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Bob Mackin

Buried in the middle of the Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training minister’s 622-page, 2016 budget binder are eight pages rife with bureaucratic word salad about controversial patronage appointee Gordon Wilson’s job to flog B.C.’s going-nowhere LNG export industry.

The former BC Liberal leader and his wife, Judi Tyabji, were facing financial and legal struggles when he endorsed Premier Christy Clark in the May 2013 election. Clark rewarded him in October that year with a $50,000, four-month contract as the “Buy B.C. LNG Advocate.” The Clark cabinet renewed Wilson’s gig twice and expanded it twice. By the time he was fired Aug. 1 by the new NDP government, Wilson had been paid more than $550,000.

Clark and endorser Wilson in 2013.

The briefing notes for then-Minister Shirley Bond claim that Wilson had “great success connecting communities and companies with the LNG Buy B.C. program” because Wilson “engaged 200 businesses during 22 community visits and 16 presentations.” 

The briefing notes contain no list of names, dates or places for Wilson’s engaging, visiting and presenting. But they do shed more light on the expensive program, which cost taxpayers $567,841 for the 2015-2016 fiscal year alone. 

Besides Wilson’s $150,000 salary, $32,000 in travel expenses (down from $35,730 the previous year) and $1,200 cell phone bill, there were two-full time workers and a co-op student assigned. Their names were not disclosed. The office spent $45,100 on workshops, $21,000 on a “local benefits dashboard project” and $18,000 on an “aboriginal business development project.” The other $300,000 was deemed an “inter-ministry cost share with [Ministry of International Trade] for systems support.”

“A good example of the advocate’s work is his efforts to encourage industry to follow the leadership example of FortisBC in tracking and reporting on local participation in their Tilbury LNG expansion project,” said the briefing notes. “FortisBC leveraged the LNG Buy B.C. program and is using their dashboard to help local communities see how benefits from the project are flowing to local businesses.”

Bond’s successor, Bruce Ralston, said the NDP government could find no reports or evidence of deliverables. Indeed, freedom of information-released documents provided to theBreaker by a reader earlier this year showed that the only reports Wilson filed were expense reports. Wilson, who was paid $600 a day, claimed in media interviews that he was not hired to write reports. Wilson is a former community college economics and geography instructor who also boasts two university degrees. 

theBreaker issued a public challenge to Wilson via Twitter on Aug. 1 to deliver a report (maximum 3,000 words, deadline Friday, Aug. 4 at 5 p.m.) to answer key questions about what he actually achieved in his well-paying job. Who did Wilson meet? When and where? What was discussed? What were the outcomes? 

Though theBreaker would not pay the already well-compensated Wilson anything, it would give Wilson a chance to explain, in detail, what exactly he did for all that public money he received after endorsing Clark and the BC Liberals in the 2013 election.

UPDATE (Aug. 8): Wilson never did respond to theBreaker’s #ReportToThePublic challenge. Instead, he threatened to sue Premier John Horgan and Jobs minister Bruce Ralston for defamation for comments made after firing him, about the paucity of reports. They both did apologize, but that wasn’t good enough for Wilson, who may still sue. 

A report released under FOI by the previous BC Liberal government to the NDP could be the most-expensive in B.C. history. It is apparently the only report made public about Wilson’s activities.

That report was filed in early 2014, near the end of Wilson’s first three-month appointment. In it, Wilson told then-Minister Shirley Bond what anyone reading business media websites already knew — that Russia, Qatar and Australia were leading the way in the LNG industry — and included the key recommendation to launch an interactive website. When that website was launched in 2016, it cost $1 million and it contained no LNG job or contract opportunities. 

UPDATE (Aug. 12): On Facebook, Ralston published an apology and retraction to Wilson, stating “Mr. Wilson did provide reports setting out what he had done to earn the money that he was paid.” Ralston claimed that he was provided “incorrect information” before originally claiming the NDP government was unable to locate any written reports by Wilson. 

The NDP government wants to turn the page on “Flip” Wilson, but theBreaker is determined to get the goods for taxpayers who were dinged for Wilson’s patronage job.

On Aug. 9, theBreaker filed five FOI requests about Wilson’s activities. Specifically, theBreaker applied for: a copy of the review and related correspondence that led to Wilson’s firing; activity reports and expense reports that Wilson filed since Nov. 1, 2016; a list of the “more than 200 businesses, during 22 community visits and 16 presentations” that Wilson met with (including the names and dates) in the 2015-2016 fiscal year; and any correspondence between Wilson and his son, Mathew Wilson, during the tenure of his patronage job.

BC Liberal Mathew Wilson unsuccessfully challenged NDP incumbent Nicholas Simons for the Powell River-Sunshine Coast seat in the May 9 election. The junior Wilson works as a lawyer for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. His duties have included strategic partnerships on west coast energy and policy analysis of oil, gas and pipeline development.  

In July 2013, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham recommended the government proactively publish calendars and expense reports for “ministers, deputy ministers and senior executives or equivalent.” In 2016, the BC Liberal government finally began publishing calendars and expense reports for ministers and deputy ministers, but not for those like Wilson, who fall under the “senior executives or equivalent” category.

Denham also recommended the government proactively release “final reports or audits on the performance or efficiency of their policies, programs or activities.” Likewise, the BC Liberals did not act on that recommendation.

Had the BC Liberals followed Denham’s instructions, there would be no mystery about the quality or quantity of Wilson’s work. 

One more thing…

History can sometimes be amusing. Very amusing, if you thumb through Hansard transcripts.

