So, the plot thickens and bit by bit we extract the truth out of the back-pedalling,
inkfish tactics being used by the Campbell government to explain the Basi-Virk bribe
– for bribe it was.
We started with Crown Counsel telling us, as the disclosure of the bribe was made,
that he did it all himself. He must have grossly underestimated the intelligence of
the BC people. As some teeth were extracted we learned that no, it wasn’t all by
himself, but from the Deputy Attorney-General, Criminal Justice Branch (ADAG).
Pause for a moment. The ADAG is a special role and not really part of the civil
service, this from a release by the Attorney-General’s Ministry:
“The responsibilities of Crown counsel are defined in the Crown Counsel Act. The act
ensures the independence of the prosecution service. Prosecutors are guided by the
policies of the Criminal Justice Branch and they are ultimately accountable to the
assistant deputy attorney general (ADAG). Under the act, the ADAG is head of the
Criminal Justice Branch and is responsible for the administration of the branch and
the day-to-day operations of the prosecution service. While the Attorney General is
responsible for overseeing the administration of justice in the province, the
Attorney General does not normally become involved in prosecution decisions relating
to individual cases.”
Now, as I’m sure you’re asking, how can the ADAG get instructions for settlement
without going to his boss, the AG?
The answer is that he can’t, nor, as we will see, can the AG make that decision.
Stay tuned.
Today we learn the key to the bribe when we’re told that the Deputy Finance Minister
was part of the negotiations which went back, incidentally, nearly three weeks
before the announcement. The Deputy Finance Minister is a public servant, under
Order-in-Council and reports to the Finance Minister. He chairs what is known as
Treasury Board Staff, better known as “Little Treasury Board”, which – and again
this from the AG’s office – “is responsible for developing and reviewing
government’s economic, fiscal and taxation policies. It provides analysis and advice
toTreasury Board (the Cabinet committee responsible for budget and management
matters) and to the Minister of Finance” through Treasury Board”, which is chaired
by the Finance Minister, Colin Hansen, and is comprised of Hansen and 7 senior
Cabinet ministers.
Pause. Now the path becomes a little clearer. Crown Counsel needs two things:
authority to make the deal in the first place, and $5 million in hush money. There
is no way the ADAG can make that decision and provide the money which is how the
deputy Finance Minister gets in the act. He has no authority to make this decision
either so he must go to Treasury Board, C.Hansen prop., and both ask for the money
and convince the Board that it’s needed. There is no way in the world that Hansen
with or without Treasury Board could make this decision, so the matter goes to
Cabinet, chaired by one Gordon “Pinocchio” Campbell.
There is another cute little fact finally disclosed: despite earlier denials, Basi
and Virk had to sign a confidentiality agreement – they couldn’t talk or the deal
was off! And who was that to protect?
It sure as hell wasn’t the public who had every right to know all the details.
Remember that Crown Counsel Berardino was winning the case and if he wasn’t sure of
that, he had to be when the accused offered to cop a plea. But follow me carefully
from here: If his remaining witnesses, Collins, Campbell, et al. would help Basi and
Vick’s case, Berardino was obliged to reveal that to the accused’s lawyers. We
therefore know that these witnesses to come would make Crown Counsel’s case all the
stronger.
Why then would Mr. Berardino want to bail out?
There are but two possibilities: either Berardino is as dumb as a sack full of
hammers and doesn’t understand these things, or he was told to settle on orders from
Gordon Campbell. In helping you make your choice, let me tell you that Mr. Berardino
is a very clever lawyer, one of the best courtroom lawyers in the province.
Clearly, this confidentiality agreement was intended to protect the political asses
of Messrs Campbell and Collins and other Liberal insiders.
Conclusion:- The $5 million bribe to Basi and Virk was authorized by Premier Gordon
Campbell who was in the negotiations from the beginning and knew that he and former
Finance Minister Collins and other key people in his clique, were going to be called
as witnesses which is why the bribe was paid.
http://www.bcrecalls.org/
I see the PAB’s are now attacking the “dogs of war” or the other bloggists hot on the trail of this odourous affair, with phony blog. Shoveling chicken manure would smell better than the Premier’s PABs.
