Tuesday, September 21, 2010

When did the government really decide to sell B.C. rail?

Interesting post (as is often the case) at pacificgazette.blogspot.com on the timing of the decision to sell B.C. Rail and, more specifically, on conflicts in the government's claims.
Then transportation minister Judith Reid insisted in the summer of 2002 that B.C. Rail would not be sold or privatized. But, pacificgazette notes here, former MLA Paul Nettleton says Gordon Campbell told him and the other Prince George MPs in February 2002 that the promise to maintain the railways as a Crown corporation would be broken.
Which is consistent with evidence at the B.C. rail corruption trial today that in January 2002 the Crown corporation executives were given rich severance agreements to kick in if the railway was sold.

4 comments:

RossK said...

Ahhhhhh.....

Always picking up something I had missed Mr. W (ie. the timing of the severance agreements).

Thanks.


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And for anyone who has been wondering.....No, it was not Mr. Willcocks that pointed me back to Ms. Reid's statements from the summer of 2002.

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Anonymous said...

A travesty!!!!!! How will justice ever be served on behalf of BC taxpayers for the loss of BC Rail and the reported and verified unbridled bonuses and perks paid to members of the Gordon Campbell APPOINTED BC Rail Committee.

Anonymous said...

We have all seen the BC Rail "failure strategy" mentioned in Neal Hall's article.

Remember when Chief Campbell was all aflutter about the 'structural deficit'? That long ago discredited head fake was a manufactured crisis created by reckless BC Liberal tax policy decisions to justify tearing up contracts and protect abusive employer laws.

It is no great leap to see the BC Liberals recycling the same tactics in the same time frame. The Tyee's Will McMartin has chronicled BC Rail's decent into 'deficit'.

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Speaking of BC Liberal tax policy decisions: Think back to 2001, to the BC Liberals first day in office... Without consulting any of His newly minted MLAs Lord Campbell decreed that the richest of the rich would get a tax cut of 25% - a tax cut policy decision that He explicitly denied during the just finished election campaign... sound familiar?

Anonymous said...

Just heard that the BC Rail trial will feature the testimony of Gary Collins next week.

Enjoy reading your blog and we should expect more interesting details for weeks to come as Gary Collins will be on the stand for sometime.