In 1993, as leader of the official opposition, Wilson and his fellow caucus member and future wife, Judi Tyabji spoke out in the Legislature against NDP government patronage.

On April 6, 1993, Wilson said this:

“There is no question that what the people wanted when they elected a new government was significant change. They wanted reform and an opportunity to know that their tax dollars were going to be wisely spent. Instead, we see an ever-increasing growth in government through patronage appointments and in those who seek to serve government through various committees and reporting agencies — all of whom have an expense account on a daily basis. Yet the delivery of service to the public is lacking.”

On April 14, 1993, Tyabji said this: 

“…get your priorities straight. Rein in government spending, stop the patronage treadmill by cutting back on some of the $100,000-a-year or $120,000-a-year patronage appointments, and feed the people.”

Politicians. They say and do the darnedest things, don’t they? 

From Shirley Bond’s estimates binder for 2016-17 by BobMackin on Scribd

Bob Mackin Buried in the middle of the

Bob Mackin 

The baton relay for the 2018 Commonwealth Games came through Vancouver on Aug. 1, a week before the 63rd anniversary of the 1954 British Empire Games. 

The Gold Coast Games’ baton, which contains a message from Queen Elizabeth II to be read at next April’s opening ceremony, stopped at the Empire Fields statue marking Brit Roger Bannister’s victory over Aussie John Landy in the historic Miracle Mile.

Could the Games return to British Columbia, for the first time since Victoria held it in 1994?

A Victoria committee, headed by newspaper publisher David Black, has support from Mayor Lisa Helps. But there are no funding commitments yet from the new NDP B.C. government or the federal Liberal government. theBreaker did not receive a response from the NDP government. 

Federal sport minister Carla Qualtrough told theBreaker that cabinet is waiting for a formal proposal before deciding.  

Durban, South Africa missed deadlines and lost hosting rights earlier this year. The Commonwealth Games Federation wants bid books in by the end of September, so it can make a decision in November. Birmingham and Liverpool are jockeying for the U.K. government’s endorsement. 

“We have to factor in all the other things going on in sport and other requests that might come to the federal government,” Qualtrough said, referring to the joint bid with the U.S. and Mexico for FIFA’s 2026 World Cup and Calgary’s potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

Qualtrough said there could also be a bid for the 2030 Centennial Commonwealth Games from Hamilton, the original host. 

“When a formal [Victoria bid] requrest is made, we’ll look at it seriously.” 

Commonwealth Games Canada CEO Brian MacPherson told theBreaker in early July that Black’s committee is trying to craft a $700 million operations budget and it envisions using warehouses and hangars for several venues. Whether any proposed venues are in Vancouver would rely on the provincial governemnt funding and priorities. 

“If and when we can sit down with the B.C. government, and if they’re supportive of this, if they have other options, we’d be more than happy to listen to them,” MacPherson said. 

The Gold Coast baton also visited the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and roof of B.C. Place Stadium, which would be a logical venue for the Commonwealth rugby sevens tournament. 

Chris Shaw, the leader of the No Games 2010 Coalition that opposed the Vancouver Olympics, and Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria both want full transparency and a referendum on the bid. Commonwealth Games have doubled in number of athletes and sports since Victoria 1994. Organizers of the Vancouver Olympics claim they balanced a budget of nearly $2 billion, but B.C.’s auditor general never did a final report. Board minutes and financial documents at the Vancouver city archives are hidden from the public until 2025. 

Bob Mackin  The baton relay for the 2018

Bob Mackin

As many as seven politicians are seriously pondering a run to become tomorrow’s leader of Today’s BC Liberals. 

Christy Clark’s July 28-announced resignation from politics ignited (and, in a few cases, reignited) a flurry of exploring, organizing and fundraising. Some of it had been happening under-the-radar since late last year, all of it can benefit from the NDP’s delay in reforming campaign finance laws. 

Liberal sources tell theBreaker to watch out for announcements soon from the following. 

Andrew Wilkinson 

Wilkinson has been signing up members for months. That November transit shelter ad campaign in his Quilchena riding may have been about more than just the May 9 election in the safest BC Liberal seat in the province. The doctor and lawyer has been acting as a leader since before the election, subbing for cabinet colleagues at photo ops and media interviews. His recent crashing of a news conference by his Attorney General successor, David Eby, was another experiment in heightening his profile. 

Jas Johal 

Clockwise from top: Sullivan, Johal, Falcon, Stone, Moore, Wilkinson and Watts (centre).

The Tsawwassen-based reporter-cum-LNG lobbyist narrowly won the Richmond-Queensborough seat on May 9 and was briefly in cabinet as citizens’ services minister. He knows it is too soon for him to be a party leader, but would be making the bid for the sake of raising profile. His other purpose? To support Wilkinson, and help put him over the top on the final ballot. 

Kevin Falcon

The former Gordon Campbell loyalist is on the fence, which is frustrating party insiders who believe the 2011 runner-up can win this time. Falcon faces a dilemma. Does he want to leave his comfortable position with developer Anthem Properties to return to B.C.’s political wars? He may be chomping at the bit, after watching the party languish under Clark. 

James Moore

In Stephen Harper’s Conservative goverment, Moore was once the senior minister for B.C. He has a background in talk radio and is an effective communicator and debater. Moore now enjoys a lucrative job with the Dentons law firm, as a senior business advisor, but he has formed a three-person exploratory committee to ponder a run for the leadership. 

