January 29, 2003

The Damage is Spreading

Attorney General Geoff Plant and Sustainable Resource Development Minister Stan Hagen may find themselves politically damaged by the van Dongen affair. The problem with not getting the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth out as soon as possible when doing damage control is that it keeps reporters asking questions.

Plant has stated that "there was a moment" when his officials briefed him of the police investigation and told him to share the information with the Premier but that neither of them should share the information with van Dongen. Plant said that on Friday, January 24th, his officials advised him that it was appropriate to appoint a special prosecutor and that the Premier should discuss the matter with van Dongen.

Reliable sources say that the "moment" Plant advised the Premier was on the Tuesday after he got back from Hawaii (2 days after his emotional televised media appearance). Was there any delay in dealing with van Dongen because of the effort going into damage control for the Premier? Plant is already wounded by his handling of the smoking judge. If politics in any way interfered with the handling of the van Dongen case, Plant will be out of the running to replace Campbell.

What kind of due diligence was done by government before appointing Stan Hagen to take responsibility for aquaculture? Did anyone look at Hagen's filings with Elections BC? If so, did they notice that on May 11, 2001, Omega Salmon Group Ltd. donated $3,500 and on May 15, 2001, Heritage Aquaculture West Coast Ltd. donated $1,000 to Hagen's campaign? Is the Premier aware of the ruling of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner with respect to the possibility of apparent conflicts when a Minister acts so as to help a friend? Has the Conflict of Interest Commissioner been asked for a ruling on whether Hagen can take responsibility for government decisions in an industry where one of the major players donated directly to his personal election campaign?

Of course, there are dozens of additional questions that need to be answered once the public learns which aquaculture file resulted in the police investigation. Did the company involved donate to the BC Liberals or to the campaigns of any individual ministers?

Premier Campbell promised an open, honest government. Is his handling of van Dongen's resignation what you would expect to see from an open government? Why would a government news release carry the headline that van Dongen was "stepping aside" rather than resigning? Did the Premier or Andy Orr authorize that misleading headline? In the New Era, when will the government start being open and honest?

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January 28, 2003

"Three Fish" van Dongen

Double standards in the Campbell government remain in the news as a result of John van Dongen's resignation. The former Minister would have people believe that he has "stepped aside", but those familiar with the legalities of such matters know that he resigned. The Premier's moral authority to deal with such matters after his drunk driving experience will mean that the resignation focuses attention on the government's double standards.

There are a number of questions that need to be put to "two fish van Dongen" and the Campbell cabinet.

To the Attorney General:

1) Why did you choose to report to the Premier and van Dongen so that his resignation coincided with the report of the inspection team to the UN on Iraq? Did you have any more information on January 27th than you had on January 20th?

2) Did you discuss this matter, in light of the Premier's "problems", with the Premier prior to van Dongen's resignation? (Do you still share accommodations with the Premier in Victoria?)

To "three fish" van Dongen:

3) Was it clear to you as early as June 5, 2001, that the Campbell government would lift the moratorium on fish farms?

4) Do you understand the precautionary principle?

To "two fish" Haugen:

5) Will you treat fish the same as you treat forests? Do you understand the precautionary principle?

6) How many Liberals does it take to destroy a wild salmon run?

For further information see: http://www.cknw.com/FishFile/