The psychology underlying people's behaviour is as fascinating as the things they do. “Change blindness” is a case in point. Psychologists describe it as the inability of people to notice anomalies, differences and the unusual in their surroundings. The obvious, it seems, is not always obvious...For example, we seem to have an inherent inclination to overlook or rationalize as normal the weather abnormalities that arise from global warming. If this strategy doesn't serve to diminish the significance of an extreme weather event in our minds, we excuse it by extending the range of normality — a once-in-a-century event occurring once every ten years is deemed normal.
This is the fact Premier Clark must ponder and soon: will the public of BC simply accept these destructions of our beautiful province? Will they just simply shake their heads and go quietly? In my view they won’t. Through the ages the long-suffering public takes so much and no more. Read your history, Madame Premier – there comes a tipping point where the public will take no more and in my judgment we have reached that point. I beg of you, Premier, shake the scales from your eyes, look and think! This isn’t a right wing versus left wing matter but a question of right and wrong.
Read this latest chapter in the saga of the Basi-Virk trial and Railgate scandal from blogger Alex G. Tsakumis. More damning evidence that Christy Clark knew much more than she has ever let on. (July 13, 2011)
Listen to Damien Gillis' June 8 appearance on CHLY Nanaimo's "Sense of Justice". Damien and host Rae Kornberger discuss the Christy Clark Liberals and how the NDP needs to man up and earn the public's confidence. "We're the suckers that have all this incredible wealth at our fingertips that we seem intent of squandering. That's the legacy of this Liberal government. They're pissing away everything of value in this province and they're not managing these resources to the benefit of the general public."
When Christy Clark was running for the provincial Liberal leadership, she did so using a chartered plane from one of businessman David McLean's
companies, Public Eye has exclusively learned. A spokesperson for the
premier has confirmed the use of that plane was recorded as a $23,035
in-kind donation from Blackcomb Aviation LP, which is part of the McLean Group of Companies. Mr. McLean is chair of the group, as well as Canadian National Railway Co. - which was the successful bidder to operate British Columbia Railway Co.
That contribution shows up in Ms. Clark's Elections British Columbia
leadership campaign filings, which were released last month. But it
wasn't included as part of the voluntary financial disclosure statement
she released on February 22, even though $18,799 worth of Blackcomb's
billings are listed as having been made before that date.
The premier's spokesperson said that's because only cash
contributions were included in the voluntary statement. In-kind
donations were tallied at the end of the campaign, which wrapped up on
February 26.
Copies of more than one million pages of documents related to a
political corruption trial, including confidential material from B.C.
government cabinet meetings and internal e-mails among MLAs, must be
destroyed or returned to the Crown.
In a decision released
Tuesday, Associate Chief Justice Anne MacKenzie of the Supreme Court of
British Columbia ruled that Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi cannot
retain documents they obtained through disclosure in the BC Rail case.
She stated the three former government employees only had the
material, which included RCMP files, to prepare their cases – and they
are not entitled “to use the material for purposes collateral to making
full answer and defence in this proceeding.”
Dave Basi and Mr.
Virk, former ministerial aides who were convicted on fraud and breach of
trust charges, had argued they should be able to keep the documents and
to release them in the event of a public inquiry into the sale of BC
Rail.
Aneal Basi, a low-level former government information
officer, against whom charges of money laundering were dropped, had
wanted to retain the material for use in possible future litigation.
But
Judge MacKenzie said when the material was released to them during
disclosure, all three were bound by an implied undertaking, and that
undertaking has not expired even though the trial has ended.
She
ordered lawyers for the three men to “deliver forthwith to the Office of
the Special Prosecutor or the RCMP … any and all documents disclosed by
the Crown.”
As an alternative, stated Judge MacKenzie, the
lawyers can file affidavits with the Crown saying the material has been
destroyed.
Crown lawyer Janet Winteringham said much of the
material at issue is in electronic form, but there are also substantial
paper files.
“It’s got to be over one million pages,” she said.
Michael
Bolton, Dave Basi’s lawyer, said the judgment means all the material
gathered during the long-running case will not be seen by the public.
“I
would conclude its a decision that forecloses any public access to
those materials,” he said. “I think the judgment is pretty clear.”
Dave
Basi and Mr. Virk were convicted of leaking confidential government
files in relation to the government’s $1-billion sale of BC Rail in
2003. They were sentenced to two years less a day under house arrest.
We are pleased to present this new Common Sense Canadian cartoon by Gerry Hummel.
