Dec. 28, 2010
100 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ON B.C. RAIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL
VICTORIA – On the seventh anniversary of the B.C. legislature raid, New Democrats are calling
on the B.C. Liberals to answer 100 unanswered questions related to the B.C. Rail corruption
scandal. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
Questions 1-30 (originally submitted Nov. 2, 2010):
1. It‘s now clear that the guilty plea by former ministerial assistants Dave Basi and Bob Virk
was contingent on the decision by the government to foot the full tab for their legal fees. It
has led to a concerns they used $6 million in taxpayer dollars to secure a guilty plea to
sweep the B.C. Rail corruption trial under the rug. How does the government explain that?
2. Why did the B.C. Liberal government try to hide this information for a week?
3. The Attorney General originally stated that the decision to let Basi and Virk off the hook for
their legal costs was made by him based on a recommendation made by his Deputy
Minister - but later noted he had nothing to do with the decision. Why did the Attorney
General issue contradictory statements and which one is the correct version? What
evidence can the Attorney General provide to support that claim?
4. We have been told that taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars for Basi and Virk’s
legal fees - what is the exact final total? Will the government release the amount paid for
legal services provided by the Special Prosecutor’s office? What is the final total of the
entire trial?
5. Has any such deal ever been struck before for civil servants who plead guilty for breaching
public trust, and committing fraud? Can the government provide a single example of this
kind?
6. This plea bargain agreement with Basi and Virk now sets a precedent for all future and
current government staff. Did the government consider the precedent set by this
decision?
7. The Attorney General claimed that the defendants had no money to cover these costs
despite evidence of property holdings that appears to contradict this claim - can the
Attorney General produce documents showing that the government conducted a full review
of the defendants’ ability to pay in arriving at this conclusion?
8. Can the Attorney General explain the different standards applied to the legal fees owed by
Basi and Virk than the approach taken by the government with respect to erroneous claims
by welfare recipients, for example?
---------NDP Official Opposition • Room 201 Parliament Buildings • Victoria • British Columbia • V8V 1X4
9. Will the B.C. Liberals provide full disclosure into the details of the indemnification deal, and
release all materials relating to the plea bargain?
10. The guilty plea statement by Basi and Virk – a plea that we now know came in direct
response to the government’s commitment to cover all legal costs – indicates that the two
B.C. Liberal assistants acted without the knowledge or consent of B.C. Rail and the
Evaluation Committee. The statement does not, notably, state that Basi and Virk acted
without the knowledge or consent of their ministers Gary Collins and Judith Reid – why
not?
11. The plea statement only states that Basi and Virk “did not obtain the consent of their
superiors to demand or accept these personal benefits”. Does this statement mean that
while Basi and Virk did not obtain permission to accept bribes, they could have received
instructions or encouragement by someone in the B.C. Liberal government to strategically
leak confidential B.C. Rail bid information?
12. Without evidence to the contrary, the plea statement suggests that in fact the two former
B.C. Liberal ministers were aware of and consented to the actions pursued by their
assistants. This entirely contradicts the Premier’s claim that the two staffers acted alone.
What evidence can the government provide to prove the Premier’s statement the two
staffers acted alone is not entirely false?
13. Which senior B.C. Liberal officials were involved in the sale of B.C. Rail and what evidence
will now not be heard from key B.C. Liberal officials that were set to appear on the witness
stand on the eve of this plea bargain?
14. What information would the public have learned about the role played by Basi's boss,
former Finance Minister Gary Collins and Virk's boss former Transportation Minister Judith
Reid?
15. What information would the public have learned about the role played by Premier Gordon
Campbell, whose chief of staff during both the B.C. Rail sale and the raid on the
Legislature, Martyn Brown, had already been called as a witness? What did Premier
Campbell know and when did he know it?
16. Why did B.C. Rail pay $300,000 to the Premier's friend, Patrick Kinsella? What instruction
did the Premier, through Martyn Brown, receive to "give support to Patrick Kinsella and CN
Rail"?
17. Questions have been raised about the role of Patrick Kinsella, the Premier's chief of staff
and the Premier himself in assisting in the sell-off of B.C. Rail. When will the public be
provided an explanation on that?
18. Will the government release publicly all material in the possession of B.C. Rail or the
government relating to the work performed by Patrick Kinsella while under contract to B.C.
Rail?
19. Did Paul Taylor, the Premier’s new Chief of Staff, play a role in the alleged leak of bid
information to Pilothouse Public Affairs Group?
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20. The plea statement indicates that Basi and Virk improperly disclosed documents to
Pilothouse including bid values for CN, CP and OmniTRAX and that Pilothouse principal
Brian Kieran recorded these numbers which then were included in a Pilothouse briefing
document to OmniTRAX. Was Pilothouse tapping anyone else in government besides Mr.
Basi and Mr. Virk for confidential government information?
21. Pilothouse partner Eric Bornman – who was given an immunity agreement by the Crown in
exchange for information on Basi and Virk – has reapplied to the Ontario bar. How can the
public be assured that all the parties that played a role in the tainted B.C. Rail privatization
deal have been appropriately dealt with?
22. Why did key B.C. Liberal cabinet ministers like Gary Collins, Judith Reid and Christy Clark
all leave government in the wake of the scandal?
23. Will the government release the list of all the legal costs provided to government officials
including former ministers Gary Collins, Judith Reid and Christy Clark?
24. What was the role played by current sitting cabinet ministers and possible leadership
candidates such as Rich Coleman and Kevin Falcon?
25. After legislative officers were raided in December 2003, it became clear the focus of the
investigation was on the B.C. Rail deal, but the B.C. Liberal government went ahead with
the sale saying there weren’t grounds for concern because no elected officials were under
investigation. However the proposed sale of a B.C. Rail subdivision was then cancelled
when government officials learned the accused might have leaked confidential information
about that deal. This contradiction – why one sale was considered tainted, but the other
not – has never been fully explained by the government, nor was it explored in court. Why
was the spur line sale cancelled but not the sale of B.C. Rail sale? What evidence can the
government provide to support their decision to push ahead with the sale of B.C. Rail?
26. For years the B.C. Liberals have refused to answer questions that the deal was tainted.
Now it appears that his government actually tampered with the fairness adviser’s report to
save their political hide. Will the B.C. Liberals finally admit that their government violated
the public trust in the B.C. Rail sell-off?
27. What other testimony about the unprecedented raid on the Legislature and the corrupted
B.C. Rail sale will go unanswered with the B.C. Liberal government’s refusal to hold a
public inquiry?
28. Will the B.C. Liberals release publicly all evidence pertaining to the trial including evidence
provided to the defence through the disclosure process?
29. In the absence of a public inquiry, will the government commit today to preserving all the
documents involved in the Basi – Virk case and the B.C. Rail corruption scandal until the
House is called back for a full legislative session?
30. Can the government commit today to a public inquiry that will examine the indemnification
deal and the reasons why the government made the decision to cover all legal costs for
Basi and Virk?
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Questions 31-70 (Originally submitted Feb. 12, 2008):
31. Will the government hold a public inquiry into the sell-off of BC Rail as soon as the criminal
proceedings conclude so that B.C. taxpayers can finally get the answers they deserve?
32. When did the government first learn that the BC Rail deal was the target of an in-depth
RCMP investigation?
33. When will the government release all documents — including documents which may not be
directly linked to the charges — that relate to government policies or decisions regarding
BC Rail?
34. Has the investigation into the sale of BC Rail uncovered evidence that other government
policies or decisions may have been illegally or inappropriately affected? If yes, will the
government release all such documents — including documents which may not be directly
related to the charges?
35. Did the BC Rail Steering Committee discuss the potential for the BC Rail deal to collapse if
only one bidder remained in the bidding process?
36. Will the government release all minutes for meetings of the BC Rail Steering Committee?
37. Will the government release all documents produced for the BC Rail Steering Committee?
38. Did members of the Steering Committee or other members of the government caucus
meet with or communicate with any of the proponents or their representatives during the
process to sell BC Rail?
