Canadian Politics News

A violation of the terms of appointment for Special Prosecutors was almost certainly the case in the appointment of William Berardino in the BC Rail Scandal matter.  The B.C. Attorney General's ministry refuses to discuss the appointment - on unacceptable grounds.  In the following letter officers of the Supreme Court of B.C. are requested to act.

By Bene Diction

I think many Canadian Conservatives would be dismayed if they knew the extent of the economic and ideological ties to religious right influencers in the US. The assumption is often made that Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, adhere to the rigid theocratic and dominionist beliefs of men such as James Dobson, Tim LaHaye, Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Fawell. The harder core messages out of the US religious right is softened and fed to the Canadian public by Canadian leaders in bite size pieces under the guise of social conservatism.

EVERYTHING!

The major problem begins with the narrow choices of those we are expected to elect. Candidates are picked by a clique of “backroom elite” who have their own agendas in mind when they go looking for a majority for “their party”. Candidates are groomed and rehearsed and packaged by the party, so you will elect them … for all the wrong reasons.

Prorogation was the tip of the iceberg of Harper's dismantling of democracy in this country.  Prorogation should be viewed within context of Harpers on-going destructive agenda which is documented to a limited extent by the media and by some national NGOs among others. The latest issue which has occurred with the " Rights and Democracy" agency [see article below] is a further example of the harm Harper is doing to this country, our democratic traditions and institutions, and our international reputation. Let's look at some of his attacks on democracy that proceeded proroguing: (a) gagging of MP´s (b) gagging of senior bureaucrats, (c) muzzling the media - cancelling press conferences in the parliamentary press gallery, (d) shutting down essential 'access to information' registry and database, (e) cancelling funding for all manner of civil society groups (social justice, anti- poverty,environmental, feminist, peace ) that recommend sound policy options for a principle- centred society (f) threatening to cut funding for political parties(g) Conservative Party chairpersons walking out on and thereby shutting down parliamentary committees, (g) Harper's manual of "dirty tricks" for his MPs on how to block the function of Parliamentary committees, (h) consulting with corporate sector and not rest of civil society groups as with the National Advisory Council on Competitiveness (NACC) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) (i) producing aggressive attack ads on the opposition between election periods etc. j) failing to implement legislation passed by Parliament with which he disagrees.k) ongoing interference in so-called independent agencies such as the RCMP review, the firing of Linda Keen from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and now this Rights and Democracy incursion aong others.

As the trial of three cabinet aides involved in the BC Rail Scandal becomes imminent, a review of events suggests almost nothing is as it should be.  The years-long process leading to this moment throws a very dark shadow over the administration of justice in British Columbia.

After five years since criminal charges were laid against three BC cabinet aides in relation to the corrupt sale of BC Rail to CNR, a near-final, very brief pre-trial hearing was held on January 25, 2010.  A perceived anomaly in the appointment of the Special Crown Prosecutor in the proceedings may open questions that go to the heart of many of the concerns felt by British Columbians about the integrity of the Gordon Campbell government.

The appointment of William Berardino as Special Crown Prosecutor in the BC Rail Scandal criminal case against cabinet aides Dave Basi, Bobby Virk, and Aneal Basi raises primary questions about the role of Special Crown Prosecutor, about the potential for perceived bias, and about the reputation of the administration of justice in British Columbia.

The on-going BC Rail Scandal - which erupted with search warrant raids on B.C. legislature offices in December 2003 - has  reached its sixth anniversary.  The trial of three accused cabinet aides arising from the raids has still not taken place. Questions about procedures and B.C prosecution methods, of course, keep being raised.

Determined to short-circuit an investigation into how the government mishandled the treatment of Afghan detainees? Wait until the eve of New Year's Eve – when MPs are in their ridings or down south, readers and viewers are few, and that day's news is dominated by the picks for the men's Olympic hockey team – and suspend Parliament.

Paul Kennedy come as close as he can to suggesting cover-up in the Robert Dziejanski Taser death at Vancouver International Airport.  But cover-up may be common to the RCMP - and others in B.C. - and it may extend up to protection of top political figures in a way that is destroying the rule of law in the province.

Peter MacKay, a proven inveterate liar with quite a track record, and Minister of Defence in Herr Harper’s government, testified during the war crimes trials that he “knew nothing” about the torture of prisoners who were turned over to the Afghan government by Canadian forces personnel who had captured them. He maintains this lie in spite of documentary evidence to the contrary ... that is being suppressed by Herr Harper under the "Secrecy Act".

Politics sunk into an unprecedented abyss last week in this country when the Prime Minister of Canada approved advertising that accused the official opposition, the Liberal Party of Canada, of being  associated with anti-Semitism.

Pressure builds for a criminal investigation into the conduct of Gordon Campbell and associates involved with the (corrupt) sale of BC Rail to CN Rail in 2003-4. The only case to date arising from the "sale" involves three cabinet aides charged with 14 counts (variously) of fraud and breach of trust. Disclosure materials obtained by Defence counsel for the defence of the accused point more and more to suspicion of malfeasance at higher levels. What follows is correspondence with British Columbia's RCMP Deputy Commissioner, Gary Bass.

Unlike other shreddings of publicly-owned assets in B.C., the "sale" of BC Rail to Texas-headquartered CN Rail has generated thousands of pages of record through pre-trial disclosures of material.  Does that material contain the basis for RCMP investigation of major government actors in the sale to determine their innocence or to allege wrongdoing and to have charges laid?

After long investigation and years of hearings toward trial of the three accused men involved in the corrupt sale of BC Rail, perhaps the major wrongdoers are being by-passed.  The RCMP is asked to look again.