Kudo's to him for telling the truth when asked. It takes a big man, to say that in court, he did, and he should be respected for that.

I am not saying what he did is correct, but he is not trying to cover it up. He is willing to face the music. A lot more than what could be said about some of the things that administration at City hall is doing, such as the Columbus Hotel situation.

Columbus Hotel, The city administrator made the mistake of expropriating the property prematurely. Someone made that decision, someone has to stand up and say, I made a mistake, and stop wasting our tax dollars.

I don't understand. I thought he plead "not guilty" and now he is admitting he actually did it? What was / is the point of this trial?

My guess as to why he pleaded not guilty was so he could have his say in court about what really goes on at city hall. I think there should be more transparency in city council as they are supposed to be working for us, and not just treat us like idiots while they have their hands in our pockets all the time.

Thank you Brian Skakun. You will have my vote if you run for mayor.

Scary that anyone would vote for this crook! He's now an admitted criminal and should be booted from Council immediately.

You think the other ones are not crooks? How much tax do you pay?

Someone please tell me the cost of this trial - an estimation is fine. It will let me know how many times to hit myself in the head with a block of cheese.

re: realitycheck

"Scary that anyone would vote for this crook! He's now an admitted criminal and should be booted from Council immediately."
------------------------------------------

Yeah realitycheck you're sorely mistaken if you think all other politicians are honest!

Sometimes it takes a man like Brian to get the truth to the public.

OMG...

Brian would get my vote too if he ran for mayor, except I no longer live in PG.

Does moral support count?

Does anyone know if an individual can continue to serve as a councillor if they have been found to have breached The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act? After all, such a finding may cast doubt on whether they could continue to be trusted to fulfil their role as a councillor in a meaningful manner.

If he cannot continue to sit on council it would be unfortunate in some ways, because I think Mr. Skakun has been a pretty upfront member of council who shows a willingness to address issues that residents want addressed. That said, there are many professions that would give you the boot if you were found guilty of offences that have a direct link to your profession and I'm not sure if politicians would fall under similar standards.

Brian for Mayor. He's got my vote too and I know many, many more who will too.

As far as politicians who are guilty of offences...Campbell's only been gone a few days and already we forget. LOL!

Let me get this straight. Skakum made us pay for a trial when he admits he commited the crime and you guys think he's a here. I think he's a mor........n. That makes a whole lot of sense, just as much as his "I don't think traffic circles are a good idea, because people don't understand them!!! I wonder what he would have thought about the first stop sign. I think we should boot this massive intellect off the council, but that is not likely to happen.

Who are you people? His Mother?
Sheesh! This guy said he was NOT guilty, he has now admitted to releasing the stuff, but only after many days in court and many days of wasted tax payer dollars to have the case before the court! AND, he said in court he didn't know the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy act applied to him. C'mon..... this is no hero, this is someone who got caught, and is grasping at straws to justify a wrong doing.... there was no cover up!!!! there were investigations, they just didn't produce the results Brian wanted.

I could never bring myself to vote for someone who willingly violated another person's right to privacy; no matter their motivation.

Think about it this way-you are a business person looking to set up in Prince George before a rival does so. Do you want Skakum in the room when you discuss your plans, in camera, with city council?

He has now admitted he violated the law. He is not the person I want for mayor. I don't even want him on council.

Skakum didn't make us pay for a trial. This is an all out witch hunt.

Just because he pleads not guilty and then testifies in court that he provided the documents does not mean he's admitting guilt.

Many murderers plead not guilty and then when ALL the facts of the case are out it paints an entirely different picture with self-dfense being one of the many.

We need to know the truth about "what goes on" in city hall and Skakum was determined to do that.

Could it be that the "Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act" was made law so that politicians could be at ease knowing their TRUE reputations would NOT be on the line if the truth(s) were exposed?

Kinda makes ya wonder eh?

It takes an honest politician to do what Mr. Skakum did.

Hats off to him and shame on the governments for trying to make him look like the bad guy!

Flash...

So you're saying that you've always voted for non-corrupt and completely totally honest politicians?

GIVE ME A BREAK!

Here's how politics work. You look at all the candidates, listen to their campaign promises, and then you decide who's gonna screw you the LEAST!

That exactly HOW it works out and you know it.

At least councillor Skakum has got the guts to stand up for OTHER citizens and expose the cold hard HONEST facts.

Now THAT'S a politician!

I guess if voting with what is popular, only showing up when camera's or microphones are present, violating the public's trust and distracting everyone from useful public business by going on a paranoid wild goose chase, then Brian is your man. How can anyone think that it is OK to intentionally breach confidentiality when you have SWORN NOT TO DO SO? If you think that is OK, you should not be representing the public. If he was really a person of character, he would resign and never surface again.

and as for Munoz - what kind of person waits until after the election when they are safe and secure in their seat before disclosing what they knew? That is only marginally less dispicable and demonstrates a serious lack of character.

and as for Munoz - what kind of person waits until after the election when they are safe and secure in their seat before disclosing what they knew? That is only marginally less dispicable and demonstrates a serious lack of character.

