NDP Will Not Let Up On Call For BC Rail Inquiry

Saturday, October 23, 2010 05:15 AM

Prince George, B.C. - The leader of B.C.'s Official Opposition says the New Democrats will continue to push for a public inquiry into the sale of B.C. Rail and the ensuing corruption trial that ended abruptly on Monday with the guilty pleas of the two defendants, former Liberal aides.

Carole James spoke about the issue with members of the local media in Prince George yesterday, before a new price tag for the trial was released by the Attorney-General. Mike de Jong now says the B.C. Rail corruption case cost taxpayers $18-million dollars in fees for Crown Counsel, the defence, the court and document handling. That dollar amount does not include RCMP investigation costs.

Carole James says the only thing that will satisfy the public is full disclosure of all the documents relating to the defendants' plea deal, the documents on paying off their legal fees and all the documents surrounding the sale of B.C. Rail, itself.

She says the New Democrats will return to the Legislature with a list of questions the government promised to answer once the trial was done.

"We'd like to do that this fall, but it looks like they're not going to call us back this fall, so February, they have to call us back," says James. "They won't have the court case to hide behind, there'll be nothing for the government to hide behind -- we expect full answers, truthful answers, and we'll get to the bottom of this, regardless of the government's stonewalling."

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Premier Gordon Campbell will be speaking with Ben Meisner on The Meisner Program on CFIS FM and, here, on Opinion250.com on Thursday, October 28th after his televised 'Premier's Address' on Global T.V. at 9:30am

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Posted on Saturday, October 23, 2010 05:15 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: bcrailpoll on October 23 2010 7:47 AM

Should British Columbians Have A Public Inquiry In Relation To The Sale Of B.C. Rail?

Simple Poll Here

http://bcrailpoll.wordpress.com

Posted by: acrider54 on October 23 2010 8:05 AM

Good! We need to know, Campbell likes to hide all the Liberal dirty deeds. Remember his party was going be an open government? More lies. Poor excuse for a Liberal leader.

Posted by: squirl on October 23 2010 10:00 AM

cmon people

gordo assured us it was all over and all the questions have been answered.
YOU DONT THINK HE WOULD LIE TO US WOULD YOU

Posted by: BC Mary on October 23 2010 10:32 AM

Maybe a "Third Party Review" of the $6million pay-off to the "Accused" for their legal fees ... maybe that would be a good place to begin.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on October 23 2010 10:50 AM

The "accused" claim they have NO money to pay their legal fees. Had they confessed to committing fraud right in the beginning the legal costs (for prosecution and defense) would have been a fraction of what they eventually came to.

Who is to blame? You want the lawyers to have worked for nothing? The accused have a right to legal representation. What if they would have been convicted of a crime they did NOT commit simply because they did not have proper counsel to defend them? Would that be an acceptable way to deny justice?

The whole thing reminds me of the Air India plane crash trial and of the Picton trial. These trials dragged on for years and years, cost millions and often don't even have a clear and satisfactory outcome.

Is the outcome of this trial clear and satisfactory? Clear: Yes, they pleaded guilty to fraud. Satisfactory: No.

I would be happy to hear if someone has a better plan as to how these lawyers would get paid in full for the work they did.

Would it be o.k. to stiff them for the money just so things look politically correct?

Posted by: REALIST on October 23 2010 11:51 AM

Asking questions in the Leg is great but, when have politicians ever really answered a question there? Even if they do answer, they we know that they do not tell the truth. What is the point? Would you expect to get good info from a compulsive liar? This requires an independant investigation and not one appointed by the Liberals either. (Think enviromental assessments and even the initial investigation into the fairness of the sale of BC Rail. Total biased investigating by Campbell Lackies).

WAKE UP AND LISTEN TO YOUR ELECTORS GORDO!!! TRUELY INDEPENDANT INVESTIGATION IS A MUST NOT AN OPTION.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on October 23 2010 2:01 PM

http://www.thecanadian.org/k2/item/328-basi-virk-plot-thickens

Posted by: charles on October 23 2010 2:25 PM

(Good editorial in the Vancouver Province a few days ago)

Where are we as a province or a country when senior government officials can accept more than $75,000 in inducements and no one goes to jail? Do our judges even understand any more the concepts of "right" and "wrong?"

And how can the courts call it a "fine" when the same crooks are merely returning their ill-gotten gains? If the average person fails to declare some income, a fairly minor crime, even they are forced to pay the lost tax plus a 100-per-cent penalty as punishment.