39. Did the Premier or any of his staff meet with or communicate with any of the proponents or
their representatives during the process to sell BC Rail?
40. Can the government explain why then-Solicitor General Rich Coleman briefed the Premier
before the search warrants were executed?
41. Can the government explain why then-Solicitor General Rich Coleman briefed the
Premier’s Chief of Staff Martyn Brown immediately after the warrants were executed and
before alerting the public?
42. Why was Martyn Brown given the go-ahead to fire Dave Basi immediately, prior to any
charges being laid?
43. How can the government defend the propriety of the Solicitor General’s actions against the
charge that in briefing the Premier and his top political staffer, this government put its
political interests ahead of the public interest?
44. Why was provincial government staff allowed to organize for the federal Liberals in the
Legislature using taxpayer resources?
45. What steps did the Premier take to ensure that the BC Liberal Party did not benefit from
illegal activities by staff?
46. Will the government release the tapes and/or transcripts of phone conversations between
the Premier and government ministers that were gathered during the criminal investigation
into the sale of BC Rail?
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47. Given the government’s own forecasts for significant coal mining activity, why were
projections based on coal export growth deliberately left out of revenue calculations for the
BC Rail line?
48. Did the government consider cancelling the sale of the BC Rail freight division?
49. Will the government release any and all correspondence with the RCMP and BC Rail
about rescinding the sale of the BC Rail freight division?
50. If the government considered cancelling the sale of the BC Rail freight division, was
compensation considered for any proponents?
51. What discussions took place concerning the issue of whether CN Rail had paid too much
or too little for the BC Rail freight division?
52. What was the estimated value of former BC Rail assets in 2003, before they were sold?
What is the estimated value of those former BC Rails assets now?
53. Did CP Rail express concerns about the clear breach of fairness in the process to sell BC
Rail prior to their letter of Nov. 21, 2003?
54. Did the government — including any and all government ministers, the BC Rail steering
committee, the government caucus and/or its advisors or technical specialists — ever
discuss the consequences of OmniTRAX dropping out of the bidding process prior to or
following the withdrawal of CP Rail?
55. Did the government consider the potential consequences of a small number of proponents
or a single proponent during the sale of BC Rail for its goal of “maximizing value to the
province”?
56. Did the government consider the potential negative political ramifications of a small
number of proponents or a single proponent during the sale of BC Rail?
57. What was discussed at the Dec. 12, 2003, meeting held at Vancouver restaurant Villa del
Lupo between the Minister of Finance and senior executives from OmniTRAX, the secondplace finisher in the bidding process for the government-owned BC Rail?
58. Will the government ensure that tapes and transcripts resulting from the surveillance of the
Minister of Finance’s meeting with OmniTRAX officials are made public?
59. Did the Minister of Finance meet with other proponents during the transaction process?
60. Was it the Minister of Finance who ordered confidential government information to be
leaked to a lobby firm representing OmniTRAX?
61. If it was not the Minister of Finance who ordered confidential government information to be
leaked to a lobby firm representing OmniTRAX, was the Premier’s Office or any other
government official responsible for this order?
62. Will the government release the “meeting minutes, presentations and other documents”
referred to in the Charles River Associates report on the BC Rail bidding process?
63. Did Charles River Associates review meetings, conversations or communications outside
the official process — particularly those including ministers and ministerial aides — in their
analysis of the fairness of the BC Rail transaction process?
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64. Will the government release all documents including emails, reports, interview transcripts
relating to the two information leaks referenced in the Charles River Associates report?
65. Can the government provide concrete evidence for their claim that the information leaks
referenced in the Charles River Associates report did not materially affect the sale of BC
Rail?
66. Will the government provide the full list of files and issues in the purview of or involving
David Basi, Aneal Basi and Bob Virk between June 2001 and December 2003?
67. Did the government order an internal investigation into every file that Mr. Basi touched
while he worked as a top political aide to the Minister of Finance — and if not, why not?
68. Did the government order an internal investigation into every file that Mr. Virk touched
while he worked as a top political aide to the Minister of Transportation — and if not, why
not?