He wanted the CBC to investigate ? I want to see him on CBC getting escorted out of City Hall. He needs to go! Today !

First, there's the report which basically says the good Superintendent did nothing wrong in harassing employees, then when an employee leaves, his common law fills the vacancy.
Second, Skakun comes along and says hey, there's more to this, someones gotta look in to it. Hands it off to CBC, but, they put it on the web. Skakun says, hey, I didn't mean for you to do that, get it off there.

So, he gets charged.The question is, whether the law he broke has any teeth in it and if so, does the information he gave out meet the test of being a private and confidential document that falls inside this act?
If the answer is yes to both, he finds himself in a bad situation.
Now, from what I hear, no lawyer in his right mind allows a client to give evidence in his own defense. Yes there are exceptions, but few. Hear me, Jon?
Morally, I agree with Brian, some very good employees got hurt badly in this mess.
But I don't think this was the way to deal with it.
He may be found guilty for doing the right thing the wrong way. The problem with that is loss of integrity.

And if I am not mistaken wanted the city to pick up the tab for his legal fees. I agree it's time for him to go.

Breached public trust? Not even close. He did due diligence to bring this matter before council, and was obstructed at every point. He is not an officer of the City of Prince George, he's an elected official. He represents US, the people who elected him. He wasn't hired by the City. He was elected to represent the best interests of the tax paying public. Ir is our tax dollars who pay the professionals very high salaries, and it is reasonable to expect ethical behaviour from them. We pay the bill for the RCMP. and are very entitled to know how this contracted service is behaving in our community. If there is a conflict of interest in the senior level of public administration, we have the right to know this. If high paid managers and RCMP management are so abusive to staff that three people had to vacate their careers...is that not of public interest?? I think it is. I think a breach of public trust is committed when information of interest to the public is withheld, mishandled, or ignored. Thank you, Brian.

Community Charter
[SBC 2003] CHAPTER 26
Part 5 — Municipal Government and Procedures

Division 1 — Council Roles and Responsibilities

" ...Duty to respect confidentiality
117 (1) A council member or former council member must, unless specifically authorized otherwise by council,

(a) keep in confidence any record held in confidence by the municipality, until the record is released to the public as lawfully authorized or required, and

(b) keep in confidence information considered in any part of a council meeting or council committee meeting that was lawfully closed to the public, until the council or committee discusses the information at a meeting that is open to the public or releases the information to the public.

(2) If the municipality suffers loss or damage because a person contravenes subsection (1) and the contravention was not inadvertent, the municipality may recover damages from the person for the loss or damage."

Breached Public Trust. Period.

Brian didn't release the report to the public, the CBC did!

Yes Skakun asked council to cover the expenses. They said, no.
Where was that bomb we were going to get where the whole guts of the city hall were going to be spread out in the court room for everyone to see. Lots of smoke, but no bomb, just a whisp of wind as the money leaves Skakun's pocket to pay for his lawyer.

Did CBC break into city hall and steal the report which they then released. Or did Skakun give it to CBC to be used for paper in the toilet?

So, I guess councillors can give all confidential documents, reports, land deals, salary raises, personnel discipline, etc., etc., to anyone they want as long as that person doesn't give it to "the public"? Put down the doobie dude.

citywatcher....

Great post!

So let's see if I have this right.

Skakun claims that there was MASSIVE wrong doing with Chances Bingo Hall. He claims CITY STAFF are hiding things from elected officials. An $80,000 audit later we find out that NOTHING was wrong.

Skakun pleads NOT GUILTY - claims he had NOTHING to do with the leaking of CONFIDENTIAL papers to the public (ie: anyone who isn't a public official involved in the CLOSED council meeting). We the tax payers pay out HUDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars to prosecute this case. Then? Oh, wait, he says "I did do it."

So, now that he admitted to doing this, it permits all of those harmed by this action to SUE the city, which will cost you and I EVEN MORE!

So, what GREAT thing did Skakun do? Aired some petty differences inside of the RCMP office. How did this help our city? What SHOCKING revelation did his BREACH OF TRUST reveal?

Nothing....

I hope those of you who are so proud of Skakun and want him to run for mayor are prepared to pay for what he's going to cost us when the dust has settled. I for one am not.

I wonder how some of the posters would feel if someone released personal information about them without their consent? My hunch is that they would be singing a completely different tune and would be screaming for someone's head.

It's not all about the RCMP, the City or even the way it was handled. There are also people involved who had every reason to believe that the laws in place would protect their privacy and as a result of Mr. Skakun's actions, that did not occur. These people should not be forgotten in this whole situation.

It is truly too bad that the system will eat him up and chew him out like a discarded gum. We prosecute the messenger, while the real crime that went on goes unpunished. What about the rcmp boss that gave his mistress the job. What did they get punished with.