Sadly Palmer has descended into the Postmedia/Graham/Mihlar hell, where the truth is so twisted that it makes Campbell look good.
Boring of Brand-X is another Quisling, who has turned his back on the public as he curries favours with the provinces political elites – it’s the only way to win the much coveted Order of Canada. You know, that little medal that the mere mortals of Canada are not allowed, just ask Steve Fonyo.
This court case was stopped by the premier, with a $6 million plus bribe to the defendants to pay legal costs and in BC, this seems quite natural.
We have gangsters running the province, so it is little wonder why we have gangsters shooting it out on Vancouver streets (and just about every other street in the province) as it simply monkey see – monkey do.
Until the public rise up and demand change, corruption any way, any how, any who, will be the provincial motto.
I am working in Guatemala, which is infamous for its impunity when it comes to criminals. It seems BC has now taken an unsavory place in the world for not prosecuting and punishing its political criminals, just like in Guatemala. If you are a congressman in Guatemala you cannot be prosecuted. So you have an ex president, accused of engineering the genocide of thousands of indigenous Mayans, untouchable in the congress.
Politicians in Canada used to fear doing their dirty work in public and used to do it in back rooms. Now they are so brazen and arrogant, they do it in public in the light of day. BC has become a northern banana republic, where the public )whom the government is supposed to serve) is either asleep, afraid or apathetic. I think we are afraid to wake up from our apathy.
Such a beautiful, bountiful province; such a ‘third world’ corrupt political system and judiciary.
Note the record of all the judicial blocks that studded the process of this ‘trial’.
This case is to the BC political caste what the missing women case is to the BC police caste.
Let’s hope some young foresncic investigative reporter rises from the mud-heap to take up the challenge for the people of BC and Canada.
The question is how long can they prevent Basi & Virk from writing a book or gving interviews. Real interviews about everything and not just how upsetting this has been for their families.
What would happen if they broke the non disclosure agreement say within two years. Im sure there is a probably a 25 year year gag order on them. Nevertheless after having served their time in house how could they be prosecuted if they violated a secret agreement.
Talk you buggars.
Bill ‘Good for Nothing’ is the reason i no longer listen to CKNW. The topic of discussion at work often what had been on the Bill Good show. Not anymore as no one at work even tunes into it. Better coverage and discussion on CBC.
BC has long been viewed as a third world province. This is why we have fish farms here; Norway views us in the same way that it views Chile or other places that Norwegian companies spread this filth as a food fish.
People of the calibre of Bill Good and his ilk; the fact that they express a desire in public for this to be over is telling indeed. The silence from MSM revealing; the MSM does not want this to be a news story any longer. This position will make them irrelevant in the end; one can see this happening now; most that I know don’t read or listen to the MSM any longer; those who do simply want to be aware of the position of the MSM while trusting other forms of media, in particular, the new medium of the internet.
We get very little in the way of actual news from the mainstream any longer; most of what you find is of the infotainment variety.
Well done Rafe; this is the type of forthright reporting that could not be tolerated on Brand X any longer.
The more the government has attempted to distance itself from this case, the more it has become inextricably entangled in its own lies…Bernardino, for the clever lawyer he is, just does not know how to take his own advice. For example: keep your mouth shut when you are asked questions. The more he talks the worse it gets for him. Arrogance makes one foolish.
Thanks for that Mr. Mair.
Something else worth considering is the fact that the Deputy Finance Minister involved was also once a close business associate of RailGate era Finance Minister, and rumoured BasiVirkBasi witness, Mr. Gary Collins.
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Specifics, for anyone interested, can be found here.
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Yes Rafe, the plot thickens, yet the mainstream media, especially the ex-CanWest Global Empire of ignored it all!
Bill boring at Brand-X is nothing more than an embarrassment has he berates what few callers he allows to phone (except Sam) that guilty plea is the end of it!
My god, and he won a Webster award?
The true colours are being shown by many as they continually support this 9% Premier and tin-pot BC Liberal Party, which the worlds press are finally awakening and comparing BC as a third world country.
How long can the public stand for this odourous state of affairs?