Absolutely vile. I know the Campbell's and his lame-ass BC Liberals are looking for ways to even the score and trash the NDP, but to do it by exposing a child and family matters to public scrutiny is the last GD straw. These people are completely devoid of morality, of what is fair, of what the limits are.
So, if I read this story correctly, the BC Liberals are equating a personal and private family matter, that did not move beyond an investigation, with a long-timemember of the BC Liberal cabinet, John Van Dongen, repeatedly breaking and violating the law (he had sworn an Oath to the Crown to uphold), with a total of 9 traffic violations, with two being for excessive speed (He told us "Speed Kills." This resulted in the man, who is the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety, having his license removed from him, by his own Ministry because he was determined to be a risk to public safety were he to continue driving on the roads of BC, because that's what is means when the Province removes your license.
When there are certainly more than a few in the Liberal camp who could possibly have been investigated for allegations of child abuse and family problems in their own lives, to stoop so low as to debase and abuse a child, parent and family's right to privacy demonstrates as clear as a bell what kind of sick people the citizens of BC have had running our show for the last 8 years. Ask yourself this, what would it be like for you, as a parent, to have your most personal and private family business and your child exposed to the public in this way. It is shameful and a disgrace for the Liberals to do this.
The NDP don't owe anyone an apology. The BC Liberals owe the child and family involved much more more than an apology for shredding their dignity and privacy away like this - FOR POLITICAL GAIN. These people have illustrated time and time again they do not have the ethical, or moral fibre or judgment to adequately steward and govern BC anymore. They are done and they know it.
On Wednesday the B.C. Liberals pounced on James for failing to reveal NDP candidate for Nanaimo-North Cowichan Doug Routley was investigated by the RCMP and a special prosecutor over allegations made during divorce proceedings that included a child.
No charges were laid and the matter did not go to court.
But the B.C. Liberals questioned why it took so long for James to make the police investigation public, after she was quick to criticize Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell when a cabinet member's speeding tickets landed the party in hot water just last week.
James said she knew about the police investigation for some time, but did regret that she only found out about the special prosecutor late last week. She said Routley should have informed her sooner, but his situation was significantly different from van Dongen's.
"In this case, it was a personal case.… There is a clear distinction and the Liberals know that … so a little bit of politics being played by the other side," said James.
"In the case of John van Dongen, obviously he admitted himself he broke the law and he was the top cop," she said. "He broke the law and he had to step back … and he did that," she said [Not bloody far enough. - Editor].
Oh puuuuuhhhhhlllleeezze. This bunch getting all sanctimonious and righteous about "fighting crime" is just pure illusion and sleight of hand. Can't con a con, or the people of BC anymore. They can start spinning sin, vice and redemption all they want, voters have woken up and are listening to the sorry, abominable creatures that have taken over our government.
How on earth can parents in BC tell their kids not to speed, not to drive dangerously, not to drink and drive? Not to park where they shouldn't, not to use connections to get land removed from the ALR? Parents can't say any of these things to our kids anymore and have credibility, when our premier, our Solicitor Generals keep getting caught for things, investigated by police and have punishment meted out by authorities. Politicians and gangsters are Rock Stars now. How bad a crime does it have to get before a Liberal knows they have to resign, not run, need to apologize and make amends for helping break down the moral norms and values of society in BC?
************************************** BC Liberals Commercial -Action on Crime
"With a constant, almost predictable beat of questionable conduct, the RCMP has likely generated more bad press and infamy for British Columbia over the previous two decades than the rest of the country combined. Unsolved murders, soaring crime, rampant financial crime, dubious political investigations; the list could go on and one, but the governors of the province seem hypnotized by the red serge... "We love our Mounties," Premier Gordon Campbell told the MacLean's magazine editorial board ... in October 2007... "We love our mounties," Solicitor General John Les (currently being investigated by "our Mounties." ). "
Funny that, current SolGen Rich Coleman is a former Mountie. And of course, the RCMP investigation continues regarding allegations of his involvement in the Langley municipal election of November 2008. ****************************** Former Attorney-General smells cover-up in sale of BC Rail
By Ian Mulgrew. Vancouver Sun - April 29, 2009
Former attorney-general Alex Macdonald was on the phone urging me to pay more heed to the legal smokescreen being used to divert scrutiny from the impugned sale of BC Rail assets.
"If they get away with it now, they'll get away with it in future," Macdonald warned.
Macdonald is angry the Liberals broke their promise not to sell the provincial railway and he's tired of waiting to hear answers to the criminal charges that tarnished that sale.
"How come that criminal case is still going on after five years and still we have not gotten to the soup and nuts?" the old warhorse asked. "Five years, my God."
The May 12 election is the second since the most senior level of the provincial government civil service was accused of corruption. Yet we still do not know the particulars.
He's right.
"In 1788, U.S. president James Madison said, 'Abridgements of the freedom of the people can come by silent encroachments of those in power,'" Macdonald said. "Let's not let this encroachment get away with silence."
"I'm having trouble discerning where the line in the sand is for the Liberals when it comes to exhibiting the kind of judgment they say you need to have when you're a politician."
The Liberals believed it was the right thing for Ray Lam to resign because of some sophomoric photos taken of him when he was a teenager, but the solicitor-general was going to be able to keep his job even though he'd temporarily lost his licence for reckless driving habits.
I think part of what we're seeing here is the result of the free pass Mr. Campbell gave himself six years ago when he was found guilty of drunk driving. How could he fire John van Dongen when he refused to step down for a worse crime?
So now pretty much anything goes."
********************************************* The Invisible Man: Why are your Hiding from your Constituents?
I thought you were proud of your record and your platform and where you're going to take BC next?
The NDP’s Carole James, who is running in Victoria–Beacon Hill, is set to appear at an all-candidates forum this evening (April 29). Along with candidates Dallas Henault of the B.C. Liberals and Adam Saab of the Greens, James will answer questions from the audience as well as those submitted ahead of time.
Green Leader Jane Sterk told the Straight that she’s participating in all constituency-level debates. Sterk is trying to unseat Esquimalt–Royal Roads NDP MLA Maurine Karagianis while also keeping B.C. Liberal candidate Carl Ratsoy at bay.
“I’m trying to win my seat, so it’s really important for me to win my seat, and I can’t do it by not attending the debates,” Sterk said by phone.
And what about B.C. Liberal premierGordon Campbell?
“Campbell is still refusing to debate,” NDP candidate Mel Lehan told the Straight. Lehan is running against Campbell in Vancouver–Point Grey for a second time in this year’s May 12 election.
“He [Campbell] wouldn’t do it last election and he won’t do it this election,” Lehan said by phone during a break in door-knocking in the constituency’s Dunbar area. “He’s really afraid to debate.”
Stephen Kronstein, Green candidate in Vancouver–Point Grey, said he assumes that Campbell doesn’t want to show up at all-candidates debates at the local level because the premier can get his points across through the extensive media coverage he receives.
“But unfortunately, if that is his position, he’s not understanding that these meetings are for his electorate to give him some guidance, to give him their questions, and for them to be able to share their interests and hopes for B.C.,” Kronstein told the Straight. “If he is of the idea that he is in the media and doesn’t need to show up, then he’s missing the point.”
