Thursday, December 18, 2008

PyP: Part 3 - How did EDS Get Involved with Gordon Campbell, the Liberals & BC?

We should be asking and answering that question very carefully and there are some very interesting answers.

From the Lobbyist Registry from the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner:

EDS Canada Inc. - Registered Lobbyists

Lobbyist: Dobell, Lauren; Consultant Lobbyist Start: 2002-MAY-01
Lobbyist Organization: EDS Canada Inc. End: 2004-MAR-18

** This Lauren Dobell would be none other than Ken Dobell’s niece, who reportedly worked with Michael Bailey on his various lobbying activities.

Bailey, Michael: Start: 2002-MAY-01 End: 2012-DEC-31
Smith, Christopher: Start: 2003-JUN-13 End: 2013-DEC-31

Bailey & Smith are also on long-term contracts with Maximus Ltd. . as well, regarding privatization & outsourcing contracts.

The same company, Virginia-based Maximus Ltd., has been embroiled in controversies in four other states, involving accusations of mismanagement, overspending or improperly receiving information while seeking a contract.

On Nov. 4, the provincial government signed a ten-year $324 million contract with the Canadian subsidiaries of Maximus to run the province's Medical Services Plan and PharmaCare program.

Outsourcing services to American firms has raised concerns about whether the Patriot Act opens B.C. medical records to U.S. intelligence agencies. Minister of Health Colin Hansen assured the province there is nothing to worry about.

B.C. Contractor Maximus Mishandled Public Funds in U.S. Liberals, as part of privatizing push, gave a $324 million contract to a firm with a history of controversy in five states.
Scott Deveau. December 3, 2004. Thetyee.ca

Libs Do Something Right, For Once:
Lobbyists' Shadowy World Exposed

By Bill Tieleman. Georgia Straight. April 17-24, 2003.

http://www.edsadvancedsolutions.com/about_us.htm
B.C. auditor general red flags costly privatization scheme

Victoria (29 April 2008) - In a scathing review of one of British Columbia's flagship privatization schemes, B.C.'s Auditor General has identified critical lapses by the Campbell Liberals, calling into question the financial case to justify privatization in the first place.

At the heart of Doyle's review is the 2004 deal between the Campbell government and EDS that saw the U.S. multinational take over provincial government revenue collection services. His report offers several key findings:

● The Campbell government, lacking basic baseline financial data, entered into a one-sided deal with EDS that gave the U.S. multinational the opportunity to reap windfall profits.
● The lack of basic information "can also lead to the wrong decisions being made on whether to outsource at all."
● The government low-balled the costs of negotiating privatization deals and ongoing contract management requirements, making the privatization appear more appealing.
● As a result, there is an immediate need for conflict of interest guidelines governing privatization.

EDS Associated Election Contributions to the Liberals:

EDS Canada Inc. – between May 15th 2005 and October 4th 2006 they donated $4780.

EDS Advanced Solutions Inc. - $2,990.00 on 2006/03/29.

Ross Breckon, first president of EDS Advanced Solutions – donated $1000 to the BC Liberals (2005/06/30 & 2006/11/09).

Doug Barkley was appointed President of Victoria, British Columbia-based EDS Advanced Solutions, effective October 22, 2007.

Barkley brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having led many of the largest and most complex accounts for EDS Canada, including General Motors, Canada Post, Stelco and most recently the Bank of Canada.

Check THIS out:, there is an Outsourcing page:

Outsourcing Manages Risk While Transforming Processes for Canada's Central Bank
By Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Editor

After going through an RFP process, the Bank of Canada signed a contract with EDS Canada in 2001. "EDS presented a cost-effective model that mitigated risk for the bank," says Fleck.

[Doug] Barkley says EDS was able to cut costs by changing the bank's processes and getting the public to do things in an automated fashion. A large part of the cost was maintaining the call center. EDS installed an interactive voice response (IVR) system and installed a Web portal, which allows citizens to buy and redeem their bonds online. The site also provides detailed information about the bonds, eliminating the need to contact the call center. These initiatives have cut the number of people working on the retail debt program by half.

Centre for Outsourcing Research & Education (CORE)

Board of Directors:

Al Hurd - vice president of EDS Canada for EDS, an HP company, with more than 25 years of Canadian IT industry experience. Before assuming this role in August 2008, Hurd served as vice president of Government and Healthcare for EDS Canada. From 2004 to 2006, he was president of EDS Advanced Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of EDS Canada, where he was responsible for overseeing business and service delivery to EDS Advanced Solutions customers. Hurd joined EDS Canada in 1992 to lead the EDS Federal Government team in Ottawa. Prior to joining EDS, Hurd led the establishment of the professional services division for Westbridge Computer Corporation in Ottawa. From 1986 to 1990, he managed IT infrastructure operations for the federal Department of Public Works and Government Services. In 1980, he joined Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) in a senior IT role.

Alternative Service Delivery in the Public Sector
Conference held in Victoria, BC in March 2008.

Managing "Troubled" Outsourcing Relationships

Yah, it's kind of funny how all those employees "outsourced" out of their
jobs might be "troubled" about that. "CORE" might have wanted to include employees experiences in this project. This "research" makes the right-wing anachronism that is the Fraser Institute glow in comparison. This report is nothing less than self-serving, unscientific and embarrassing from a professional research standpoint. I can see why no-one would want to put their name and qualifications on this garbage.

Part 4 - Why We should Care about Campbell Privatizing our Privacy.

No comments: