is the Campbell government that has been stonewalling it at every turn.
Why?

Thanks BC Mary. Like you, and others have stated, the mainstream media has avoided this story almost as much as they have the victory of the MCFD appointed child advocate's case against the campbell government. Whenever i wanted to find out what the latest in the case i always googled your site and was treated to the lastest developements. Thank god for people like yourself and the internet for without you too this case likely would have been swept under the carpet like much of the other slime this government has done to the citizens of B.C.

Perhaps when this case is over you might start on getting some help for the disabled as the poor treatment of the campbell government seems to have sparked a jump in B.C. disabled suicides. No one else seems to care about us perhaps you could stir up some compassion out of the people of B.C.!

Thanks for yopur help and I hope that this trial gets to the bottom of this corruption especially after all these delays trying to make it go away.

The mainstream media hasn't picked up this story because it's boring and nobody really cares.

The media will probably report on it when some sort of decision comes out of this. And a day after that, it will be forgotten.

Actually, mainstream media have been
following this story, however, the court had imposed a widespread publication ban which prevented any reporting of the goings on in the court room leading up to the start of events today.

I would suspect, now that the trial is acutally underway, you will see daily reports of the testimony.

Elaine Macdonald

Thank's Elaine.
While I know there is a publication ban on what happens in court,that doesn't account for the lack of digging by the media on the circumstances etc.that surround this case.
It also doesn't account for the silence by the media on the delays,missing emails, and political undertones.
Still no answers on why Kinsella refused to testify,who knew what and when,and the time this case is taking to come to trial.
So far it has been a battle of legal jousting by lawyers on both sides in an effort to stall the proceedings.
There is not doubt the government wants to keep something from coming to light and I do have to question what it is they are fighting to keep under wraps?
Something just isn't right.

This BCRail thing is old, just about as wrinkled and almost of the same vintage as the endless shenanigans of the NDP during the nineties - the ones no one wants to talk about anymore.

James said she won't reverse the BCRail/CN deal, so unless somebody took bribes under the table in brown paper bags I agree with MrPG.

It's boring and semi-useless to keep harping away on it when there are many more pressing issues to deal with.

How much do special prosecutors make? 800 dollars per hour?

Probably more than that.

This was our railway and it was sold/leased against the wishes of the electorate and despite asssurances that it ould not be sold. It has much the asame background in that regars as the HST and shows a governing oparty with complete contempt for the voters. It may be old, but all that means is that the stench of corruption is all the stronger. Finally, we're going to get some answers.

BC Rail was a major, publicly-owned asset and a lifeline for the province. It was virtually given away under a deal which is still partly secret. Three people are on trial, accused of dirty tricks which were part of that secret deal. Does that sound OK?

Nor can partisan politics fix that. Partisan politics are a cruel joke played upon the population to keep us squabbling at each other (see 12:46, above, for example) while the robbers continue grabbing our stuff.

The answers will, I hope, be found in BC Supreme Court starting today in Vancouver. Strange to say, I have more confidence in the Defence lawyers (Bolton, Doyle, McCullough) than in the Crown Prosecutor (Berardino) or even the judge (MacKenzie).

And I've developed a lot of faith in my fellow citizens over the past 4 years, realizing how deeply they care for British Columbia, and how painful the current state of the province has been for them. Seems to me that citizens have work to do, from now on, making sure things don't go all to hell in a handbasket again.

When all is said and done, the lawyers will be the big winners. They've already won by dragging this out for seven years. The verdict won't change anything.

Want to see a blank stare? Ask the average person on the street who David Basi and Bob Virk are.

Politicians of all stripes have established a tradition of saying one thing and then doing another thing - the opposite - instead. It has been going for a long time and it probably will keep on unless a lily white no-nonsense party comes along and keeps all promises.

Unfortunately we will never have the pleasure of seeing all these promises being kept - because such a party will never get elected.

Once when I questioned a party official why Mike Harcourt promised before the election to build a cancer clinic in PG and why he put it in Kelowna instead once elected I was told that politicians (incl. NDP) sometimes run on promises just to get elected, i.e. nobody expects them to keep all promises and that this was a fact of life.

Is it o.k.? Of course not. And the remedy is...?

The remedy is to not justify political corruption, but to shine a light on it and show the world the kind of hypocrite that we have running our political parties in this provinc,e and the kind of hypocrites those same political parties will advance as the candidates we have to choose from at election time.

A 'democracy' that is voting without an informed vote is not a democracy at all. The rights of a citizen come from having full disclosure on the intent and actions of our government. Every government action effects us all whether it be in fairness of services and taxation, opportunities, or simply everyone playing from the same rules.

Getting to the bottom of issues as grievous as this one is, are the corner stone of our democracy. The liberals said it wouldn't be privatized before the election, and then did the opposite after elected... ditto for HST... ditto for what next by what ever political party that lies to gain power and breaks a promise at your expense.

It is not ok for any political ideology to lie about its agenda to get elected... because we all lose as a result whether we are for or against them when this happens... what goes around comes around, and what protects us the most is the integrity in the rule of law and a transparent democracy.

Well said, Eagleone.

One of the major concerns clearly visible in the BC Rail Corruption Trial is the failure of the news media to live up to its responsibilities.

A healthy democracy is based upon an informed population. We don't have that in BC and it's a pity.