Um, would our new Solicitor General, the old one, Rich Coleman, be the same cabinet Minister whois still CURRENTLY under RCMP investigation for allegations about any role he may have played in the Langley municipal election shenanigans of November 2008?
What does it say about the rest of Campbell's BC Liberal caucus that he has now put Coleman in charge of 2 high-profile Ministries, over any other back benchers and returning candidates? What more is there left to keep a lid on in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General? How about ICBC? How about the underfunding and staffing crisis in Probation Services, you know, those people who keep an eye on all of those criminal folks who've been put out into the community by the Attorney General's courts? You know, all those guys who are running around shooting each other in public, the sex offenders and the garden variety people on probation.
Here's a couple of stories we wrote about Coleman's ongoing allegations of troubles with the laws of BC, as well as other sources too:
Rich Coleman & Mary Polak are being "investigated" within the Liberal party for their unregistered endorsement of a slate of Langley school board candidates in October's municipal elections.
Two B.C. cabinet ministers probed by RCMP Complaint alleges their endorsements of civic candidates broke election rules Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun. Published: Friday, December 19, 2008.
Two B.C. cabinet ministers, the Liberal Party of B.C. and a Langley parents' group are under investigation by RCMP after a complaint alleged that they violated sections of the Local Government Act during November's municipal election.
In a written complaint filed this week, Sonya Paterson also asked RCMP to investigate rumours that some candidates had access to Liberal constituency membership lists of mailing addresses and phone numbers.
"One of the township councillor candidates (Jordan Bateman) is the president of Rich Coleman's [constituency] executive," Paterson noted in her letter to RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong. **************************************************
By Janet Steffenhagen03-31-2009. Polak and Coleman endorsed Steve Burton, Alison McVeigh, Rod Ross, Hattie Hogeterp and Kari Medos in newspaper advertisements. The first three were elected but they lost control of the board to what the newspaper calls "anti-middle-schoolers".
Thiessen told the newspaper that other aspects of the complaint are still under investigation. Read the full story here.
[Other aspects of the complaint are still being evaluated, Thiessen said.He couldn't give extensive details, noting that, so far, there were "only allegations" being looked into. Other individuals or agencies are also involved. Langley Advance]
RCMP Cpl Peter Thiessen told the newspaper there are no grounds to support allegations that Mary Polak and Rich Coleman - both of whom are Langley MLAs - violated the Local Government Act with their campaigning.
"The premier announced that Rich Coleman will take over as solicitor general, a post he has held in the past. Coleman will also remain the minister of housing."
How can your government deny that private power is overwhelmingly for export when it can only be produced in any quantity during Spring run-off when Hydro's reservoirs are full?
How can your government force BC Hydro to give private companies sweetheart deals while only able to get 50% or less of it back when exported?
How do you expect BC Hydro to stay in business when it has obligations to private producers for over $30 BILLION for which they'll be lucky to recover 1/2? And this is only for the private projects now approved. You've taken away BC Hydro's transmission lines, saddled them with spiraling costs for ever increasing private projects, privatized 1/3 of their employees in a secret deal with Accenture, the bastard child of Enron, taken away their right to bring on new sources of power and left them with their ongoing capital debt of $7 BILLION?
Why don't you admit that you and the private pirates are lying about our energy needs saying BC imports power using only figures from BC Hydro; the truth (a stranger to your government) being that if you include Alcan, Teck Cominco and Fortis, all of which produce power domestically, for export or both, BC is a net exporter? And when are you going to stop peddling the nonsense that we must import from Alberta when you know that BC Hydro buys from Alberta in off peak times and "flips" it to the US for high peak prices?
Why do you continue the untrue nonsense that with private power we will be energy sufficient in 2016 when you know that, for the reasons above, private producers can never produce power when we need it? If we will get there by conservation, upgrading Hydro generators, putting in new generators and taking back power under the Columbia River Treaty without private power - and we can - what's your excuse for decimating our rivers and streams to make shareholders in private companies like Warren Buffett of General Electric, richer?
Why don't you level with BC citizens and tell them that they will, if God forbid you get re-elected, be paying the North American market price for energy meaning 3 to 4 times what they pay now?
Why has your government brought in this "Energy Plan" without any input from citizens, Don't try to tell us that these environmental assessment hearings are consultations on the merits of private power because they're not. I've been to them and any attempt to ask questions on the merits is ruled out of order.
Why did you pass Bill 30 taking away the rights of local government to zone for these projects or not?
I'll tell you minister what your game is. Bankrupt BC Hydro, sell off the dams, privatize the dams and Powerex thus keeping your pledge to the Fraser Institute to be rid of publicly owned companies. At the end of your next term - if God forbid you get one - your government will have succeeded in destroying the great instruments of public policy - BC Ferries, BC rail, BC gas and BC Hydro. What a ghastly legacy!
Rafe Mair
Official Spokesperson for Save Our Rivers Society, a former Environment Minister who cared
Save Our Rivers Society is pleased to present this five minute interview - at the public Brilliant Dam in the Kootenays - with one of BC's most engaging political figures - veteran Kootenay NDP MLA Corky Evans. As he steps down from the Nelson-Creston seat he has held for three election terms, Evans reflects on threats to the public trust and the very social fabric of his beloved province from the Gordon Campbell government. Discussing our rivers, forests, democracy, and heritage, Evans... ************************* Citizens for Public Power - is a grassroots, advocacy organization established to give voice to British Columbians' demand that the province's power generation system remain in public hands. BC’S HEALTH AND ENERGY MINISTERS REFUSE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC FORUM ON KEY ELECTION ISSUES, SAY BC CITIZENS FOR PUBLIC POWER AND BC HEALTH COALITION ************************* Recent column of Rafe Mair in TheTyee.ca Campbell's Hypocrisy Habit Libs' top cop has license yanked, stays in race. Too typical. April 27, 2009.
Solicitor-General John van Dongen has his license suspended. This is the same van Dongen who was fired out of cabinet for warning fish farmers when the inspectors were coming. He pays no forfeit and stays in cabinet even after waiting for a week to tell the premier that he, the top cop in the province, has a massive load of trouble with the cops.
Here's what my colleague Will McMartin had to say here in The Tyee on Feb. 4 of this year: "To the surprise of nearly every British Columbian, the provincial deficit was eliminated [by the NDP].... Thanks to a sharp spike in revenues (primarily from personal income taxes and energy exports), B.C. recorded a tiny surfeit in 1999/2000, and then a gargantuan $1.4 billion surplus in 2000/01." Boondoggles pile up
On the question of fiscal responsibility, Campbell is quick to point to the "fast ferries" scandal, yet is not held accountable for the more than $200 million overrun on the Vancouver Convention Centre. When you add up the convention centre boondoggle, the failed public/private (P3) deal on the Port Mann Bridge, and throw in Olympic overruns, it makes theprevious NDP government look like a fiscal paragon by comparison.
Deadly news video montage, it just slays me, hahahaha.
Driving with BC Liberals Watch Laura "Hell on Wheels" McDiarmid, John "speedy" Van Dongen, and Jesse "The Kid" McClinton in action! ***************************************
As they say, this one's got legs. Since when is 26 young enough to be considered "youthful indiscretion?" Now, I'd call what happened to Raymond Lam (age 22) youthful fun, politically spun into an "indiscretion." What these legal violations and the reports of them suggest about the morality of some of these folks is something that should concern all of us as voters. What we hear, over and over are excuses, justifications, explanations for why the rules don't apply to them. Why they are above them?