69. Will the government provide an explanation as to why Dave Basi was fired immediately —
prior to any charges — while Bob Virk was only suspended?
70. Can the government provide assurances and evidence of the statement made by the thenFinance Minister in December 2003 that Dave Basi “was not involved in the budget
process, never has been” and “was not involved in the drafting of legislation or policy
development.”
71. Will the government conduct a review of every decision made to remove land from the ALR
while Mr. Basi worked in the Campbell administration?
72. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities and files that
involved Dave Basi and/or Bob Virk and the principals and staff of Pilothouse Public
Affairs?
73. Is the government aware of any other potential or ongoing investigations that involve Basi,
Virk, or Pilothouse and any other minister, ministry or public body — and if so, what are
they?
74. Will the government provide a full enumeration of the roles played in this investigation — or
any other related investigation — by Mark Marissen, husband of then Deputy Premier
Christy Clark, and Bruce Clark, the brother of the then-Deputy Premier?
75. What materials did the Special Prosecutor withhold from the defence that were the subject
of the February 27, 2007 defence application?
76. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities associated with
Pilothouse Public Affairs?
77. Will the government provide a full enumeration of all government activities associated with
K&E Public Affairs?
78. Why did the government allow Erik Bornman of Pilothouse Public Affairs to continue his
lobbying activities after he had informed Bill Berardino that he had bribed Dave Basi?
79. Why did the government allow Brian Kieran of Pilothouse Public Affairs to continue his
lobbying activities after he had informed the RCMP that he had tried to bribe Dave Basi?
80. Can the government assure British Columbians that lobbyists Erik Bornman and Brian
Kieran no longer have access to senior government staff?
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81. Why did the BC Liberal Party continue to accept money in 2004 from lobbyists named in
the original warrants, long after the raids on the Legislature?
82. Why won’t the BC Liberal government allow an all-party review of the Lobbyists
Registration Act in order to have greater accountability over who is influencing government
and how?
83. When did the Attorney General and Premier first become aware that the lead RCMP
inspector was the brother-in-law of Kelly Reichart, Executive Director of the BC Liberal
Party?
84. How did Kelly Reichert learn that Erik Bornman had been granted immunity in exchange
for providing information about David Basi and Bob Virk?
85. When did the Attorney General and Premier first become aware that information related to
the investigation was leaked to Kelly Reichart and was subsequently leaked by Mr.
Reichart to principals in the investigation?
86. Does the Attorney General agree that the actions of Mr. Reichart risked compromising the
investigation?
87. Why does Mr. Reichart continue to serve as the Executive Director of the BC Liberal
Party?
88. Given that one of the government’s objectives for the BC Rail transaction was “ensuring
integrated North American access to preferred markets and carriers for interline rail
shipments”, why would the government attempt to sell the Roberts Bank Spur line
separately, following the withdrawal of CP Rail?
89. Is it true that in November 2003, Dave Basi advised OmniTRAX that the then-Minister of
Finance had authorized a consolation prize for OmniTRAX in exchange for that company
staying in the bidding process?
90. Was this consolation prize the BC Rail spur line?
91. How much was the consolation prize valued at?
92. Was OmniTRAX offered any Delta ALR lands for expansion of the port as part of this
consolation prize?
93. If it were not for the alleged criminal actions of high-ranking aides, would the government
have proceeded with the sale of the BC Rail spur line?
94. Does $900,000 represent the total cost to taxpayers of cancelling the sale of the spur line,
or did the final tab come in even higher than that? What was the final tab?
95. What was the estimated value of the spur line in 2004, when the sale was put on hold?
96. What was the estimated value of the spur line when the sale was totally cancelled in
February 2006?
97. What is the estimated value of the spur line now?
98. Why won’t the government exercise its rights under article 10.2 of the Revitalization
Agreement to inspect all of CN’s maintenance records for the former BC Rail line?
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99. When will the government investigate the rash of tragic derailments since 2004 in order to
shed light on this safety scandal?
100. Why has the government refused to provide evidence for its claim that the government
discussed safety and maintenance with the proponents during the negotiations to sell BC
Rail?
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