BC Liberal leadership frontrunner Christy Clark - whose potential ties to the Basi-Virk/BC Rail case have been brought to light in recent memos exposed by blogger Alex G. Tsakumis - insists the public is no longer interested in Railgate. But can her bid survive the growing calls for a Public Inquiry into the scandal?
There’s the old saw, “if a husband sends his wife flowers for no reason, there’s a reason." So be it with the BC Rail scandal – if Christy Clark, Deputy Premier at the time of the “negotiations,” or “fix," choose to suit, sees no reason for a full-fledged investigation into the mess, there’s a reason. The same applies to the other candidates for Liberal leader who were in cabinet at the time.
Written by Damien Gillis
- Thursday, 06 January 2011
From alexgtsakumis.com - Jan 4, 2011
EXCLUSIVE/BREAKING NEWS: ‘The Basi Files’ Chapter VIII–Patrick
Kinsella’s Unfettered Access to Both CN and the BC Government Through a
Sham Process to Sell BC Rail
In this chapter, it’s now November 17, 2003, exactly one week before the deal to sell BC Rail to CN is formalized.
In a short, but explosive memo-to-file, Basi recounts how he spoke to
then BC Liberal party Executive Director, Kelly Reichert, whom is
colloquially referred to as “The Senator.”
Reichert, you’ll recall, is the brother-in-law, of legislature raid lead RCMP investigator, Kevin deBruyckere.
Reichert recently left the BC Liberal Party, after consolidating
control, under the tutelage of Gordon Campbell. He is replaced by
another Campbell Imperial storm trooper Chad Pederson–infamous
for returning calls of only compliant media, while he was
Communications Director for the BC Liberals over the last decade
(Translation: He must have Bill Good’s home number).
To the memo…
‘The Senator’ tells Basi of the broad-sweeping involvement of Patrick
Kinsella in the deal. And for the first time Basi introduces us to the
involvement of long-time BC Liberal PR spinner Randy Wood. Wood, for those of you unaware, is the long-time life partner of Marcia Smith,
former MA to Stan Hagen (she preceded me) and general self-important,
entirely overrated political hack, who worked with Kinsella on
successive provincial campaigns along with other such chest-beating
luminaries.
Reichert gives Basi the heads-up that Kinsella is sifting through the
tax pool information–pivotal to CN’s position as buyer. While Kinsella
stickhandles such key details, Basi writes that he is told by Reichert
that Kinsella will “call Martyn (Brown, Principal Secretary/Chief of
Staff to Premier Campbell) and the Premier directly if he needed
anything…”
Alex Tsakumis has come into possession of four memos-to-file by David Basi which were certified by lawyer George Jones, QC...I urge everyone to go the Alex’s website and read the memos from David Basi to the file. If they are true, serious misconduct by the government occurred during the sale period.
Written by Damien Gillis
- Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Dec. 14, 2010
From alexgtsakumis.com
Some time in early November, after the obvious deal cutting between
the B.C. government and co-defendants David Basi and Bob Virk, I
received a phone call from someone close to the prosecution and very
familiar with the BC Liberal government, who was appalled by what had
just transpired.
A long-time retired lawyer with a storied reputation when he
practiced, this wasn’t a man who was going to suffer the spin zone, and
for reasons which, in part, are entrusted with him and his client, they
provided me with several bankers boxes of information related to the
sale of BC Rail.
We met several times over the course of a week. He explained his position and that of his client as I listened.
After several more meetings, I traveled to Nanaimo, where he
introduced me to the man who delivered what I refer to as ‘The Basi
Files’.
Over the next week or so I will release one ‘Memo-to-File’ per day.
They are authored by Dave Basi alone, in his own words, and after he
wrote each installment they were witnessed by Victoria lawyer George Jones, Q.C. whose unimpeachable integrity is without question and whose signature I have verified.
The memos are dated from October 6th., 2003 and extend almost two
months to November 25th., 2003 (the day after the sale of BC Rail to CN
was formalized).