It just doesn't get any more clear, or powerfully frightening than a Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General, who's most important job is the administration of the lawsof Her Majesty the Queen in the Province of British Columbia, a person who has taken an Oath to the Crown, to the Province and the people of BC. A person who has put others at-risk over and over again, because of laws that he obviously feels put his own selfish wants, desires and interest on the backburner. The people of Abbotsford, for the most part, a hardworking, God-fearing and moral bunch out there. They can't possibly think this is the person who should represent them and their community. What else don't we know about? How bad is his entire driving record?
As parents, we all need to think about the ramifications of having a Premier who was charged with drunk driving and now the Solicitor General having his own Ministry remove his license to drive for violating the laws of BC. How can anyone of us think this is tolerable? How can anyone of us think about the messages and values this is sending to our young people and all of us?
It's as simple as this. We are above the rules. They just don't matter to us. We have already done _exactly_ as we pleased for the last 8 years. We plan to continue doing that, because it works for us.
So, no, you can't see my driving record, or much of anything else either. And oh yah, we can't talk about it because it's before the courts.
Problem is, it's not true and in this day & age of the magic of the Internet, we get to learn so much more about the moral characters, personalities and criminality of those who want to run our province and government.
******** Lead-foot Van Dongen 'fesses up -- a week after his licence was lifted Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun. April 25, 2009
"Named as a finalist for Hypocrite of the Year."
For this is the same John van Dongen who this time last year launched an $800,000 campaign to raise public awareness about high-risk driving, aimed at reducing a provincewide toll of more than 5,000 injuries related to -- you guessed it -- speeding.
"Crashes due to speeding are completely preventable," he preached in launching the joint campaign with police, ICBC and community volunteers. "But the truth is we can't do it without every driver in B.C. getting on board."
"Solicitor-General John van Dongen urges B.C. motorists to slow down and stay calm. Speed and aggressive driving are among themain clauses of fatal crashes."
"...this confessed scofflaw is still in charge of the police; this chronic speeder is still minster for "public safety."
One Liberal charged with drunk driving, another has 32 traffic infractions
CBC News. Friday, April 24, 2009
Excerpt:
The way the B.C. Liberal Party screened its candidates for the May 12 election was questioned Friday after a CBC News investigation found two Liberal candidates had run-ins with the law.
The revelations came on the same day Solicitor General John van Dongen made public the four-month suspension of his driver's licence for two speeding tickets. Four days earlier, Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell had criticized the NDP for not vetting its candidates carefully.
Another Liberal candidate, Laura McDiarmid, who is running in Vancouver-West End, stood out among other Liberals in the number of traffic infractions she has acquired.
McDiarmid, a professional limousine driver, has racked up 33 driving infractions in the past 10 years.
She has a history of parking where she pleases, according to court records, including bus stops and no-stopping zones. In the past four years, she has been cited eight times for speeding, including once for excessive speeding. ***************************
1) Why did John van Dongen wait a week before revealing his licence suspension to the premier and what does that say about his understanding of the seriousness of the suspension? (Though based on the many times he has condemned speeders - see Vaughn Palmer's column - van Dongen should be aware.)
4) The suspension puts van Dongen in a small group of bad drivers. Out of 3.1 million drivers in B.C., only 25,000 a year lose their licences for speeding and other offences.
Solicitor General John van Dongen - the province's cabinet minister in charge of law enforcement - the top cop - got stopped by the cops one time too many for speeding and has lost his license to drive for four months.
Van Dongen, the Abbotsford-Clayburn MLA, should have been fired from cabinet immediately but wasn't, not by this morally-challenged premier.
Campbell actually praised the pedal to the metal minister.
“I take my hat off to John for bringing this forward and we have taken the actions that are appropriate," Campbell told reporters this afternoon. “[Mr. van Dongen has] come forward and says he wants to be open about this. He's carrying on with his responsibilities as solicitor-general because obviously we've got a majorinitiative to go after a lot of the gangs in British Columbia." ******************************** BC Premier Campbell Charged with DUI KEN MacQUEEN. MacLeans Magazine. January 27, 2003.
Now comes Premier 03-02659, the identifier number Maui police gave an over-refreshed Gordon CAMPBELL after his failed date with the department's Intoxilyzer 5000. This time it was the spectacular stupidity of driving drunk after three martinis, dinner and much wine at the Hawaiian condo of Canadian friends. But, hey, it's always something. The breath test, which Campbell finally released five days after news of his arrest broke in Canada, topped out at an impressive blood-alcohol reading of 0.149. That's almost twice the legal limit, in Hawaii and B.C., of 0.08, or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. ************************************* Who Is Gordon Campbell 3.0?
Chatting with the polished puzzle who seeks a third term as BC's premier.
By Monte Paulsen. Published: April 20, 2009. TheTyee.ca
Excerpts:
The first [term] was marked by severe fiscal austerity that included privatizing various government operations (including the controversial sale of BC Rail), a referendum on treaty rights, and the reduction of environmental protection.
His second term included the largest social housing expenditures in decades, an attempted new relationship with First Nations, and passage of a landmark carbon tax.
he said, "I understand the political analysis, but I think I'm the same person. You don't get to do the stuff we're doing now if we hadn't done the financial stuff early."
"Politically, if we could have done the financial changes we did in a way that felt less imposing to people, I'd do that over again, right?" He added: "I'm not sure I know how to do that, to be candid about it."
Conversely, when I asked what accomplishment he felt best about, Campbell replied:
"I am proudest that British Columbians feel good about themselves."
[BC Liberals Suck: Are those the ones that are homeless, abused, the close to 200,000 children living in poverty, the seniors who can't get into assisted living, the mentally ill and addicted who there aren't enough beds for? You know who "feels good" it's Campbell and his minions, they're doing just great. How about you & your neighbours?] ABC: Anyone But Campbell's Liberals on May 12th 2009.
Let's do the math here, it's really quite simple. BC is being changed into a Pimp Daddy crib, a free for all for the rich and well positioned among us, who sit on the corner and make their deals and make sure their Bitches keep bring' the dough rollin' in.
We have a Premier, Gordon Campbell, who was arrested for drunk driving in a foreign country, bringing international shame and embarassment to our entire province . He does not quit. Look at his mug shot on this page, does he look sorry, upset, guilty, shameful. Not in the least.
We have a former Minister of Finance, Gary Farrell-Collins, who quits amid an RCMP investigation involving people who work in his office who are alleged to be involved in fraud, drugs, breach of trust, taking bribes etc. And of course the privatization/sale of BC Rail to CN, helped along by golden boy, Patrick Kinsella, everyone's unfavourite privatizer of the assets and resources the citizens of BC require for a sustainable life. Then, after leaving office Collins goes to work for David Ho, owner of Harmony Airways. That would be David Ho, with a penchant for hookers and blow, who got busted with both in his car in Vancouver and *magically* just received a 24 hour suspension and no charges. This would also be the same David Ho who could be seen rubbing shoulders with Jamie Graham, Chief of Police in Vancouver, who although being found . The same Ho who made donations to police organizations, a good friend to the police that Ho was. Mmmmm, I love my crack and Ho's in a Porsche, best thing ever.