Todd Stone

Unlike Moore, ex-Transportation Minister Stone is a shaky communicator. He also has the baggage of the Triple Delete scandal that emanated from his ministerial office. What sets him apart from the other six is geography. That is the main reason why Interior Liberals are pressuring Stone, to throw his hat in the ring and be the voice for the rest of the province. 

Sam Sullivan 

The one-term Vancouver mayor and two-term MLA is forming a team. He knows he is not a frontrunner, but thinks he has a chance if the heavyweights split votes. 

Dianne Watts

The former, three-term Surrey mayor became one of only two federal Tories elected in a riding touching the Pacific Ocean in 2015 (Richmond incumbent Alice Wong was the other). Despite her recruitment by Harper, she can also appeal to social liberals. She faces a rough ride, because heavyweights in the party are already forming an “Anyone But Dianne” plan. Rich Coleman and Mary Polak, especially, blanch at the thought of Watts winning. They fear she would run a top-to-bottom reform of the party.

Watts and new Conservative leader Andrew Scheer were featured attractions at a $100-per-person fundraiser at former Ritchie Brothers industrial auctioneer Russell Cmolik’s South Surrey mansion on July 30. Her successor at city hall, Linda Hepner, showed up to the garden party with Liberal powerbroker Patrick Kinsella, who was in and out within 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, more questions than answers after Clark’s swansong news conference on July 31. 

She tried to portray herself as choosing her destiny. Pierre Trudeau had a walk in the snow. Gordon Campbell had a walk on a beach, in California. Clark had a walk on a beach in Penticton. But her political fate was already out of her control. 

Party backers had been paying for polling for months and the results were not good. Clark was especially weak among young adults, women, and college-educated males. 

Many of those backers sighed in relief when she failed to convince Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon to call an election on June 29. Their polling pointed to an easy and massive Horgan NDP majority in the low 60s, had there been a second 2017 election this summer. 

Based on their projections, the Liberals would have fallen from 43 to approximately 24 seats and the Greens cut to two, from three. 

Bob Mackin As many as seven politicians are

Bob Mackin

Christy Clark was a walking, talking contradiction. 

On her 2,345th day as BC Liberal leader — 10 days after becoming the ex-premier — she shocked the province and announced her resignation from politics. 

She loved to campaign. But govern? Not so much.

She was a political animal who didn’t want to be in the capital city. She called Victoria a “sick culture” and cancelled the Legislature sitting last fall, to campaign and fundraise instead. She really loved to raise money for the party from corporations because it meant a $50,000-a-year bonus and a sport utility vehicle provided by a donor.    

Clark and Coleman, December 2016.

She preached fiscal responsibilty, but scooped millions of dollars out of the public treasury to spend on advertising campaigns and events, like the Times of India Film Awards, which were strategically designed to help the party gain votes at election time. 

When the NDP was in power in the 1990s, it was a sin to waste money on such activities. But when she had her hands on the purse, there was no limit.

She sported a pink T-shirt for a photo op to battle bullying in schools on the last Wednesday every February, but did nothing to give B.C.’s downtrodden a voice. She prolonged the tradition of party discipline, which made her the bully in chief.

She came to power promising openness, but ran a government where her staff trained others to not write things down, delete what they did write down and use non-government email and apps to evade freedom of information laws. 

She was a career politician who enjoyed an interlude as an open line radio talkshow host. But, as premier, she refused invitations to be a guest on open line radio in the province’s biggest markets. 

She pledged to be a leader who wouldn’t run away, but when scandal visited — and it visited often — she made herself scarce for the first 24 to 48 hours, hoping the media and public would move onto something else. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. 

In the midst of a real estate bubble, driven by massive inflows of Chinese money, and rising homelessness, she left her Mount Pleasant house and moved to a bigger, posher one in Dunbar registered to a party donor connected to one of her biggest supporters. 

She represented a riding in Kelowna, but never followed through on a promise to buy a house there. Where did she stay on those rare occasions when she visited Kelowna? She spent on Galiano Island vacation property instead.

She was fond of repeating the jobs and families mantra. She gave many government jobs and contracts to friends of the party. Her ex-husband Mark Marissen and one of her brothers, Bruce Clark, were not only her inner circle, but powerful influences in the party. 

After the election, she pretended to be humble and threw a hail mary with that embarrassing “clone speech” that adopted the heart of the NDP and Green platforms. Instead of driving a wedge into the alliance, it ignited an identity crisis in the Liberal camp; her party’s conservative wing felt betrayed. She claimed she listened to B.C.’s divided populace, which wanted politics done differently. But that was all talk. She only wanted another election and the Lieutenant Governor, a Liberal rancher, wouldn’t put up with her nonsense. 

Clark liked to lecture her NDP opponents on the qualities of a true leader, which include not hiding or running away. Unlike Bill Vander Zalm, Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark and Gordon Campbell, Clark’s resignation was a two-step process with the second part delivered by news release. 

Career politician Rich Coleman became the interim leader in the most awkward fashion. At a news conference with caucus standing behind him in Penticton, he was on the verge of tears and stumbled over his words. “What she’s given this province should never be forgiven… forgotten.”

Coleman as interim leader could be a tantalizing prospect if Horgan wanted to call a snap election and convert his minority government into a majority. The Langley bloviator is tied inextricably to the ultimate Liberal power broker, Patrick Kinsella, and has extensive political baggage. Many believed Coleman to have been the real premier since 2011, much like Dick Cheney was to the George W. Bush White House. Coleman would be such a convenient target, that the biggest challenge for a quickie NDP campaign would be limiting the number of attack ads. 