And what sort of government do we have in B.C. when our top justice official, Attorney-General Mike de Jong, can agree to pay the crooked officials' $6-million legal fees as part of a deal between a supposedly independent special prosecutor and the defence lawyers? What is the point of hiring an independent prosecutor in the first place, if at the end of the process the attorney-general — a politician in the very government whose integrity the case brings into question — will be needed to approve such a massive carrot in the plea bargain? Have the payment of lawyers' fees ever before been part of such an arrangement?

And is there anyone in B.C. not suspicious about how all of this could suddenly happen after seven years of legal proceedings on the eve of former finance minister Gary Collins and other Liberal insiders being forced to take the stand?

Were this happening in some third-rate banana republic it would be shocking enough. That it is occurring in our beloved province is appalling beyond words. You're wrong Mr. de Jong. An inquiry into this sordid affair is needed.

http://www.theprovince.com/opinion/Editorial+Inquiry+needed+Basi+Virk+scandal/3697779/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on October 23 2010 3:21 PM

"...if at the end of the process the attorney-general — a politician in the very government whose integrity the case brings into question — will be needed to approve such a massive carrot in the plea bargain?"

A "carrot" implies that an accused pleaded guilty when otherwise (without the carrot) he/she might not have done so. This can also imply that he/she *took a fall* in exchange for the carrot and, perhaps being innocent of any wrongdoing nevertheless pleaded guilty, thereby bringing closure to a trial before it had run its full course.

In that case he/she could and perhaps should be charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.

Take him/her to court and perhaps find out *the rest of the story.*

Posted by: Andyfreeze on October 23 2010 4:23 PM

A bit of truth in all these posts.
While I doubt the NDP can or will push back hard enough to make much difference,at least someone is doing something.
Sadly,the ineffective noise coming from Carole James is a bit like the sound of a fart in a tin can.
It sounds bigger than it is.
For the most part,this is over, and we are somewhere around 18 million dollars poorer.
$18,000,000.
And for what?
Were we scammed?...probably.
Can we prove it?...No!
Did Basi and Virk get what they deserved for breaching the public trust?...No!.
Is there more to this story?...without a doubt.
Are there more people involved than Basi and Virk?...of course there is.
Unfortunately,the only ones who can authorize a public inquiry is the government, and there is not a chance in hell they will do that.
They are done as a government and perhaps as a political party, and all they have to do now is keep their heads down and their mouths shut, until they are thrown out of office.
They may just get away clean at the expense of the B.C.taxpayers.
They got us...they got us good, and there is not a damn thing we can do about it.
At least for now.
There is one thing for sure...Campbell is gone in November when a vote is held on his leadership.
The stink of this will go on for years and recall or election,this government is dead.
That was sealed when they granted amnesty to Basi and Virk.

Posted by: charles on October 23 2010 5:12 PM

But the real test for Campbell's leadership this month will not come from around his cabinet table.

The three-term premier will be tested in secret ballots around the province when every member of the Liberal party will be able to answer yes or no to the statement: "I endorse Gordon Campbell's leadership."

Pederson said the votes are part of the normal practice at meetings in each riding throughout the province. The meetings are also used to select delegates for the party's annual convention, being held Nov. 19-20 in Penticton.

Pederson said the results of these leadership votes are announced at the convention. He said Campbell has historically enjoyed support from more than 90 per cent of those who cast ballots.

While the meeting times and locations are not made public, he said the party sends notices directly to each member at least 28 days before the meeting is held in each riding. All riding meetings must be held before Oct. 1.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Cabinet+backs+Campbell/3504432/story.html

From the above news article it sounds to me like the vote the members of the B.C. Liberal party had on Premier Campbell's leadership is over. I wonder how many of these folks who voted to support his leadership would have voted differently if the "deal" in the Basi-Virk affair would have taken place before they voted.

Posted by: Pojeb_sa on October 23 2010 6:56 PM

More baloney from the NDP, the "look what they're doing to us now," party.

What does the NDP really do other than promise to keep asking, and showing up at shut down mills for photo ops? Hell, journalists do that too, and taxpayer dollars don't even have to pay them for it. They *still* haven't said they'll repeal the HST, even though they're using the tax to their usual ineffective advantage.

Carole James should hop on her broomstick and fly on out of legislature. Would anyone even notice her absence?

Posted by: supertech on October 24 2010 12:15 AM

6 million for legal fees? That is an obscene amount and simply more obvious coruption. Why aren't these people in Jail? The problem is the judicial system here. We have judges and lawyers assisting corrupt MLA's and beaurocrats to afflict us with 'legal' plunder. This is blatant disregard for law and country. We should evict these people from Victoria physically, along with the corrupt judges and lawers who protect them. It has come to the point where it is embarrasing to be a citizen of BC.