"With Dr. Ho in his Porsche Cayenne were apparently two, er, ladies of the evening and, oh yes, a bag of "what was believed to be" crack cocaine was found on the rear seat.
"Dr Ho, who has, according to the media report, made numerous donations to the Vancouver Police Dept. over the years, was overheard by the officer involved calling the VPD Chief and asking him "to do something" about the issue." -IAGblog
Christie Clark quits as Minister of Child & Family Development in the midst of the RCMP investigation involving the privatization of BC Rail. Her husband, Mark Marrissen is a major player in the Liberal camps, federal and provincial and he's interviewed by the RCMP. Her brother Bruce Clark is also interviewed by RCMP in this case. Magically, Clark lands on her feet with a radio show on CKNW, with Corus.
We have Gordon Hogg, Minister of Child & Family Development who had to resign over the Doug Walls affair and a Deputy Minister (Chris Haynes) who is fired giving government contracts and appointing Walls who was being investigated by the Prince George RCMP for fraud against his bank. Then after an obligatory pause, Hogg is elected Liberal caucas chair.
We have John Les, who had to step down as Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General when it's learned months later that he's been under "special investigation" due to allegations of possible wrongdoing over the removal of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in Chilliwack when he was on the munipal councillour and was also a real estate developer. With the utmost hubris and ouright arrogance, he's running in this election again.
Rich Coleman is first investigated for possible conflict of interest in the removal of valuable lands in Jordan Creek etc. from the ALR and the awarding of real estate contract to a company his brother just happened to work with. Apparently he was clear though, no conflict. Currently, during this election, Coleman and Mary Polak have been getting investigated by the RCMP in Langley for allegations of breaching legislation related to the municipal election in Nov. 2008.
Now it gets even better, with John Van Dongen, the replacement Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General:
[He] "received two tickets in the last 18 months stemming from "excessive speeding" on a Saanich highway in Victoria and on Highway 99.
His vehicle was going 41 km/h in excess of the highways' speed limit, he said. Van Dongen told another local radio station that the driving prohibition is for four months.
Van Dongen said he received last Thursday a letter from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) — which is part of his cabinet portfolio — giving notice of"a driving prohibition due to tickets I have received for speeding."
***** Now, as Min. of PSSG, he's in charge of ICBC, umm, so I guess we can only assume that Speedy Gonzalez thinks rules for other suckers and don't apply to him. Is it he who heads the Ministry is exempted from the rules, apparently so, at least until he lost his license for it. Membership has it's rewards, eh?
And I have to say, I better there were some very nervous conversations about this in ICBC, so good on whomever stuck to their guns and took this Street Racer off the roads. Hasn't he heard speed kills?
It kind of makes you wonder what else might have been going on beneath the radar? Is anyone else sensing a theme here? It sure seems like this gang of Liberals play fast & loose with the rules and expectations all of us have to abide by. But ya know, It's Hard out Here for a Pimp.
Global reports that a crack cocaine pipe was also found in the car and that Ho was given a 24 hour roadside suspension at the time.
Ho's name most recently came up in December 2006 when former BC Liberal Finance Minister Gary Collins quit as Harmony Airways CEO after just two years on the job. Collins recently joined Belkorp Industries as a senior Vice-President.
Objectively people, on top off everything else we know and don't know about the last 8 years of the BC Liberal's "governance" of us, the people of BC know that we can't endure anymore of this.
A growing majority of us mistrust and fear our own government. We want change and the right thing to do is take a giant step forward and demand an end to this insanity.
The citizens of BC, the mere mortals, that we are, want a return to some semblance of integrity, of honesty, of ethics and morality in the leadership of our province. Clearly, that will just not be possible with the BC Liberals. It is time to switch it up.
Of course Patrick Kinsella is all the rage to talk about, what with his prosperous earnings as a consultant in the sale of BC Rail. As I'm sure Mr. K. could teach us, consulting is a lucrative business and he's done very, very well at it.
"In B.C., the public hasn't a hope of knowing whether decisions by elected officials are being made in an atmosphere free of any apparent conflict of interest. In fact, under the Liberals the business of government is conducted amid some of the lowest standards of conduct and ethics anywhere in the country."
Someone else who's done quite well is Robin Adair, Super Slick. Good friend of Campbell, who is now running for the BC Liberals' in Saanich South. We wrote a blog on just how friendly and helpful his work has been in greasing the wheels of business between the BC government and various corporate interests over the years in this report:
Tom Sandborn offered up a good story on the BC Liberals yanking job placement contracts for income assistance clients from WCG.
*************************************
These are comments I posted to Public Eye Online, which published a story about Mr. Adair:
Adair: "I was no longer doing government relations but was doing communications." April 23 2009. ******************** What's quite ironic is that not all of Adair's consulting paid off too well for WCG. Here he states:
"But I wasn't part of the meetings. And I didn't have anything to do with the operations of the company. And anything that happened - good or bad with that company - it was just up to me to be the face for it."
In August 2008 WCG lost a $8 million contract for an employment program which was cancelled and awarded elsewhere (GT Hiring Solutions) by the BC government, which had no comment. Mr. Adair was the media contact for Jobwave at the time. WCG had been bought out by Providence Service Corporation, an American corporation, which specialized in providing privatized/outsourced social services for governments.
Interesting thing about GTI, Frank Bourree and other principals from CAPSERVCO LIMITED PARTNERSHIP donated $42,500 to the BC Liberal party from March 2005 to December 31st 2008. WCG only contributed $24,464.45 from October 2005 to May 2007. Maybe WCG should have sweetened the pot? Should we feel flattered the privatization of our public services is going to the highest contributors to the BC Liberals?
*************************** Then of course, there's the icing on the cake:
Auditors figured the provincial government overpaid private contractors by at least $1 million and as much as $6.5 million during the second phase of the Job Placement Program. The government made the overpayments even afterearlier phases of the program had similar problems.
The majority of the overpayment -- at least $627,000 -- went to the JobWave program, whose former lobbyist and spokesperson Robin Adair is a B.C. Liberal Party candidate in the May 12 election.
With a legal opinion from the Ministry of Attorney General in hand, the auditors wrote that the government should be able to get the $1 million back from the contractors. It is unclear from the document, which has details of legal opinions severed under FOI act provisions, why the government did not pursue the other $5.5 million ministry officials figured was overpaid.
Ministry staff doing compliance checks raised concerns about contractors billing the government for services it never provided, charging more than once when it did provide services and adding an administration fee of as much as $18 to distribute a $6.40 bus ticket.
********************************************** Kudos to Andrew MacLeod, hardest working writer in BC getting the stories out about the decimation of the welfare system and the impact on the people of BC.
Other Welfare Related Stories to see how things have been faring for our most vulnerable citizens:
The good news is the provincial government is promising to fix the welfare system. The bad news is they broke it really, really badly and much damage is already done.
The problems go back to the period after Premier Gordon Campbell's BC Liberal Party first formed government. As the Tyee reported in a 2004 series, Campbell's reforms led to a huge drop in the welfare caseload. While the government claimed the drop was from people going back to work, much of it with the help of private job placement companies, there was plenty of evidence the new rules were being used to rule ineligible people who would previously have gotten help.
Between June 2002 and January 2005, a period of 32 months, 6,065 people on welfare died.
(To put that in perspective, in 2003, the latest for which statistics are available, 443 people reportedly died in traffic accidents in the province.)