Look for ex-Finance Minister Kevin Falcon to attempt a comeback in a leadership race. Former Advanced Education Minister and Attorney General Andrew Wilkinson has acted like a leader for months and is exploring a run. Could a reform-minded outsider emerge? Or could the post-election in-fighting lead to a split in the free enterprise coalition and resurgence of the B.C. Conservative Party (which has a convention scheduled for Sept. 30)? 

This is not the year that the party had in mind. It lost its majority on May 9. Lost a confidence vote on June 29. Lost power on July 18. It lost its leader on July 28. And the RCMP investigation into illegal donations from lobbyists is ongoing.

Bob Mackin Christy Clark was a walking, talking

Bob Mackin

The 35th Premier of British Columbia from March 14, 2011 to July 18, 2017 shocked the province just a week and a half into her new role as opposition leader. 

Christy Clark quit the helm of the B.C. Liberal Party and MLA for Kelowna West on July 28. 

The Dunbar resident had vowed to remain as opposition leader against NDP Premier John Horgan, who held a narrow, one-seat edge with the help of the Green Party. But, as theBreaker exclusively reported on July 14, a mutiny was brewing. Clark was blamed for her party’s loss of its majority status on the May 9 election day. That  led to the June 29 no confidence vote and the end of the 16-year BC Liberal dynasty. 

A party source told theBreaker that Clark no longer felt wanted by caucus and was tired of being blamed. So she chose to quit. Horgan’s horde will have a two-seat cushion, at least until a by-election is called to replace Clark. Expect a leadership convention early in the new year. 

Clark’s resignation was delivered to party members and media by email, Twitter and Facebook on the last Friday of July. Nicknamed “Premier Photo Op,” Clark did not go before cameras to deliver the news.

theBreaker presents theBreakerVision compares Clark’s two-step resignation with those political leaders before her, who quit as premier and leader simultaneously: Bill Vander Zalm (Fantasy Gardens conflict of interest scandal), Mike Harcourt (Bingogate), Glen Clark (Casinogate), and Gordon Campbell (HST)

Bob Mackin The 35th Premier of British Columbia

Kevin Donald Kerfoot

Bob Mackin

The younger brother of reclusive Vancouver Whitecaps FC owner Greg Kerfoot was sentenced to 13 years in jail on July 27 in a Seattle courtroom, in a case prosecuted by the grandson of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi.

Kevin Donald Kerfoot led a cross-border drug smuggling operation in 2005, in which he directed others to trade 41 kilograms of cocaine (bound for Canada) for 20 pounds of escstasy (bound for the U.S.). His subordinates were caught and pointed to Kerfoot as their leader. Kerfoot battled extradition for a decade and U.S. authorities believe he was behind last summer’s attempted murder of one of his subordinates after he served a 54-month sentence.

Kerfoot, 53, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and ecstasy.  The lead attorney on the case was Vincent T. Lombardi. 

Court documents say that although Kerfoot was entitled to contest his extradition in Canada, he was “not entitled to obstruct justice in doing so — and he clearly did.”

“Kerfoot repeatedly suborned perjury, and likely ordered the attempted murder of one cooperating witness,” said the sentencing report.

That was in reference to accomplice Reginald Purdom, who was shot in Kelowna by a cyclist while he drove a car on Aug. 2, 2016. (A sentencing report explains in a footnote that Purdom is no longer using that name and refers to him only as R.P.)

Tyrone Reynolds McGee was charged with attempted murder, but is apparently not cooperating. 

The document alleges that Kerfoot ordered the hit in an attempt to silence R.P. during the extradition process.

“According to a later interview, R.P. had fallen back into drug use and drug trafficking, including with Kerfoot. On August 2, 2016 – approximately two weeks after Kerfoot lost his intermediate appeal of his extradition – Kerfoot asked R.P. to go meet with another drug trafficker to pick up narcotics in a parking lot in British Columbia. While R.P. was waiting in his vehicle, a man on a bicycle pulled up next to him and shot him seven to eight times with semi-automatic pistol equipped with a silencer.

“Amazingly, R.P. survived the shooting. He managed to put his vehicle in gear and run down the shooter before he could reload. The shooter also survived and is pending trial in Canada for the attempted murder. According to the RCMP, he has refused to make any statement about whom he was working for, and the investigation is ongoing.

The report said there is nothing in Kerfoot’s background to mitigate the circumstances.

Greg Kerfoot (Santa Ono, Twitter)

“Unlike many defendants who come before this court, Kerfoot appears to have had every advantage growing up. His parents, by his own account, were loving and provided for him. His brother is a wildly successful businessperson, who also provided Kerfoot with many opportunities to make a lawful living. Kerfoot appears to have willfully chosen a life of crime.”

In an unrelated case, Kevin Kerfoot was accused of failing to repay a $115,000 debt last fall. In B.C. Supreme Court documents filed Sept. 23, 2016, Eric Dutcyvich of Port McNeill claimed Kerfoot, who was residing at a house on 105th Avenue in Surrey, and a Langley-based vodka company owed $115,456.64. 

Greg Kerfoot, who is believed to be 57, is a software billionaire and BC Liberal donor with houses in West Vancouver and Kelowna. He is a close friend of ex-Premier Christy Clark, who represents a Kelowna riding, but lives in a Dunbar house registered to Kerfoot business associate Nevin Sangha. 

Kevin Donald Kerfoot sentencing report by BobMackin on Scribd

[caption id="attachment_4746" align="alignright" width="326"] Kevin Donald Kerfoot[/caption] Bob

Bob Mackin 

The massive Petronas Pacific NorthWest LNG plant will not be built. 

It is no longer pining for the fjords. It is an ex-proposal. 

The Malaysian state oil company chose to make the announcement July 25, upstaging NDP Premier John Horgan’s meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. 

Coleman at a Petronas plant in Malaysia in 2013. (BC Gov)

In the words of Petronas, the $36 billion project, which included an $11 billion plant near Prince Rupert and $6.5 billion natural gas pipeline, had been under “total review” since last year, even though the Trudeau Liberals gave it conditional approval last Sept. 27.

Petronas claimed the cancellation was all about economics and not about politics. But the week-old BC Liberal opposition claimed otherwise. It blamed the week-old Green-supported NDP minority government.

The Liberals trotted out two rookie MLAs to slam the NDP  — camera-ready, ex-LNG lobbyist Jas Johal (Richmond-Queensborough) and Ellis Ross (Skeena), the taxi boat operator-cum-Haisla First Nation chief councillor who was natural gas minister for all of five weeks. 

Rich Coleman, the original natural gas minister, who held the portfolio for four years, used Twitter to blame Green-NDP “imposed market uncertainty.”

But how much did Coleman know about the announcement ahead of time? A lot, according to a senior BC Liberal source, who told theBreaker that Coleman was involved in the decision. 

Coleman has yet to respond to phone and email messages from theBreaker

At a Sept. 20, 2016 fundraiser on Granville Island, Coleman gave party members no indication that a change in government would threaten the project.

Instead, Coleman said that the economics of the project had changed so radically since 2012, that Petronas had returned to the drawing board and delayed its final investment decision. In a recording leaked to theBreaker, which is published below, Coleman is heard saying that he needed to meet with executives to “restart our discussions in and around our project development agreement which we signed with them.”

“Everything in the market has changed, the price of steel and everything else, so they have to go back out and re-bid it and then decide if they go to a final investment decision. But I can tell you this, that the numbers have really got to be tightened down, because the price of gas in Asia right now is so cheap, because of the price of oil. Just about nobody is globally competitive unless they have a long-term contract that they signed before the market crashed,” Coleman said.

“I know the number they have to get to in order to make it financially viable, I think they’re about 50 cents to a dollar away from that, but it’s a lot better than it was six months ago… We really need them them to be able to figure out the numbers,” he told party members.” 

Coleman claimed Petronas had already spent billions. “They’re in, it’s just a question of price, but it’s very complicated stuff. But I’m still optimistic.” 

Coleman went to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 17-18 and met with Petronas executives, including president Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Ariffin and PNW LNG president Adnan Zainal Abidin. Coleman’s March 15 agenda indicates he met with Abidin, there are no other meetings visible between March 1 and May 31. Deputy Minister Dave Nikolejsin’s only meeting during the period with the proponent was March 7 with Datuk Anuar Taib, the CEO of the Petronas upstream department. 

In March, Ariffin was quoted in the Financial Post saying that Petronas was “doing a total review of the project, and taking into account all the cost optimization options. That is still ongoing.” 

In April, as the May 9 election loomed, Bloomberg reported that the total review continued, but Petronas was pondering Ridley Island as an alternate site. On June 24, five days before the Liberals government fell in a no confidence vote, the B.C. Lions opened their 2017 home schedule and there was no PNW LNG sideline advertising. Even with the federal approval in its pocket, Petronas had quietly ended its highly visible sponsorship after the 2016 season.

UPDATE (July 27): The database for the Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists shows that PNW LNG never registered to lobby anyone in the new Green-supported NDP government, which was sworn-in July 18 after toppling the BC Liberals in a June 29 no confidence vote. 

National PR lobbyist MacInnis

In fact, the lobbying database shows that Matthew MacInnis of National Public Relations registered to lobby for three days only, July 24-26, and named only two targets — ex-Premier Christy Clark and ex-Natural Gas minister Rich Coleman — with the intention of arranging meetings to “provide an update about the proposed (PNW LNG) project.” The registry requires lobbyists to report only their intentions, not whether meetings ever took place. 

MacInnis’s registration shows he worked as a BC Liberal government aide from 2008 to 2012, including as Premier Gordon Campbell’s communications coordinator. He is also listed as the BC Liberal Party’s communications chair. MacInnis did not immediately respond to theBreaker’s request for comment.

PNW CEO Abidin registered June 6 for vice-president of external affairs Tessa Gill to target outgoing BC Liberal energy minister Bill Bennett and various staff of labour minister Shirley Bond and advanced education minister Andrew Wilkinson. The registration was not changed to reflect Clark’s June 12-sworn Liberal cabinet or the July 18-sworn NDP cabinet.

Pipe dream?

Petronas’s minority partners in PNW LNG included Japan Petroleum Export Corp., PetroleumBrunei, Indian Oil Corp. and Sinopec-China Huadian. 

Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in April. On May 11, the Trump administration announced it was opening the doors wide to LNG buyers. 

“The United States welcomes China, as well as any of our trading partners, to receive imports of LNG from the United States,” said a Trump administration statement. “The United States treats China no less favourably than other non-[free trade agreement] trade partners with regard to LNG export authorizations. Companies from China may proceed at any time to negotiate all types of contractual arrangement with U.S. LNG exporters, including long-term contracts, subject to the commercial considerations of the parties. As of April 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy had authorized 19.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas exports to non-FTA countries.”

May 11 was, coincidentally, two days after the B.C. election. The BC Liberal campaign included attack ads that featured Trump’s image and Christy Clark was portrayed as the only leader who would stand-up to the U.S. president in the latest dispute over softwood lumber tariffs. The U.S. Consulate in Vancouver was following the election closely and its daily cables to the State Department would have included anything from the campaign trail directly relevant to U.S. interests. 

BC Liberal attack ad taunted Trump, who opened LNG exports to China.

During the 2013 election campaign, Clark predicted a $100 billion LNG bonanza for the province and three plants would be up and running by 2020. With the cancellation of Petronas and the delays for Shell and Chevron/Woodside projects in Kitimat, only one of the 18 proposed may be built. 

The Singaporean owner of the $1.6 billion Woodfibre LNG near Squamish gave a green light on the opening day of the BC Liberal Party’s November 2016 convention. But a profit-sharing deal isn’t yet done with the Squamish Nation. 

A mid-July report by the National Energy Board painted a dim picture of Canada’s prospects to play catch-up to LNG market leaders, such as Russia, Qatar and Australia. 

It called Canada a “late entrant” to the global LNG market, despite an abundance of natural gas and prospects for long-range demand from Asia.

“Canada has yet to emerge as a significant participant in global LNG markets. There are no LNG export projects currently under construction in Canada, and only one of the smaller projects has decided to move ahead,” said the report. 

The report said historically low global prices for natural gas and ample supply “make it challenging for Canadian LNG projects to secure long-term contracts.” Spot price trends mean it is more difficult to finance LNG megaprojects. Projects under development are competing for labour and materials, driving up development costs. 

“Canadian project proponents are concerned about cost overruns observed in other global projects. Canadian LNG projects would generally be greenfield sites and incur higher costs than U.S. projects built on existing LNG import terminal sites,” reported the NEB. 

“Disadvantages facing Canadian projects include high costs to develop projects in remote locations with limited infrastructure, and, where the construction of new pipelines is required to supply the necessary gas. With LNG prices falling in recent years, the margins needed to justify this type of capital-intensive development have eroded. Increased competition has also made it difficult for Canadian projects to sign long-term supply contracts.”

Bob Mackin  The massive Petronas Pacific NorthWest LNG

Bob Mackin

The former Yaletown playboy who launched an online gambling giant in Vancouver reached a plea bargain with United States authorities to avoid jail. 

Court documents from the United States District Court in Maryland show that Judge Catherine Blake agreed July 14 to fine Bodog.com founder Calvin Ayre $500,025 and sentence him to one-year unsupervised probation. Antigua-based Ayre pleaded guilty to the misdemeanour of being an accessory after the fact to transmission of wagering information between June 2005 and December 2011. 

Online gambling pioneer Calvin Ayre in Vancouver  (CalvinAyre.com)

Ayre and three others, who were charged in February 2012, had faced up to 25 years in jail each for conducting an illegal sports gambling business and conspiracy to launder money. Those charges were dropped. 

The plea agreement stated that Bodog “provided marketing assistance to entities that accepted funds from people located in Maryland and elsewhere to open accounts.”

“This activity constituted the business of betting or wagering information on a sporting event. Furthermore, the representatives of the Bodog brand participated in a wire communication in which information assisting the placing of bets was transmitted, which was made across state lines or from the United States to a foreign country.”

Ayre agreed not to make any claim to the $66,113,389.78 seized from various accounts. His probation is unsupervised and the mandatory drug test waived because he is not a U.S. resident or citizen. 

U.S. authorities seized the Bodog.com domain in 2012, but relinquished it for $100,000 under Ayre’s plea deal. The Feb. 21, 2000-registred domain was updated July 17, 2017 via Safenames House based in Milton Keynes, England. Other iterations of the Bodog brand have continued to exist online. 

U.S. authorities originally alleged that Ayre, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney ran an illegal online sports gambling business between June 9, 2005 and Jan. 6, 2012, that moved funds from Bodog accounts in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada and elsewhere, to pay winnings to gamblers, and to pay media brokers and advertisers located in the U.S.  

“The conspirators directed payment processors to send at least $100 million by wire and by check to gamblers located in Maryland and elsewhere,” said a news release from prosecutors in February 2012. It also said that Bodog paid more than $42 million to advertise to U.S. gamblers from 2005 to 2008. 

A 2006 Forbes magazine feature, under the headline “Catch Me If You Can,” said Bodog handled $7.3 billion in online bets in 2005, triple its 2004 volume. 

Forbes reported: “Ayre says all this betting gave him sales of $210 million and that he took 26% of the revenue to the bottom line. Whats his business worth? Two similar ventures that are publicly traded (in Europe) go for well over 18 times trailing earnings. At that multiple Bodog, along with other assets, gives Ayre a net worth of at least $1 billion.”

Bodog sponsored the 2011 Grey Cup at public-owned B.C. Place Stadium and advertised its free-to-play promotional website on the stadium’s exterior video boards in 2013, even though B.C. Lottery Corporation has the statutory monopoly for online gambling in the province. Bodog sponsored the Canadian Gaming Summit at the Vancouver Convention Centre in late June. During a rare appearance at an industry event, Ayre slammed the B.C. government-run gambling system.  

“B.C. Lottery Corporation is actually an operator, not a regulator; they’re an unregulated operator from my view of the world. Regulation is something that should be put in place here in B.C.,” Ayre said in an interview on CalvinAyre.com.

“They have to put proper third-party regulators in place, who would then regulate their company as well and then open it up to the private sector.”

The Canadian Criminal Code says it is illegal for anyone — other than Crown corporations like BCLC — to take bets online from Canadians or advertise gambling websites. Federal authorities have been reluctant to enforce laws against grey market operators like Bodog, which have spent millions of dollars on advertising with Canadian sports channels. The Kahnawake Mohawk reserve near Montreal became a global hub for various online gambling operators, including Bodog. 

Ayre and Bodog operations are now based in Antigua, a Caribbean country that became home to another Vancouver website that broke the law in 1999. 

Starnet International forfeited $4 million and was fined $100,000 after pleading guilty in 2001 to keeping or controlling a device for recording or registering bets.

On June 13, B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit held a news conference to reveal that it arrested nine people after a year-long investigation into money laundering through B.C. casinos that involved an organized crime group with links to China. 

theBreaker asked the CFSEU spokeswoman, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, for an update on July 19. “Once charges are laid, we will release an update,” she said by email. 

On July 18, B.C. Premier John Horgan named David Eby the new Attorney General, with responsibility for BCLC and the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch. In the June 29-defeated BC Liberal government, ex-Finance Minister Mike de Jong oversaw the marketing and regulation of gambling. 

Ayre Plea Bargain by BobMackin on Scribd

Bob Mackin The former Yaletown playboy who launched

Bob Mackin

The Vancouver Whitecaps have filed an eyebrow-raising negligence and breach of contract lawsuit against the taxpayer-owned company that runs B.C. Place Stadium.

The Major League Soccer franchise filed a B.C. Supreme Court statement of claim on June 16 against B.C. Pavilion Corporation, alleging their landlord failed to obtain third-party liability insurance. The lawsuit, obtained by theBreaker, stems from Whitecaps’ fan Basil Rolfe’s lawsuit against PavCo and the Whitecaps for a 2014 slip and fall injury he suffered on a rainwater-soaked ramp inside the stadium.

The Whitecaps’ statement of claim says that its March 10, 2011 rental contract included a clause making PavCo responsible for third-party liability insurance.

B.C. Place’s retractable roof (Mackin)

“By the terms of the Covenant to Insure contained in the license agreement, PavCo agreed to assume from the Whitecaps FC the risk of loss or damage to third parties in connection with the license granted to the Whitecaps FC by the license agreement, including loss or damage to third parties as a result of gross negligence or wilful misconduct on the premises,” according to the legal filing by Whitecaps lawyer Daniel Barber of Singleton Urquhart.

“In breach of the license agreement, PavCo failed to obtain the insurance required by the terms of the license agreement, or at all.”

The Whitecaps’ legal documents include part of Rolfe’s June 5, 2015 statement of claim, that said he suffered various injuries to his right leg in the Oct. 25, 2014 accident. The Whitecaps disputed Rolfe’s claims, but want PavCo to pay damages and costs should the court rule in favour of Rolfe. PavCo had 21 days to respond to the Whitecaps’ lawsuit with a statement of defence, but none was available in the online court registry when theBreaker checked on July 21. 

Rolfe’s lawsuit alleged that the Whitecaps and PavCo were aware of the dangers on the ramp before that day, because there had been other slip and fall incidents. “The defendants took no steps to ensure the ramp was safe or warn pedestrians including the plaintiff about the hazard.”

In its Nov. 10, 2015 defence statement, PavCo denied that it was responsible for the maintenance of the stadium, including the ramp, and further claimed it owed no duty of care, statutory or otherwise, to Rolfe. 

Nearly a year later, on Nov. 3, 2016, PavCo’s third-party notice to the Whitecaps claimed the stadium operator “implemented a reasonable system of maintenance and inspection that was being followed on October 25, 2014. PavCo’s conduct neither amounted to gross negligence, nor wilful misconduct.” PavCo further alleged that “Whitecaps have refused to meet their contractual requirement to defend and indemnify PavCo.”

In a March response to a freedom of information request, PavCo gave theBreaker a censored version of the Whitecaps’ 2016 contract. Not a single clause of the 27-page document is visible. theBreaker complained to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. In 2015, the OIPC ordered PavCo to release its full contract with the B.C. Lions, because an adjudicator held that public bodies cannot withhold copies of negotiated contracts between governments and private companies. 

Rolfe required surgery at St. Paul’s Hospital for injuries suffered at the Oct. 25, 2014 Whitecaps versus Colorado Rapids match. In a media statement at the time, PavCo apologized for Rolfe’s injuries: “This was an unfortunate incident. We are truly sorry our guest had a bad experience and wish him well in his recovery.”

Meanwhile, attendance statistics released to theBreaker by PavCo via freedom of information show that the Whitecaps averaged 16,181 fans for their first 11 home dates of 2017. 

The team drew a total 177,995 through June 17, which was 18% less than the 217,857 total reported by the club for eight MLS fixtures, two in the CONCACAF Champions League and one in the Canadian Championship. 

While the club claimed six crowds over 20,000, figures released by PavCo show there were only two above 20,000. The Whitecaps claimed the biggest crowd for the period was 25,083 to see the L.A. Galaxy on April 1. The actual attendance number released by PavCo was 20,815. Only 11,403 attended the March 2 game against Red Bull New York, the lowest count for the period.

Despite the OIPC ruling, Whitecaps’ chief operating officer Rachel Lewis said in a 2016 interview that the club would continue to publish only the number of seats allotted, not seats used at home games. 

Changes are likely at money-losing PavCo, after the July 18 swearing-in of the new NDP Tourism, Arts and Culture minister Lisa Beare and her parliamentary secretary for sport, Ravi Kahlon. 

PavCo’s BC Liberal-appointed chair is longtime party donor Stuart McLaughlin. Last fall, the board added director Jatinder Rai, a campaign strategist for former premier Christy Clark. Clark is a longtime friend of Whitecaps’ principal owner Greg Kerfoot and lives in a $3.7 million Dunbar house registered to Kerfoot associate Nevin Sangha

The day after the Liberals won the 2013 election by surprise, stadium general manager Howard Crosley was fired and given a golden parachute worth nearly $500,000. PavCo’s joint health and safety committee failed to meet in February and March of this year, in violation of the Workers’ Compensation Act. In late 2015, WorkSafeBC found that the 1983-opened stadium had failed to make a violence prevention plan to protect workers from rowdy sports and music fans. 

Whitecaps v. PavCo 061717 by BobMackin on Scribd

Bob Mackin The Vancouver Whitecaps have filed an

Bob Mackin

You’ll never guess who helped stickhandle a deal that will make a First Nation the first jackpot winner at the soon-to-open Parq Casino beside B.C. Place Stadium. 

BC Hydro CEO Jessica McDonald (BC Hydro)

None other than Jessica McDonald, who was BC Hydro CEO from May 2014 until the first week of Premier John Horgan’s NDP government. She was replaced as president on July 21 by Deputy CEO Chris O’Riley, a professional engineer with an MBA who began his climb on the Crown corporation’s ladder in 1990.

According to a timeline of the B.C. Place casino development, obtained by theBreaker, McDonald was retained in late 2012 for $300 an hour by B.C. Pavilion Corporation for “strategic advice and leading negotiations and consultations” with Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Sto:lo and Tsawwassen first nations. Talks were related to the pending Master Development Agreement between PavCo and Paragon Gaming Corporation. The BC Liberal government was in a rush to sign the deal before the 2013 election that they had expected to lose.  

“PavCo previously commenced, but has not completed, consultation and potential accommodation discussions with affected First Nations and will need to re-engage this process on an urgent basis,” read McDonald’s proposal to PavCo CEO Dana Hayden. 

From January 2010 to June 2013, McDonald was an executive vice-president at Heenan Blakie Management Ltd., an arm of the major national law firm that spectacularly collapsed in early 2014. In July 2013, her Jessica L. McDonald Inc. registered the SteelheadLNG.com website. She got deeper into the LNG industry with an advisory services and First Nations engagement contract on the Shell Canada/LNG Canada proposal. Financial statements for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 show Jessica L. McDonald Inc. was paid a combined $302,940 from BC Hydro, ICBC and the central government. 

The former head of the B.C. Public Service during Gordon Campbell’s second term as premier was Clark’s choice to head Hydro in May 2014.

The timeline, which was part of former Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone’s briefing binder, details on-again, off-again negotiations between the Crown corporation and First Nations. 

A November 2004 Supreme Court of Canada ruling said governments must consult and accommodate First Nations when decisions may affect them. That includes the lease or sale of Crown real estate, which may be subject to aboriginal land claims.

PavCo began consulting Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh about the Paragon Gaming casino project in April 2010. At the same time, it sent a notice letter to the Sto:lo. (In 2007, Musqueam became the landlord for River Rock Casino Resort after a court settlement.) 

PavCo was transferred from the Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Ministry in Sept. 2012 to Energy, Gas and Mines, under Rich Coleman. 

Over winter 2012, Musqueam contacted the provincial government to re-engage on accommodation. Hayden formally retained McDonald on Nov. 14, 2012. In January 2013, PavCo asked for and got an extension to its First Nations negotiation mandate. 

Until just before the May 2013 election, McDonald billed for more than $20,000. She even dinged PavCo for leaving a voice mail message for Hayden.

In March 2013, Paragon and PavCo updated their 70-year lease agreement, halving payments to $3 million-a-year, down from the $6 million agreed in January 2010. Vancouver city hall had refused in April 2011 to allow the new casino to stock double the slot machines of Paragon’s Edgewater Casino. 

Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow (Mackin)

In April 2013, right before the provincial election, Treasury Board approved PavCo’s request to proceed with an $8.5 million, three-year accommodation deal for Musqueam. At the end of June 2013, PavCo became part of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure under rookie Kamloops MLA Stone. 

The Musqueam accommodation deal breaks down as $2.84 million in the first year and then $2.83 million in the second and third years. 

Little was known publicly about this deal until the summer of 2015, when it was confirmed with Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow and I reported on it for The Tyee

Some of the above information came via freedom of information from Stone’s budget estimates briefing book, which was requested on May 2, 2016, but not delivered until Jan. 6, 2017. What should have been disclosed in 30 business days or less took eight calendar months, and then some.

Stone was the minister who was at the centre of the Triple Delete scandal in 2015. He co-chaired, with ex-Deputy Premier Rich Coleman, the BC Liberal failed 2017 re-election committee. Coleman had boasted to party members in September 2016 that the BC Liberals never had so much money in the bank and would win 50 or more seats and have an even bigger majority after the 2017 election.

Instead, they fell from 49 to 43 seats and were defeated June 29 when the 44  NDP and Green MLAs combined to pass a no confidence vote. Premier Christy Clark resigned later that day. 

PavCo McDonald Parq Musqueam by BobMackin on Scribd

Bob Mackin You’ll never guess who helped stickhandle