What you will read is the clearest record we have thus far of how to
two key government operatives, Dave Basi and Bobby Virk, it could not
have been more clear: The BC Liberal government were running a heavily
skewed process whereby BC Rail, an asset that we were promised by Gordon
Campbell would never be disposed of, was being sold (990 year lease) to
a company run by a very close friend and bagman of the Premier of
British Columbia, David McLean. Additionally, during the course of the
disposal of this asset, as it becomes clear as day in subsequent
installments that you will read over the next week to ten days, that
breathtaking risks were taken by Basi and Virk, all to satisfy direct
orders CLEARLY coming from the Office of the Premier through former
Finance Minister Gary Collins. From Basi’s own words, it is evident that
not only was the Premier of the Province of British Columbia, Gordon
Campbell, clearly involved in directing the sale (the unseemly pressure
applied by the Premier in conversations with Bob Virk are documented by
Basi), but that other Ministers, including Gary Collins and Christy
Clark participated in various aspects through a process designed to
favour one bidder, CN, over all others.
30 year-old William Housty's powerhouse presentation to the National Energy Board's Enbridge hearings in his community of Bella Bella. William describes the history, language and culture of his people in fascinating detail - and how the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline and Tar Sands supertankers transiting the waters of his people's territory would destroy their traditional way of life.
Highlights from this week's National Energy Board hearings in Bella Bella on the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and supertankers on BC's coast. Powerful testimony from three members of the Heiltsuk First Nation, sharing their experiences with the sea.rn
The Heiltsuk First Nation learned late Monday that scheduled National Energy Board hearings on the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline will resume Tuesday in Bella Bella, following their cancellation Monday in the wake of a peaceful demonstration to which the Joint Review Panel overreacted.
Close to 2,000 people turned out on a rainy Monday afternoon in Vancouver last week to speak out against Tar Sands oil tankers on BC's coast. The occasion marked the 23rd anniversary of the disastrous Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The crowd gathered at the Art Gallery to hear from guest speakers like 350.org's Bill McKibben and members of the Heiltsuk First Nation of Bella Bella, who coorganized the rally, along with ForestEthics and Greenpeace.
Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) First Nation and Ben West of the Wilderness Committee discuss Kinder Morgan's quiet plan to twin its existing Trans Mountain Pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands to Vancouver - which would result in up to 300 supertankers a year plying the waters of the Burrard Inlet and South Coast.
Eleven year-old Ta'Kaiya Blaney of the Sliammon First Nation sings her hit song "Shallow Waters" to some 2,000 people outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. She tells the audience one year ago on this day she was chased from Enbridge's Vancouver office when she tried to present her song to company officials.
World renowned climate activist Bill McKibben of 350.org lent his voice to the "Our Coast, Our Decision" rally in Vancouver Monday. McKibben told the crowd of close to 2,000 outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, "This is one of these great moments in human history and you guys are absolutely at the white, hot centre of it."
Rafe Mair pulls no punches in this, the second of a two-part interview with BC NDP Leader Adrian Dix - grilling the potential future premier of BC on Liquid Natural Gas, fracking, the proposed Enbridge pipeline and salmon farms.
Marven Robinson, a spirit bear guide from the Gitga'at Nation of Hartley Bay, speaks to Damien Gillis in Prince Rupert the day after the big rally he helped organize against Enbridge on Feb. 4, 2012.
In the first of a two-part interview, Rafe Mair grills BC NDP Leader Adrian Dix on private power, Site C Dam and BC's flawed environmental assessment process. What will the NDP do with existing and future private river power projects (a.k.a. IPPs) if they form the next government - and where do they stand on Site C Dam?
The beating of drums echoed throughout the seaside community of Prince Rupert, BC, on February 4 as thousands of First Nations and BC citizens banded together to express their opposition to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway twin pipelines from the Alberta Tar Sands to nearby Kitimat on BC's central coast.
The various spokespeople for supposed "grassroots" pro-Tar Sands and pipeline organization EthicalOil.org have steadfastly maintained their campaign has no connection to the oil and gas industry or the Harper Government. But as the links between these groups continue to pile up, that contention becomes harder and harder to swallow.
In the wake of the bogus deal Enbridge attempted to foist on the Gitxsan people of Northwest BC last month to help pave the way for its controversial proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, the community has banded together in inspiring fashion - with camcorders and the Web as their weapons of choice.
Watch this series of clips by independent filmmaker Craig Delahunt from the Cohen Commission, including a key hour of testimony from the final day of ISAv hearings and interviews with experts outside the Commission.
See how the Gitxsan are banding together in a moment of crisis, following the unauthorized deal with Enbridge signed by rogue treaty negotiator Elmer Derrick.