For comparison, during that period, 37,404 people left welfare by Campbell's preferred route, because they obtained employment. Put another way, for roughly every six people on welfare who got a job, one died.
Welfare's New Era: Survival of the Fittest The provincial government's tough rules have spawned fear, pain, a little black comedy, and very real tragedy. TYEE SPECIAL REPORT: PART 1
“We have several social housing sites ready for construction, and we’re prepared to take unprecedented steps to get people off the street,” said Robertson. “But we can’t do it alone - we need the next provincial government to provide the necessary funding.”
According to the city, the government has only committed to six of the sites, even though all 14 are ready and only awaiting provincial funding.
This appears to contradict comments by Premier Gordon Campbell last month and the B.C. Liberal Party platform, which says some of the sites are still waiting for the city’s approval.
The platform says:
We will build on these and other initiatives by further investing more than $172 million in housing projects on six sites in Vancouver, with another six sites ready to go when the city gives them appropriate approvals.
It's time to review the Campbell Liberals record of supporting children, youth, families and vulnerable individuals over the last 8 years.
The spirit and soul of a government and it's leaders can be seen in how it treats it children, it's most vulnerable and it's citizens who are most at-risk, in need and fragile. When you objectively look at their record, it cannot be denied that Campbell's Liberal government has failed the children, families and most vulnerable people in BC time & time again.
Last month, during his year-end interview with The Canadian Press's Dirk Meissner, Premier Gordon Campbell said "all of what I've tried to do in public life is about children." This, in response to questions about his administration's commitment to protecting and improving the lives of the province's most vulnerable children.
#1 in leading Canada in child poverty. And remember, that was through years of "economic boom time" in BC, "The Best Place on Earth."
The percentage of children living in poverty rose from 17 per cent in 2001 to over 21 per cent in 2006 (First Call). Now that percentage stands at 21.9%.
The national child poverty rate is 15.8%.
Almost one in four children in BC lives in poverty, that amounts to approximately 181,000 poor children who are not receiving the basic necessities they need for healthy and optimal development.
B.C. has the second lowest wage in the country. It will be dead last by fall 2009 in the province with the highest cost of living in Canada.
What do we supposed will happen now that thousands and thousands of workers are losing their bread winning jobs in the province.
This is what child poverty looks like:
Kids go to school and to bed at night hungry and repeat this cycle day in and day out.
Parents go to the food bank, to find the shelves are empty and they can't get enough food to feed their kids. They feel shame and humiliation and feel like failures as parents.
Kids don't have winter jackets, boots, or warm clothes.
Poor children and youth get laughed at and bullied by other kids because their parents can't afford the latest fashions, I-Pods and cell phones.
Poor kids learn to feel shame, embarassment and helpless because they are treated different, they are singled out and they can't fit in. Thesefeelings and the trauma of deprivation stays with them for the rest of their lives.
More and more children, youth and families are being counted in homeless counts around BC.
Children and youth are sexually abused and exploited so they can survive.
Adults have sex with children and offer them food, shelter and drugs in return.
Children and youth get addicted to drugs to numb them so they can survive.
Young people steal food, dumpster dive and get discarded food out of the garbage to survive.
It is the choice of the current government's social and public policies that each year more and more of our children are experiencing the things above. It's our actions that can change that.
B.C.'s Shame: The highest child poverty rate in Canada CTV (04/01/2009) Despite positive changes in other provinces, B.C.'s child poverty rate has remained stubbornly high - a problem that could cost our health care system in the future.
"the province deducts any income that a welfare recipient gets off of his or her welfare check. B.C. is the only province in Canada that deducts new income dollar for dollar, making it very difficult to get out of the assistance program."
************************* Cut Funds, Staff & Constantly Re-organized the Child Welfare System in BC
Anyone who has the misfortune to deal with, be involved with, or work in the child welfare system knows that the cuts Campbell meted out, 11% in funding and thousands of jobs slashed has left children, youth and families in unsafe situations. They have little support, few resources and are a whole worse off than before this government applied a corporate model that has caused harm that will play out through BC for the next decades as a result.
After the vastly incompetent, morally adrift "leadership" of Campbell's hand-picked Lesley Du Toit, with a system that is even more broken, protects fewer children and youth and is about to be decimated further if the Liberals get in again, BC's children & families cannot afford another 4 years. They're already planning the cuts of even more staff.
The centre provides a "one-stop" unit for investigating sexual abuse and serious physical abuse of children, and for support and counselling for child victims and their families. [See Ford said that while many people and agencies do excellent work in Victoria, there are still cases where children fall through the cracks. In some instances, officials don't have experience interviewing children or investigating child sexual abuse.
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist. Published: Monday, May 05, 2008.
Yet, two years after the battered and starving girl was hospitalized in Prince George, the public still has no clear idea how such a travesty could happen, or what the B.C. government has done to prevent it from happening again.
The ministry of children and family development made $560,120 in renovations to the fourth floor of its Victoria headquarters, Public Eye has learned. That amount was $300,000 more than the original budget suggested the ministry’s executive financial officer Sarf Ahmed.
In an email, top ministry bureaucrat Lesley du Toit stated the "Minister agrees on why we are doing (the renovations) and is OK with going ahead."
I'm sure the 181,000 and growing poor children in BC (and their parents) will be happy to know that on top of her actual salary, she also receives a $2000 a month for a "living allowance" for the hardship of living in Victoria.
Some might say taking food out of the mouths of the poorest children in Canada.
We don't know how much of a bonus she's received for the most incompetent performance in the entire Campbell government. Things have never been worse for many young people and families in BC.
Earlier, we revealed children and family development deputy minister Lesley du Toitgets a $2,000 per month living allowance on top of her $207,900 annual salary. And here's a surprise: she's the only top bureaucrat to get such an allowance... it was negotiated as part of her contract that, while she was here, she would receive a living allowance rather than moving her over here on a permanent basis." FYI - Du Toit's been living in BC and receiving government contracts since at least 2001. She was appointed Deputy Minister on April 18, 2006, which means she's now been paid an extra $2000 a month for the last 3 years.That could buy a lot of food for the children of BC. ********************* Community Living Services in BC
A flawed and corrupt plan from the start, it was Doug Walls, Campbell's relative by marriage who was appointed to create the blueprint for the devolution and privatization of Community Living services for THE most vulnerable citizens in BC and the families who desperately need the support of their government.
This privatization has been an abject failure and a human rights travesty. It is so bad, that the province has no choice but to transfer Children's Services back to the government mothership of Ministry of Children & Family Development because of the lack of funding and resources to meet the needs of these children, our children with developmental disabilities.
Waitlists are in the thousands and are by no means even competently or transparently created, maintained or reduced. The entire system of care has been underfunded from the get go. One might ask who gained from it when Campbell's architect, Walls was found guilty of fraud, MCFD Minister Gordon Hogg resigned from cabinet and Deputy Minister Chris Haynes ended up being fired because all knew Walls was subject to RCMP investigation at the time he was given untendered government contracts that have never produced a thing and was put in charge of designing a system that has failed so many developmentally disabled children, adults and families when they have nowhere else to turn.
An independent auditor's report indicates there is no evidence of fraud or misappropriation of funds in the Ministry of Children and Family Development's dealings with Doug Walls.
However, the PriceWaterhouseCoopers report is critical of the ministry's procedures in awarding contracts. It notes the ministry wrote off almost $1.128 million in debt to CareNet, a society controlled by Walls– who was the CEO of the ministry's Community Living B.C. It also notes that $300,000 in contracts were awarded to Walls or companies controlled by him – and those contracts were not awarded according to government procedures.
The PriceWaterhouseCoopers report also criticizes Walls' involvement in the interim authority for Community Living B.C.
And it says Walls attempted to "insinuate" himself into an influential position in the ministry.
The investigation involving Walls cast a shadow over the ministry – forcing Gordon Hogg to resign as minister in January and his deputy Chris Haynes was fired.
Haynes had very close ties to Walls, with the report stating that Walls tried to "insinuate" himself into an influential circle of people within the ministry.
Haynes has now been given a severance package of $288,000, which Hogg calls "exorbitant."
Walls was a former School District 57 Trustee and was an executive with the Liberal Party. He is related by marriage to Premier Gordon Campbell. That relationship prompted the case to be reviewed by special prosecutor Josiah Wood, and the case was heard by Justice Patrick Dohm.
Shortly after the company’s failure, Walls resurfaced with a contract with the provincial government. He, along with the Minister of Children and Families Gordon Hogg, lost their positions over the matter.
He admitted he defrauded the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce of more than $5,000 in a scheme that included writing bad cheques.
Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberal government later hired Walls to revamp B.C.'s interim Community Living Authority.
Walls, a former Liberal riding association president, is related by marriage to the premier, and was once a close family friend of Education Minister Shirley Bond. ****************************
Apr 7 '08 "Despite a strong mandate and shared vision, the system is failing." That's one of the findings in a discussion paper on the state of community living services in the province of British Columbia that was produced by the BCGEU. End Waitlists Now - BC Association of Community Living
***************************** Cuts to Legal Aid for Low-income Families
A government that would actually cut access to legal representation in family court for abused women and their children, is one that has shown it's true face and it's an ugly one.
In November 2008, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women stated in a report, “The Committee is concerned at reports that financial support for civil legal aid has diminished and that access to it has become increasingly restricted, in particular in British Columbia, consequently denying low-income women access to legal representation and legal services.”
** Remember the Children's Commission, the office Campbell closed upon assuming power. The "transition" files were those of dead children & youth that were warehoused by his government.
Abashed minister admits error in censoring report Privacy watchdog 'perplexed' by omissions in report on childhood sex abuse treatments. Lindsay Kines Times Colonist. November 05, 2008.
The B.C. Children's Ministry was wrong to censor a critical report on its sexual abuse treatment program before releasing it to the Time Colonist last year, an independent watchdog has found.
Even if it had been allowed, Loukidelis said the ministry didn't use the exception properly. He called it "perplexing" that the ministry chose to blank out negative comments, while leaving positive and neutral comments untouched.
Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner - David Loukidelis Investigation Report F08-03: Ministry of Children & Family Development. November 4, 2008.
Loukidelis stated the Ministry believed they made an "understandable mistake," he further noted that "none of the evidence clearly establishes that the Ministry's head [in this case Deputy Minister Lesley Du Toit] considered the exercise of discretion in deciding to rely on s.13(1)to withhold information , as opposed to waiving that section and releasing the information, and if the head did exercise discretion, on what basis."
B.C. failing on child protection: Watchdog The Canadian Press. CTV. Thu Dec. 11 2008. Excerpts:
VICTORIA — B.C.'s children's watchdog accused the provincial government of spending more time working on plans to protect vulnerable children than actually implementing programs to protect them.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said Thursday the government is moving too slowly when it comes to fulfilling its promise to implement 62 recommendations from an April 2006 report that called for stability in British Columbia's child welfare system.
“Seventy per cent of these children had shown signs of suicidal behaviour and most had reached out to someone for help before their deaths,” said Kellie Kilpatrick, director of the Child Death Review Unit, in a press release.
In an email, sent to executive team members on January 28, deputy minister Lesley du Toit writes "if any of your managers…are not 90% of the way there and able to be genuinely positive and facilitating of change, then be very sure that you do not appoint them in this new structure."
I have held discussions with both the Premier and Minister on this matter and will have one more discussion with the minister before the 6th. At our meeting on the 6th will spend most of our time on discussing the regionalization of MCFD's services, decision-making, and community engagement. This will include how we intend to proceed with self governance in relation to Aboriginal services.
MCFD provincial office will logically over the next 4 years be downsized as we move to full regionalization. Therefore, please keep your teams lean and mean so that we do not end up having to move endless people later or find them new positions.
***************************
"The moral test of a government is how it treats those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadow of life, the sick and the needy, and the handicapped." - Hubert Humphrey
Things are getting nasty in the environmental and political realms, with three very misguided "environmental" groups, the Pembina Institute, David Suzuki Foundation and ForestEthics upstaging the NDP by holding their own press conference just before the launch of the NDP election campaign. That is dirty pool and it just reeks of BC Liberals to pull something like that. I hope people strongly consider where to send their charitable donations in the future, because I could never in good conscience support organizations that lay down with Liberals with their real environmental record so apparent. One has to ask, just what are those groups getting out of their unholy alliance with the Liberals? Whatever it is, they've fallen on their own swords and they've sold out BC to one of the biggest polluting governments.
“We certainly agree to disagree with the environmental movement around the government’s carbon tax,” James told reporters. “We believe a bad tax is a bad tax and it’s very clear that the carbon tax isn’t working.”
BCLS Comments:
And please people, remember, the Gas tax is scheduled to increase by 50% in July 2009. It's applied at the gas station & to every gigajoule we need to heat our homes. As one person, who actually has a decent job and pay, that will literally wipe me out and put my budget into the red every single month. What about our seniors on fixed incomes, our low income people, all of our people who are losing their jobs, 23,000 in BC just in March alone.
I find it fascinating that these environmental groups have struck a deal with the Devil. For such smart folks, how could they not see the Campbell regime for the BS they've put out on environmental issues for the past 8 years. A quick recap of the BC Liberals real record on the environment:
-Strongly encouraged the increase in farmed salmon, with scientific evidence of the sea lice harm being done to wild salmon. -Removing vast chunks of protected land from Agricultural Land Reserves to developer buddies and family members. -Ever-increasing privatization and approval of Run of River projects with little environmental oversight, with all profits going to corporations, not to BC. -Increasing interest in coalbed methane mining and extraction in salmon sensitive areas. -No real plan other than to keep upping our taxes to decrease carbon emissions AND they didn't go after the real polluters, their buddies in industry. -Gateway South Delta Perimeter project that will destroy valuable farming areas and spew vast amounts of toxic chemicals. -Twinning the Port Mann, more cars, more pollution. -Private power companies are being granted license to build power plants on streams and rivers of BC in ecologically sensitive areas. - Tripling the size of Deltaport, at the estuary of the Fraser River threatens endangered resident orca whales and could very likely break the link in the chain of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. -Installation of high voltage power lines through the backyards of residents of Tsawassen.
So with the real record easy to see, just what are those "environmental" groups getting for their support of Gordon Campbell & the BC Liberals.
I think this says it all and shows what a leader Ms. James really is for BC:
"We disagree with the environmental movement.... We believe a bad tax is a bad tax." — NDP Leader Carole James
Three environmental organizations, traditional allies of the NDP, mounted a pre-election attack Monday on the party and its campaign promise to drop the provincial carbon tax.