I am sure there is a lot stuff that gets swept under the rug, or never leaves a drawer. Seems to me that we need to start buying out people and start retiring or eliminating positions at city hall. We need man to do this job, step aside Danny Boy, your missing the boat. Your being used by a smarter person than you ever will be.

Meisner, has the knowledge, but I think he would have too many skeletons in the closets. Zurowsky, if he has the passion still, he might be able to pull it off. Tim from Initiatives, would be a good man, but he probably has no reason to leave his position. Janine North, If she went through to get onto council first, she might be able to pull it off in a few years. I had great hopes for Cameron, but I don't think he has enough ability to focus on the job long enough to find out what is stagnant at city hall.

I sure hope a worthy candidate will stand up against Danny Boy.

Daisy Meisner for council!!!!!!

The differences inside the RCMP Office were not petty, to those that were involved.

The offence is a misdemeanor I beleive with a maximum fine of $2000.00 and it is not REPEAT NOT a criminal offence. Its highly unlikly that he would get the maximum fine, so his biggest cost will be paying his lawyer.

Everyone in this Country is innocent until proven guilty. It is the duty of the State/Government to prove you guilty. That is why 99% of those charged plead not guilty. It matters little whether they are guilty or not, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty.

If we didnt have this protection, every court case in the country would be a Kangaroo Court, and one hell of a lot of innocent people would be in jail.

Once Skakun decided to testify he then became subject to cross examination, and when asked about whether he did or did not forward these papers to the CBC he had no choice but to answer in the affirmative. If he said no, he would be open to perjury charges, which are a hell of a lot worse, than the misdemeanor that he was charged with.

There is a lot of history where Private Citizens, or Politicians took the flack to get rid of, or make changes to a bad law. This could very well be one of those cases. If the confidential rules and regulations are there to protect the City Employees, and RCMP from being scrutinized, then it has to be changed.

We should not be using this type of legislation to protect City Employee's.

In fact once the City becomes aware of a serious problem (and beleive me, from what I hear, this was a serious problem) they should have taken the appropriate action, and had an investigation. In fact there were some reprimands issued, however nothing too serious.

We are all entitled to protection under the law, and confidential legislation should not be used to allow people to circumvent their responsibilities.

Once the City decides what you need to know, then you are going to become a mushroom.

I think Brian thought he was doing the right thing at the time, he was trying to help the under dog. I would vote for him again. This mess should not even be in court. What about Baldy Hughes ?? who is going to step up plate, and tell us what is going on out there, I do not think its a bed of roses. What about the drop outs??do we end up with them ?? But who would speak out after what happened to Brian.

Palopu, you make a very good point. Someone failed to their job, when Brian brought to them to deal with it. It should have been followed through either by the head of Human Resources, city Manager and or the Mayor of the day. All of the council members also has accountability issues as well.

munoz, I think she should likely be the first one ousted in the next election. I doubt that Brian will run again. I think he would not mind a quiet life now.

Maybe Brian can become elected Mayor of Baldy Hughes.
Whatever his intent is or was, he was wrong, he breached the trust that he swore to uphold.
Do the right thing, quit.
That would cause me to have more respect for him than I ever did.

Now jus think if he had not released this info ,do you think we would have ever heard about this crapola??Nope it would have disappeared into the blue file....
We need our own police force!!
RCMP can go watch for terrorists on the ice flows.....

Brian Skakun did what he and many others would have done given the negative support that he recieved from Kinsley and his group. They were of the opinion that the R.C.M.P. could do no wrong--providing they don't do that wrong to one of them. Brian wanted his constituents to know that there is something wrong in our town and I believe he wanted to shout it from the roof tops. Thank you Brian Skakun and I to would vote for you if you went for mayor or any other position that you wish.

buzzbomb

If every politician quit when they did something that other people view as wrong then we'd have no politicians!

Now... if everyone of us citizens quit when we ALL did something others view as wrong we'd all be on the streets.

Surefire. He didn't shout it out from a roof top. He fell from a roof top and hit his head ! At first he said he didn't do it, but if I did do it, I have good reason for doing it. Now he is painted into a corner and admitts in court he did it. He judged other people's integrity, did something stupid and illegal and wants us to be convinced he has integrity. He has none and needs to be booted out of City Hall. This is not finished ! He will get his $50 fine and the city will be sued lots, costing all of you whiners more years of potholes and poor snow removal !

Meanwhile, Sherry MacLean Smith, lives in Vancouver enjoying her husband's RCMP pension. She was the one that started Skakun on the integrity campaign. Fool !

I agree, Munoz will be voted out next election and the only reason why she said anything was because she is Brian's EX...period!

My two cents are this, he has demonstrated a complete lack of respect for tax payer dollars. A true leader would have admitted guilt. CBC would have given him an exclusive and he could have told his voters that he did it for them. Then he would have had my vote. My taxes are high enough with out a guilty leader forcing an expenditure like this. I hope the judge makes him pay for all court costs.

Brian is a true leader,he has just made a few mistakes along the way , no one is perfect. I like him and would vote for him again.