Just as tainted and disgraced former BC Liberal leader Gordon Campbell left office with the BC Rail corruption scandal hanging on his head where his government is accused of awarding Campbell’s friends with the prized rail deal – Christy Clark too is being accused of helping friends and insiders get liquor distribution business as her political fortunes evaporate quickly.
VANCOUVER – Just as tainted and disgraced former BC Liberal leader Gordon Campbell left office with the BC Rail corruption scandal hanging on his head where his government is accused of awarding Campbell’s friends with the prized rail deal – Christy Clark too is being accused of helping friends and insiders get liquor distribution business as her political fortunes evaporate quickly.
This week, the NDP found freedom-of-information documents it says show the government had no intention of privatizing the Liquor Distribution Branch warehouses, until BC Liberal friendly Exel Logisitics presented it’s own business plan.
The NDP says Exel hired the Progressive Group – a company owned by Clark’s friend and Liberal insider Patrick Kinsella, reported CKNW news.
Documents released through an access to information request indicate the government shifted gears after cabinet minister Shirley Bond met with representatives of Exel Canada, a subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL – the world’s biggest distribution company – that is bidding to run the privatized operation, NDP MLA Shane Simpson said on Thursday.
“What we have here is a clear indication that there was no interest, no discussion with industry, no debate or discussion within government,” Mr. Simpson said, referring to e-mails and briefing notes the party obtained and released on Thursday.
In one e-mail released on Thursday, dated June 13, 2011, then-Solicitor General Shirley Bond told an Exel executive the government was not considering any significant changes to the existing liquor distribution system. Another e-mail shows that, in August, after Exel representatives spoke to Bond at a golf event in Prince George, Bond met with representatives of the company to discuss its privatization proposal, reported the Globe and Mail newspaper.
The government announced the distribution plan in February.
The timing of the government’s decision suggests it was responding to pressure from Exel, Mr. Simpson said.
The NDP says the responsible thing to do would be to immediately kill the privatization plans.
The lobbyists at the centre of the push to privatize the Liquor Distribution Branch are no strangers to controversy.
Since 2010, Progressive Group consultants Patrick Kinsella and Mark Jiles have been registered to lobby ministers Rich Coleman, Pat Bell, and Shirley Bond on behalf of Exel Logistics.
But in 2008 they were accused of lobbying without properly registering.
Just last year Canada’s lobbying commissioner ruled Jiles violated the lobbyist code of conduct.
Kinsella served as an advisor to Premier Christy Clark during her leadership bid, and co-chaired BC Liberal election campaigns in 2001 and 2005.
He was working for BC Rail before it was sold by the government, and faced allegations he also worked for the buyer, CN Rail.
Labour Minister Margaret MacDiarmid says she’s confident there was no outside influence in writing the request for proposals.
“I understand that there are allegations out there right now. I understand that there are people who are casting aspersions on this process. At the same time, I’m saying that I do have confidence in it. I’m not just asking people, ‘hey, trust me’ because I’m trustworthy. I’m saying we are releasing information — information will be available.”
MacDiarmid acknowledges Solicitor General Shirley Bond wrote an e-mail last year saying there were no plans to privatize liquor distribution.