Last Thursday, as she unveiled her party's platform for the May 12 election, James said the Liberals' carbon tax was unfair, would not work and came at the worst possible time for the province's economy.
British Columbians currently pay a carbon tax of about 2.4 cents per litre on fossil fuels, including gasoline.The tax is set to rise 50 per cent in July. Environmental groups cheered the carbon tax, saying it puts a price on pollution and starts the economic fight against climate change.
Dr. Stockner is now raising alarms about the threat coal-bed methane mining holds for salmon rivers in northern B.C.
Dr. Stockner raised his concerns recently in an e-mail letter to Premier Gordon Campbell.
"I strongly object to this province even contemplating the extraction of methane and allowing a multi-national company to enter a pristine region of B.C. - wherein lies the birthing-place [source] of three of B.C.'s major northern rivers. To use a medical analogy, the environmental damage from coal-bed methane extraction operations are not as some would like to believe - 'benign,' rather they are 'malignant' and of long-term duration. Effluents once in the ground then entering groundwater and eventually surface flows can severely impact the physico-chemical balances of rivers and streams for several decades!"
Patrick Kinsella, who has recently gotten some unwelcome publicity from the $300,000 "fee" he received from BC Rail during the effort to give BC Rail to CN, has also done lobbying work for Plutonic Power Corp. Here's a hard-hitting article by Sean Holman and Mark Hume in the Globe and Mail: Kinsella(d): How to persuade and influence people Although Kinsella was not registered as a lobbyist, the resume of his company states that they have "helped win major government benefits and contracts...
Some videos and quotes that are as "in your face" as it gets to explain point blank what the Libs are all about. It's question period, not answer period, right? We really don't want any more of this, do we? Thanks to Public Eye Online for the videos.
"The stink rising from the B.C. Rail corruption caper has reached a new high on the stench-o-meter with the fresh evidence linking Premier Gordon Campbell's most-trusted right-hand man to the malodourous affair. ... And still the premier refuses to comment, refuses to explain. His whole before-the-courts, won't-talk-about-it shtick sounds more lame and evasive as the stink rises ever higher." - Michael Smyth (the Province), March 27, 2009
"The public has a right to answers on why B.C. Rail paid $297,000 to the consulting companies of Patrick Kinsella, a well-connected Liberal who ran the party's last two election campaigns.
"I'm proud to be part of a government that's been the leader in Canada in dealing with homelessness, mental health and addictions." - Housing Minister and homelessness "czar" Rich Coleman (Hansard), March 5, 2009.
"Quite frankly, I don't spend a lot of time trying to understand all these calculations of tonnage and emissions and all that." - Kevin Falcon, Global TV, Jan. 16, 2008
“You're the lawyer. If sub judice is the right way to go, it's up to you to explain why. Otherwise, we'll just keep calling you 'Stonewally.’” - Les Leyne (Times Colonist), March 31, 2009 Thorpe: "I have no recollection of 2002."
When host Vaughn Palmer asked him last night on Voice of B.C. if he had ever met with Patrick Kinsella, Minister de Jong said he hadn't and then changed his mind and said "I don't think so".
"It took too long to get to the child and Savannah died," he said. And that, in one sentence, is why Christensen's failure to announce immediate action to address growing backlogs in child protection investigations is unacceptable." Editorial, Times-Colonist, Nov. 5, 2007
"Partnerships" and meetings with Alberta, Yukon, Washington State, through Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) ... other American states. "Police amalgamation to fight crime..."
PNWER controls, or has had influence over:
Gateway Project, BC Water rights, BC Power transmission, Privatization of Hydro, Terasen Gas, Pipelines, Run of River projects, P3's...
With over 20 million people and over US $700 billion in gross regional product, the US Pacific Northwest and Western Canada is one of fastest growing regions of North America. We are China and East Asia’s gateway to North America, the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the site of several major infrastructure projects and business opportunities.
Founded in 1991, PNWER is the only statutory, non-partisan, non-profit, bi-national, public/private partnership in North America. PNWER is the forum for collaborative bi-national planning involving both the public and private sectors and offers leadership at the state/provincial level in Salem, Olympia, Boise, Helena, Juneau, Edmonton, Regina, Victoria and Whitehorse, and at the national level in Washington, DC and Ottawa.
ABC - Anyone But Campbell's Liberals on May 12th 2009.
I wonder how many Langley & Aldergrove voters know, heading into this provincial election, that Mary Polak and Rich Coleman, both of their current BC Liberal MLA's, are still under police investigation by the RCMP, as is the BC Liberal party and unknown parties for their involvement in the nasty municipal elections back in November 2008?
Just goes to show the nasty little sprogs that collect around the surface of the BC Liberal swamp when you look at the smear campaign happening in Langley against someone who has proven time & time again she's not only a real hero, but someone who hasn't been afraid to pay the cost of serving the public interests and the goodof the most vulnerable citizens in our province. And who is this stellar human being , well, it's Kathleen Stephany, who is running for the NDP in Langley. Geeze, she even teaches ethics (!!!!) at Douglas college, what a refreshing change of pace that would be in the BC government, but I can see how that wouldn't be embraced at this time just before the Emperors of Rome fall.
Just why do I think Ms. Stephany is a hero? Well, she's gone to bat for all of us and encountered the sharp point of the sword for crossing the BC Liberal government for doing so. Only someone who has been there can truly know the vicious, amoral and malignant way they attack those they perceive as their enemies and those they want to silence.
Stephany was one of the BC Coroners who blew the whistle on the hundreds and hundreds of BC children who died without the BC Liberal government ever investigating their deaths and learning from them, to not repeat the same mistakes again, or whether there was any sign that government might have even been implicated. What did we learn when she told the truth - we learned the BC Campbell Liberal government stopped ongoing Child Death investigations on dozens of children who were associated with the Ministry of Children & Family Development. After they fired and shut down the Children's Commission, we learned the BC government warehoused hundred of files of children who had died during their time as government.
The "955 Transition Files" of the former Children's Commission – November 2006 Summary of the review completed by the BC Coroners Service Child Death Review Unit of “955 child death cases” that were reported to exist as either files pending an investigation or as electronic files within the Childrens Commission at the time that agency was disbanded in September 2002.
From her investigation of the death of tiny Savanah Hall, we learned that:
"In the course of nine months," Stephany said Friday, "she went from being this super healthy, well nourished child to being this starving, under-nourished, barely-surviving child."
Stephany told CBC News child welfare officials should have been concerned about the foster home.
*
After the inquest, the new Representative for Children & Youth, Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, went on to investigate the deaths of four young children in the North, all of whom were associated with, or in the care of MCFD. Amanda, Savannah, Rowen and Serena: From loss to learning
In 2005 Stephany also spoke up publically reporting that the Chief Coroner's office was not ordering inquests into medical related deaths due to possible medical mistakes, thus denying the public the information to be learned from examining medical care and practices in the Province.
An ex-coroner has claimed that the public is being denied information about deaths caused by medical mistakes. Kathleen Stephany, formerly the coroner in charge of special investigations, told the Georgia Straight that this is because the office of the chief coroner won't order inquests into medical-related deaths.
Rich Coleman & Mary Polak are being "investigated" within the Liberal party for their unregistered endorsement of a slate of Langley school board candidates in October's municipal elections.
Another part of the complaint is that it is alleged Langley council candidate Jordan Bateman (vice president of Coleman's riding association), received access to BC Liberal constituency membership lists, which contained the names,phone numbers and addresses of those in the riding.
September 9, 2007
Jordan has been re-elected vice president of Rich Coleman's Fort Langley-Aldergrove BC Liberal constituency association.
Two B.C. cabinet ministers probed by RCMP Complaint alleges their endorsements of civic candidates broke election rules Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun. Published: Friday, December 19, 2008.
Two B.C. cabinet ministers, the Liberal Party of B.C. and a Langley parents' group are under investigation by RCMP after a complaint alleged that they violated sections of the Local Government Act during November's municipal election.
In a written complaint filed this week, Sonya Paterson also asked RCMP to investigate rumours that some candidates had access to Liberal constituency membership lists of mailing addresses and phone numbers.
"One of the township councillor candidates (Jordan Bateman) is the president of Rich Coleman's [constituency] executive," Paterson noted in her letter to RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong. ****
Langley Advance. Published: Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to Jordan Bateman's rebuttal to my presentation on March 23 to Langley Township Council. As a researcher, I presented at that meeting that council should not take stock in a study which was poorly designed and gave skewed statistics about the feelings of Langley residents towards an overpass that will destroy hectares of some of the best farmland in the province.
As an ethics instructor, I talked about the appearance of a conflict of interest. Councillor Jordan Bateman received money from ALR commissioner John Tomlinson, a staunch B.C. Liberal with no farming experience, appointed to the ALR by the B.C. Liberals.
With a push from Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, Bateman knew he had to vote in favour of the development-oriented overpass plan. Regardless of anyone's intentions, Mr. Bateman should not have voted on this issue.
It seems that, while none of the other presenters were required to disclose their presentations to Township staff before-hand, I was. I suppose that's why Mr. Bateman's response was so well prepared.
What I find interesting is that, in Mr. Bateman's response to my presentation, he stated that he took "great offence at the politically motivated suggestion that [he does] not abide by the laws of British Columbia."
On the first day of class, a co-instructor of mine always explains to the students that laws and ethics are not the same thing. Sometimes, laws are based on ethics, and sometimes they are not. I am left wondering why Mr. Bateman is thinking about the legality of his actions, and if he has even more to hide.
To be clear, I did not accuse Mr. Bateman of acting illegally, I just told him why voting on the issue would be unethical. He was right, however, about my speech being politically motivated. My motivation was to represent the voices of hard-working citizens of Langley, and the farmers that are so integral to our food supply. It's the kind of politics that are unfortunately missing from the B.C. Liberal agenda.
Politics should be about listening to voices of residents and making decisions that work for everyone, not just the friends and donors of politicians.
A councillor and would-be MLA squared off in a new disagreement.
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance. Published: Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
Excerpts:
A second spat broke out last week between provincial NDP candidate Kathleen Stephany and Township Councillor Jordan Bateman.
The source of the most recent political fight is a four-year-old article Bateman wrote that mentioned Stephany, who was a 2005 Green Party provincial candidate.
She accused the provincial Liberals of using the old article to smear her as a "loser candidate."
"That's kind of a form of slander," Stephany said, noting the party is considering legal action.
"We are in the process of doing that," she said.
At the March 23 council meeting, Stephany was one of eight speakers opposed to the Mufford/Glover overpass and road route. She said there was a conflict of interest because Bateman had accepted campaign contributions from John Tomlinson, an Agricultural Land Commission member. Tomlinson will be one of three panelists who will vote, likely next month, on whether to allow the overpass to proceed through the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Bateman said there was no conflict, and said he would consider legal action.
Stephany, who teaches ethics in the Douglas College nursing program, said the conflict is ethical, not legal.
Stephany is running in the Langley riding against sitting Liberal MLA Mary Polak. Bateman is a member of Fort Langley-Aldergrove Liberal MLA Rich Coleman's riding association.
No charges will be laid against two provincial cabinet ministers who publicly endorsed several school trustee candidates prior to the November municipal election, the Langley Advance reports.
RCMP Cpl Peter Thiessen told the newspaper there are no grounds to support allegations that Mary Polak and Rich Coleman - both of whom are Langley MLAs - violated the Local Government Act with their campaigning.
Police began their investigation following a complaint from former trustee Sonya Paterson.
"If this is the decision that they've come to, so be it," Paterson is quoted as saying. "There's still the public perception out there."
Polak and Coleman endorsed Steve Burton, Alison McVeigh, Rod Ross, Hattie Hogeterp and Kari Medos in newspaper advertisements. The first three were elected but they lost control of the board to what the newspaper calls "anti-middle-schoolers".
The sponsor of the ads was a group called Parents for Independent Trustees.
Thiessen told the newspaper that other aspects of the complaint are still under investigation. Read the full story here.
The RCMP has closed an inquiry over Langley MLAs and an ad during the school board elections.
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance. Published: Tuesday, March 31, 2009.
There will be no charges against Langley's MLAs over their controversial endorsement of several school trustees during the 2008 municipal elections.
There are no grounds to support allegations that Langley MLA Mary Polak and Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA Rich Coleman violated the Local Government Act, said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Peter Thiessen.
RCMP E Division's commercial crime section and the Langley detachment reviewed a complaint laid by Sonya Paterson, formerly a school trustee.
Other aspects of the complaint are still being evaluated, Thiessen said.
He couldn't give extensive details, noting that, so far, there were "only allegations" being looked into. Other individuals or agencies are also involved.
[What "other aspects" might we ask. Well, we suspect part of those are that it has been alleged that BC Liberal party membership lists were leaked to council candidates, possibly giving them an unfair advantage in being able to contact party faithful to get out and support the Liberal annointed candidates for the municipal election.]
Voters of Langley, it's time to ask yourselves, what records do your current Langley MLA's have serving the interests of the public, of handling their time in government? What track record do they have of doing the right thing for a broad range of citizens and for those who have no voice, those who don't contribute to the BC Liberal donation coffers?
As far as I can see, Polak has been a snooze and hasn't seemed to accomplish a damn thing in office. Coleman has bungled pretty much every file (Ministry) he's been on and had more than one investigation against him, while in office. Don't ya just love Mounties investigating former Mounties. Once sworn a Mountie, always a Mountie, or something like that.
"Before his election to the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Coleman ran a real estate management and consulting company. He is also a former member of the RCMP and a security specialist."
B.C.'s Auditor General John Doyle has condemned former forests minister Rich Coleman for allowing a forestry company to remove land from three tree farm licences for residential development, citing the possibilities of conflicts of interest and insider trading by government staff.
The report, released Wednesday in Victoria, said Coleman's decision to remove private forest lands from three tree farm licences (TFLs) on southern Vancouver Island was made without sufficient regard for the public interest.
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Kathleen Stephany: "I believe that my greatest asset is my capacity to care about people from all walks of life. Elect me as your MLA and I will use my passion for making a difference as the driving force behind every action that I take and I will work whole heartedly to do what needs to be done."
– November 2006 Summary of the review completed by the BC Coroners Service Child Death Review Unit of “955 child death cases” that were reported to exist as either files pending an investigation or as electronic files within the Childrens Commission at the time that agency was disbanded in September 2002.
