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Miscellany, News

Bob Mackin

A real estate lawyer active in the wealthy BC Liberal Party says he donated $20,000 because two Burnaby candidates needed more money for their campaigns. 

Garth Evans’ donation, dated May 30, was the biggest from an individual in the party’s June 2-published, weekly unaudited report. He told theBreaker that he delivered the payment to the BC Liberal Party the week before the May 9 election.

Burnaby Liberal Garth Evans (Team Burnaby)

“This is a personal donation from me, not on behalf of anyone else, any client, any company, or anything,” Evans, a partner in the Vancouver law firm Barbeau Evans, said in a phone interview. “It’s because of my very strong desire to keep the BC Liberal Party in power. I’m obviously pretty disappointed in the outcome of the election and we’ll do better next time.”

Evans is the president of four-term incumbent Richard Lee’s Burnaby North riding association and he chaired the campaign committee for Burnaby-Deer Lake rookie Karen Wang. Both Lee and Wang lost to NDP candidates on May 9.

“They needed more money,” Evans said. “The funding is divided between head office and each separate riding. I can assure you the candidates in Burnaby, the ones I was actively supporting, and presumably the others as well, needed additional funding for the campaign.”

The BC Liberals raised $13.1 million in 2016, according to Elections BC returns that also showed Lee received $14,295.39 in transfers from party headquarters last year and Wang $23,707.73. Official financial returns for the April 11 to May 9 election campaign — which would show additional funds for candidates from party headquarters — must be filed with Elections BC by early August. 

The party’s unaudited 2017 disclosures indicate it raised another $8.2 million. The report that includes the donation from Evans totals $450,360.22. 

Pressed further about why such a rich party would have not adequately supported its local campaigns, Evans said: “Please don’t put words in my mouth.”

Candidate Karen Wang

Wang told theBreaker that she had “no clear idea” how much her campaign should get from the party. 

“What I heard from my campaign manager is probably we don’t have enough money in the account, so we need someone to donate to us,” Wang said.

B.C. has no legal limits to the size or source of political donations, but parties and individual candidates did have election-time spending limits: $4,882,404.95 per party and $77,674.82 per candidate. 

In 2013, Lee’s campaign reported to Elections BC that it received $104,912.11 in transfers from BC Liberal headquarters and only $795.50 in local donations. The 2013 Burnaby-Deer Lake candidate, Shian Gu, raised $25,090 in donations and $57,214.82 in transfers. 

In the May 9 election, Clark’s incumbent BC Liberals won 43 seats in the upcoming 87-seat Legislature. They had 49 after the 2013 election. The three-seat, Andrew Weaver-led BC Greens have agreed to an alliance with the 41-seat NDP for a non-confidence vote that would end 16 years of Liberal rule and make NDP leader John Horgan the next premier.

Burnaby team

Evans was a one-term, Burnaby city councillor from 2005 to 2008 on the BC Liberal-allied Team Burnaby slate. He finished third in Burnaby-New Westminster for the federal Liberals during the 2011 election. In 2015, Evans was among 39 lawyers named by the BC Liberal cabinet to the annual Queen’s Counsel list. He is a former BC Liberal-appointed Royal B.C. Museum director. Evans was among several BC Liberal operatives that Burnaby-Coquitlam MLA Harry Bloy gave Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medals in 2012.

Liberal Lee (right) with party donor Shenglin Xian. (Flickr)

For the $20,000 donation, Evans would be eligible to claim a maximum $500 tax credit, the same as if he had donated $1,150.

He would not have received a tax break for the $1,000 he gave in late 2015 to the online Laura Miller Defense Fund.

Miller is the BC Liberal executive director who is scheduled to be tried in Ontario beginning Sept. 11. The former deputy chief of staff to Ontario Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty was charged in late 2015 with criminal breach of trust and mischief in relation to data and misuse of a computer system. 

Evans gave the BC Liberals $1,878 in 10 donations last year and ponied-up another $1,875 by early April of this year. 

His law firm partner, Paul Barbeau, has donated $4,935 since 2013. Barbeau was president of the BC Liberals’ Vancouver Quilchena riding association from September 2013 to November 2015. Barbeau quit the civic NPA presidency in early 2006, before Millennium Development — a company related to his client Armeco Construction — was picked by the NPA majority city council to build the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village.

Barbeau is a director and corporate secretary for KLC Holdings Ltd., the Yakima, Wash.-based parent of the Kwik Lok plastic bag clip closure manufacturer. He did not answer theBreaker’s fact-checking question about whether the Washington company is related, beyond its name, with a British Virgin Islands-registerered, Singaporean investment and development company that is listed in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Offshore Leaks database. 

Paul Barbeau (LinkedIn)

theBreaker also asked Barbeau whether his firm has ever represented Premier Christy Clark, her family or her political associates. “The Law Society rules, as you probably also appreciate, do not allow us to confirm or deny who we do or do not act for,” he said. 

theBreaker consulted the B.C. Law Society Professional Conduct Handbook. Chapter 5, “Confidential Information,” states: “A lawyer shall not disclose the fact of having been consulted or retained by a person unless the nature of the matter requires such disclosure.” 

In a voice mail message while theBreaker was interviewing Barbeau, Evans said: “We don’t act for Christy Clark or anybody related to her or anybody related to the BC Liberal Party.” 

Barbeau listened to theBreaker’s later interview with Evans on a speakerphone. He was asked, based on the actual Law Society rule, whether he would deny representing Clark and others. “I entirely stand behind my earlier statement to you, it’s valid in good practice and appropriate in circumstances and have nothing to add,” he said. 

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Bob Mackin A real estate lawyer active in

Miscellany, News

Bob Mackin

Pemberton Music Festival may be remembered more for being a money pit than for its mosh pit.

The owner of a temporary power company owed $55,000 from the bankrupt festival said he is afraid the taxman will be the only one paid. 

“I think there will be nothing left, there is no assets to cover the liability,” said Production Power’s Lewis Neilson after a meeting of creditors on June 6. “They owe about $13 million, they have potentially $3 million, there is a $10 million hole that just won’t be filled. I expect that none of the unsecrured credtiors will get any money, [Canada Revenue Agency] will get most of the money.”

At the Robson Square meeting, Ernst and Young vice-president Kevin Brennan delivered a sobering report on the festival’s financial woes. The two secured creditors, owed $3.5 million, agreed to waive their claims, after helping fund almost $50 million in losses over three years before tickets went on sale for the cancelled 2017 version. 

Site of Pemby Fest creditors meeting (Mackin)

Neilson said those who spent a combined $8.2 million on tickets for the cancelled July 13-16 festival should really be first in line, because they paid in good faith and don’t deserve to be victims of others’ mismanagement. He said New Orleans-based promoter Huka perennially overpaid for imported labour and equipment and would take until the February following the mid-July festival to pay invoices to local suppliers.

“We assumed they were taking the further year’s ticket sales to pay off the prior year’s debt, so eventually it just has to catch up with you,” Neilson told reporters. “It’s a pyramid scheme.”

The Ernst and Young report blamed the festival’s demise on four factors: sluggish 2017 ticket sales, the weakened Canadian dollar, failure to find additional funding, and increased difficulty in sourcing talent in 2017. 

Live Nation staged the original Pemberton Music Festival once in 2008. In late 2013, Huka and a local investment group, Janspec Holdings, agreed to resurrect the festival for 2014, with Huka originally forecasting a US$2.4 million profit. Janspec’s holdings include the festival venue, Sunstone Ranch, and directors include Langley’s Amanda Girling and White Rock’s Jeremy Turner. They are heirs to the fortune of their late father, Clifford Turner, a co-founder of the British-based Linpac packaging empire. 

Slow ticket sales forced a forecast revision by the end of May 2014 to a US$6.9 million loss. The festival, headlined by Nine Inch Nails, Deadmau5 and Soundgarden, drew 17,700 per day, and eventually lost C$16.9 million. 

“The Canadian investors notified Huka of their dissatisfaction and demanded significant changes to the PMF oversight and its ownership structure,” said the report.

The 2015 festival initially estimated a US$4 million loss. The month before, Huka told the Canadian investors they needed an additional US$4.5 million and C$2 million; they advanced US$3 million and C$2 million. The festival, headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Black Keys and Missy Elliot, drew 25,151 per day and lost C$16.8 million.

“With continued losses funded exclusively by the Canadian investors, their further involvement with the PMF was uncertain,” the report said. “On Oct. 29, 2015, Huka assured the Canadian investors that the PMF brand was growing, that the 2016 PMF would, at minimum, break-even financially and that Huka was making progress in discussions with other potential investors.” 

In March 2016, the Canadian investors loaned US$3.1 million to Huka. Before mid-April, 25,000 tickets were sold, but sales of camping passes were halted because Huka failed to gain government permits. Pass sales finally resumed in June. The Canadian investors loaned another C$1 million to Huka in early July and were faced with Huka’s threat to cancel the festival at the 11th hour. 

“Only July 13, 2016, the day prior to the 2016 PMF and, with approximately 20,000 campers already on festival grounds, the Canadina investors were informed by Huka that the 2016 PMF would have to be cancelled if an additional US$3.6 million was not immediately paid to cover cost overruns.”

Janspec agreed to the loan demand in exchange for promissory notes. The Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg and Killers-headlined festival lost C$14 million. The Canadian investors loaned Huka another C$2 million after the festival to pay outstanding invoices. 

Losses mounted, changes demanded

Janspec sought advice from a Canadian producer, who was not identified, in October 2016. They met with “two highly recognized producers” about reorganizing the 2017 festival, but neither would participate if Huka and its principals remained involved. 

In early 2017, Huka balked at Janspec’s offer to buy out Huka’s interest in the festival. Two offers to buy interest in Huka and the festival were withdrawn. 

At the end of March, Huka budgeted C$28 million to produce the 2017 festival, based on 40,000 attendees per day. The producer consulting with the Canadian investors submitted a C$23 million budget, based on 45,000 attendees. 

Ticket presales began Feb. 23, but Janspec told Huka, in writing, that they would not continue if Huka was to continue its role and alleged that Huka breached the land licensing deal. The parties went into mediation for three weeks in April, which led to a Huka subsidiary, Twisted Tree, being replaced by a numbered company, 1115666 B.C. Ltd., as the general partner. 

Girling, Burnaby mining company executive Jim Dales and Huka representative Stephane Lescure were the three directors. 

Between April 19 and 28, C$4.1 million was released by TicketFly Inc. to Huka, to pay $3.2 million in deposits for performers, vendors and producer fees. Public ticket sales resumed May 2. 

The Canadian investors told the trustee that Huka made unfulfilled promises to bring in a new investor, and that Huka made US$3.45 million in producer fees, but “the Canadian investors had received no funds in return on their investment.” 

Janspec’s Wilcox (Mackin)

The B.C. numbered company’s directors voted for bankruptcy on the evening of May 16. In the morning of May 18, Ernst and Young filed with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. 

Dales attended the meeting, but did not answer any creditors’ questions or stop to speak with reporters outside. Likewise for Janspec vice-president Nyal Wilcox, who left with a “no comment.” After the meeting, theBreaker visited the Janspec office on the seventh floor of John Robson Place on Robson Street. Girling was seen in the office by a reporter, but she did not respond to a question about the money owed to ticketholders. Wilcox blocked theBreaker’s camera, asked a reporter to leave immediately and locked the door.

theBreaker’s phone calls to Huka founder A.J. Niland and CEO Evan Harrison were not returned. 

Brennan’s report said there is interest in reviving the festival, but “there are a myriad of complex issues to hosting an event such as the PMF, including the required governmetnal and other approvals.

“The trustee cautions the public and ticketholders that, nothwithstanding media reports that parties are seeking to host the previously cancelled festival, the likelihood of a successful event for 2017 is highly unlikely,” the report said.

Joseph Spears, a Horseshoe Bay businessman with 2 Narrows Productions, is putting together a group aiming to salvage the festival this summer. He wants to make it a charity event under the Canada 150 banner. Spears said he hopes it can happen on the festival site in Pemberton on the original July 13-16 dates, but he said alternate dates and venues are being considered. Spears’ group includes Neilson and Los Angeles-based James Thomas Productions. He said he is in touch with representatives of the trustee and Janspec, but declined to discuss details because of a confidentiality agreement.

“I’m pretty confident that we can sort all of this out and move forward,” Spears said. “As you clean up the past, we’re looking forward, we’re not looking behind. We’re looking onto the horizon, seeing Mount Currie rise and so will the festival.” 

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Bob Mackin Pemberton Music Festival may be remembered more

Miscellany, News

Bob Mackin 

BC Hydro appears to have one set of books about the $9 billion Site C dam project for the B.C. Utilities Commission and another set of books for the Crown corporation’s directors and executives.  

Just before last Christmas, the public-owned utility released its first annual report to the BCUC, claiming it had spent $1.3 billion on the project by Sept. 30, 2016.

But, BC Hydro censored all budget and expenditure figures, names of contractors and amounts paid to First Nations from documents that it sent four months late to theBreaker. 

The BC Liberal cabinet intentionally diverted the megaproject from BCUC review. A Green-supported NDP minority government pledges to send Site C to BCUC for review. Such a move could stop the controversial megaproject that is costing taxpayers more than the entire estimated cost of building and operating the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

theBreaker applied, under the freedom of information laws, on Dec. 14, 2016 for all agendas, minutes and PowerPoint or like presentations for Site C project board meetings since Oct. 26, 2016. BC Hydro was supposed to respond by Jan. 30, but did not release the documents until May 31 — more than three weeks since the provincial election.

The documents — censored by BC Hydro for fear of financial harm to the Crown corporation and its contractors — include the agenda and a report to the Nov. 14, 2016 project board meeting. Attendees included BC Hydro chair Brad Bennett and ex-BC Hydro executive Susan Yurkovich. Bennett campaigned with Premier Christy Clark during the election. Yurkovich is now the head of the Council of Forest Industries, but remains a Site C “board advisor.” 

The presentation to the board said year one early works were completed within budget, but environmental compliance continued to be challenging. The overall schedule milestones were on track to meet the 2019 river diversion, but the schedule was censored.  

The report said 900 hectares had been cleared cleared and 2.4 million cubic metres of material excavated. Challenges included geotechnical conditions, the Rocky Mountain Fort protest and weather. 

BC Hydro had acted on only one of the 10 recommendations from Ernst and Young. The presentation showed the project was on track for the June awarding of the Cache Creek roads contract and July awarding of the generating station and spillways civil contract.

See the documents below. 

 

BCH 2017-167_Final Response (Sent 31 May 2017) by BobMackin on Scribd

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Bob Mackin  BC Hydro appears to have one

Opinion

Bob Mackin

Just because Premier Christy Clark’s speaking notes contained the word “Humble” in big letters at a May 30 news conference does not mean she will actually be humble in June. 

Expect the opposite. She knows no other way. 

Remember that when the Legislature returns and a throne speech is delivered. 

The transition from BC Liberal rule to a Green-supported NDP minority government will not be quick. It may not happen at all. 

Clark on May 30.

Lame duck Clark has too many reasons to drag this on through summer and beyond, especially when the likes of Kevin Falcon, Andrew Wilkinson and Sam Sullivan are exploring leadership bids. 

Too many corporate donors who paid into the Liberal war chest ($21.3 million raised since the start of 2016!) will want to see returns on their “investments.” There are contracts to award and megaprojects to continue, such as the $3.5 billion (plus $8 billion interest) Massey tunnel bridge replacement and the $9 billion Site C dam. More paycheques to write for patronage appointees and Liberal-leaning mandarins. There are hard drives the Clark Clique will want to erase and paper to shred, for fear of political foes and the public learning how naughty they’ve been since 2001.

You see, after the throne speech, there is traditionally the debate on the throne speech. It will not be a one-day exercise. 

Ask yourself these questions. Would you easily allow for your demotion? Would you agree to have your pay and perks cut, only to see your adversary across the aisle suddenly become richer than you? 

The Duchess of Dunbar will naturally resist and she will be anything but humble.

Clark and the 42 others in her caucus will use as much time as they can to pontificate. They’ll remind the NDP and Greens that more British Columbians voted Liberal, even if it was by just over 1,500. Oh, they’ll certainly miss the three Liberal cabinet ministers that were defeated (four, if you count junior minister Naomi Yamamoto), but that won’t stop career politicians Rich Coleman and Mike de Jong from their usual antics. 

NDP and Green members will reciprocate with their critical takes on Liberal corruption and cronyism. They will no doubt remind the Liberals that 60% of voters wanted change and chose parties other than the Liberals. And on it will go. 

The last three throne speeches under a Clark Liberal majority featured between 33 and 37 MLAs standing up and bloviating over several weeks. 

A filibuster of epic proportions will happen when the Legislature resumes.

The Liberals will ultimately control when the confidence vote is called and you just know they’ll use every trick in the book to have one more member on their side in the chamber than their Green and NDP opponents. B.C. could be stuck with the Clark Clique for months to come. If you’re a Green or NDP supporter, get your protest signs and marching shoes ready. 

Good thing that the Legislature advertised in February for contractors to upgrade the air conditioning system. Expect a long, hot summer in the capital. 

Of course, all the above would be a moot point if Clark simply adheres to her new year’s resolution to “be there more for her son,” Hamish, and cedes power to a Premier John Horgan.

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Bob Mackin Just because Premier Christy Clark’s

News

Bob Mackin 

A West Vancouver businessman who is a veteran of salvaging sunken ships and mopping-up oil spills wants to resurrect the Pemberton Music Festival and make it a celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. 

Joseph Spears of Horseshoe Bay Marine Group and 2 Narrows Productions says he has financial backers, sponsors and a U.S. concert producer ready to go. In a Monday interview with theBreaker, Spears said after the Victoria Day weekend, he contacted the Pemberton land owner  — a company owned by a former director of the bankrupt festival — to seek an urgent meeting. But he is puzzled why there is no rush to sit down and discuss his proposal. 

Joseph Spears (Mackin)

“I just can’t believe they’re not making any efforts,” Spears said. 

On May 18, the July 11-16, Huka Entertainment-produced festival was cancelled and declared bankrupt after selling $8.225 million in tickets. The rising cost of U.S. performers and the low loonie were blamed. A meeting of creditors is scheduled for June 6 at Robson Square in Vancouver. 

“We can still work to that July 11 date, if we get some response by the next two or three days,” Spears said.

Trustee Ernst and Young says $13.17 million is owed to unsecured creditors, mostly ticketholders. The two secured creditors, 1644609 Alberta Ltd. and Janspec Holdings Ltd., claim a combined $3.7 million. The festival had $6.6 million in assets, including $2.9 million cash.  

Spears has hired Vancouver insolvency lawyer David Lunny, a co-owner of Drumkeeran House in Pemberton, to represent him. Spears said his group could buy or lease the land so that the concert could proceed. He once assisted a consortium proposing a private school for the Sunstone Ridge Developments-owned land. Under Spears’ plan, tickets bought through May 18 would be honoured. 

Amanda Girling, a director of both Janspec and Sunstone, and two others quit the board of the festival’s general partner, 1115666 B.C. Ltd., the week before the cancellation. Sunstone’s 273 acres in Pemberton, which includes the festival site, are advertised for sale at $16.8 million. 

Amanda Girling

“This is basically a blight on B.C., tourism is affected by this, community is affected by this, the [ticket holders] are going to lose the funds that were advanced, the suppliers, all those small business people, I thought that was wrong, so let’s make this happen and rock on,” Spears said.

Girling has not responded to messages from theBreaker. Her lawyer, William Skelly, said by email that he expected to speak with Spears’ lawyer on Monday night. “We have had some difficulty connecting with Mr. Spears lawyer.”

Girling and her brother Jeremy Turner are directors of both Janspec and Sunstone, companies they founded in 2009 with their father Clifford Turner. Clifford Turner, a co-founder of British packaging giant Linpac, died in 2015 before his 95th birthday.

Spears has a message for Skelly and Girling. 

“I’d say reconsider your position, there is a whole lot of people out there, well over 18,000 people, that are going to create a lot of friction. So let’s move forward, let’s work together, all bankruptcies are unfortunate,” Spears said. “Let’s get through this and make this Canada 150 reboot concert a reality in 2017.”

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Bob Mackin  A West Vancouver businessman who is

News

Horgan and Weaver agree to defeat Clark (Twitter)

Bob Mackin

The clock is ticking toward the end of 16 years of BC Liberal rule and, possibly, the end of Christy Clark’s political career. 

BC Greens leader Andrew Weaver announced May 29 that his party would support a minority NDP government led by John Horgan, ending almost three weeks of uncertainty. He said it was a four-year deal and would give the province a “stable minority.”

The deal, which has not been released, is pending ratification by the NDP caucus on May 30. 

The NDP won 41 seats in the May 9 election. The 41st was confirmed by a recount and absentee ballots in Courtenay-Comox last week. The Greens tripled their seats to three. The incumbent Liberals had 49 seats before dissolution, but fell to 43. That was one shy of majority status in the next 87-seat Legislature. 

A hint of the announcement came late Sunday when Horgan and Weaver were photographed at Westhills Stadium in Langford at the final of the Canada 7s women’s rugby sevens tournament. Both insist they had further talks afterward. 

Horgan and Weaver cited common platforms and that almost 60% of British Columbians voted for parties other than the Clark Liberals. 

The announcement came three hours after Clark Tweeted a video of her outside her office at Canada Place, wearing green clothes, claiming that her party was working toward a “progressive” solution. Clark was the only one of the three leaders who was not involved in negotiations. She let Brad Bennett, the BC Hydro chair, head the Liberal committee.

theBreaker has learned that Clark called an emergency caucus meeting  for 10 a.m. Monday, which meant she posted the video less than an hour later. A last, desperate pitch via social media while wearing a darker shade of the colour of the party she was hoping would help prop-up a party infested with corruption and cronyism. 

Norman Spector, the former Brian Mulroney and Bill Bennett aide that Weaver enlisted for negotiations, gave a glimpse into how the deal was made. “It’s true that [Horgan] and [Weaver] worked very well over the past couple of weeks,” Spector Tweeted.

“Ultimately, BC Greens recoiled (sometimes physically) at the prospect of supporting a Liberal government.” 

Reporters were given less than an hour’s notice of the announcement, outside the Legislative chamber at the Parliament Buildings. The announcement of the news conference, worded identically, with Horgan’s name before Weaver, was sent first to the Greens media list and nine minutes later to those on the NDP list. 

Weaver emphatically stated that the Greens have agreed to support an NDP minority government, rather than joining a coalition. The Green caucus will continue to meet separately and vote issue-by-issue, but will support the NDP throne speech and budget. 

After ratification, the next step is a trip to Government House and a meeting with Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon. But will Clark resign or recall the Legislature, present a throne speech and resign when it’s defeated? 

Falcon

One way or another, the arrangement is destined to end the controversial rule of Clark as BC Liberal premier. Clark’s reign was marred by various scandals over limitless fundraising, spending taxpayers’ money on party campaigns and the unjust firing of eight researchers in the pharmaceuticals safety division of the Ministry of Health. One of them, Roderick MacIsaac, died of suicide. 

Who’s next? 

Former Finance Minister Kevin Falcon is exploring a run for the leadership. Party sources tell theBreaker that Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson (Vancouver Quilchena) and backbencher Sam Sullivan (Vancouver False Creek) are organizing campaign teams. Supporters of former Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts are said to be discussing a leadership bid with the Conservative MP. 

Clark defeated Falcon for the party leadership on Feb. 26, 2011 and was sworn-in as Gordon Campbell’s successor on March 14, 2011. She became the first woman in B.C. to lead a party to a provincial election victory when the Liberals upset Adrian Dix and the NDP on May 14, 2013. She lost her seat in Vancouver-Point Grey to the NDP’s David Eby, but returned to the Legislature in a summer 2013 by-election after Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart stepped aside. She rewarded him later that year with a $150,000-a-year job as B.C.’s Beijing-based trade envoy. 

Watts

For more than a year, Clark governed under the cloud of the cash for access scandal. She appeared at unadvertised party fundraisers where attendees were charged as much as $20,000 to meet her. It was revealed that Clark received a $50,000-a-year stipend from the party. The RCMP and a special prosecutor are investigating donations made by lobbyists on behalf of their clients. 

theBreaker revealed that the party paid for Clark’s Buick Enclave SUV from Dueck GM. She broke her promise to buy property in Kelowna. Instead, she lives in a rented Dunbar house that sold in 2016 for $3.7 million to a real estate investor who works for party donor and Vancouver Whitecaps’ owner Greg Kerfoot.

Clark, her public relations staff and even her lawyer all ignored questions from theBreaker about whether she actually pays rent to live in the house and who the owner really is. 

 

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[caption id="attachment_4580" align="alignright" width="662"] Horgan and Weaver

News

theBreaker understands that the decision on who will govern British Columbia (and how) after the nail-biting May 9 election result is coming this afternoon. A source says the announcement about the B.C. Greens and… another party… is coming as early as 2 p.m.

Andrew Weaver led his B.C. Greens to three seats and the balance of power. Incumbent Premier Christy Clark’s BC Liberals fell from 49 to 43 seats — one shy of a majority in the next 87-seat Legislature — while the NDP under John Horgan sits at 41. 

UPDATE: Weaver and Horgan have a deal and will announce the terms at 2 p.m. at the golden gates, outside the Legislature. It appears the BC Liberal government since 2001 is almost over. 

Stay tuned for developments… 

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theBreaker understands that the decision on who

News

Bob Mackin

The lawyer for a former director of the numbered company behind the bankrupt Pemberton Music Festival is pointing the finger back at New Orleans-based producer Huka Entertainment. 

Amanda Girling was one of three directors who quit 1115666 B.C. Ltd. the week before the July 13-16 festival was cancelled and put into bankruptcy. Girling did not respond to phone or email messages from theBreaker. Her lawyer, William Skelly, said he would only answer questions via email on her behalf. 

Amanda Girling

A Huka statement issued after the May 18 cancellation claimed that it was PMF’s decision. Asked whether that was accurate, Skelly wrote that the bankruptcy and cancellation were approved by all members of the board. “One of the members of the board was a representative of Huka [Stephane Lescure of Calabasas, Calif.]. He also approved of the resolution to assign the [General Partnership] and [Limited Partnership] into bankruptcy.”

There was no answer at Lescure’s listed phone number when theBreaker tried calling.

The numbered company, which also included Site C dam subcontractor Jim Dales, replaced Twisted Tree Circus, a company run by Huka executives Evan Harrison and A.J. Niland, as the general partner in April.

Ticket holders are the largest group of unsecured creditors, for a total $8.225 million of the $13.17 million owed to unsecured creditors. The two secured creditors, 1644609 Alberta Ltd. and Girling’s Janspec Holdings Ltd., claim a combined $3.57 million. The $6.6 million in assets includes $2.9 million cash. 

The first meeting of creditors is scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 6 at Vancouver’s Robson Square complex. The Ernst and Young notice says creditors must lodge a proof of claim in order to vote at the meeting. 

Billboard reported May 26 that Huka had commenced layoffs. 

theBreaker asked Skelly whether Girling, Lescure and third director Jim Dales considered downsizing the festival by the number of days or performers. He said there was no alternative financing available. 

“The board considered all alternatives to allow the festival to proceed,” Skelly wrote. “It is unfortunate for ticketholders, artists, suppliers and all those affected that, with the insufficient ticket sales and unfavorable currency exchange, the festival had to be cancelled.”

Festival site for sale 

The Girling-controlled Sunstone Ridge Developments lands, which hosted the festival, are listed for sale at $16.8 million through agent Paul Prade of Coldwell Banker Commercial. The 273-acre property, which has residential zoning for 40 acres, was assessed at $7.49 million last year. 

“The owners have invested over $2 million in site improvements, engineering, and consultant reports. The owners will retain the right to leaseback the farmland,” says the sales brochure. “Sunstone Ridge is offered for sale as is or as a joint venture opportunity with a strategic partner.” 

Skelly refused to say why it is for sale. He deemed the question “not relevant.”

Skelly also deemed several other questions from theBreaker “not relevant,” such as a request to see the Turner Foundation’s annual audited financial statements, why Girling is not speaking directly to the media, and whether her other businesses, including the Oak Tree Manor seniors home in Nanaimo, are in jeopardy. 

Daniel Fontaine, CEO of the B.C. Care Providers Association, said Oak Tree Manor is not a member of his association or the B.C. Seniors Living Association. 

Vancouver headquarters of Girling-owned companies (Mackin)

Girling is an heiress to the fortune of her late father Clifford Turner. The British-born packaging tycoon died in 2015, a few months shy of his 95th birthday. He was the last surviving co-founder of Linpac. A June 2003 story in the Telegraph described Linpac as a maker of fast food boxes for McDonald’s and shipping crates for Harley Davidson motorcycles, and valued at 900 million GBP.

Girling, her brother Jeremy Turner and Clifford Turner co-founded both Janspec and Sunstone Ridge in 2009. The Turner Foundation is described as a provider of water and education to children and families in Kenya. Last year, it reported only $12,288 in revenue and $12,556 in expenses. 

Girling lives in a mansion on 4.2 acres near Glen Valley in Langley that is registered to AJG Enterprises Inc. It was assessed at $2.134 million last year. Jeremy Turner has a four-storey, ocean view house in White Rock, purchased in June 2016 with a declared value of $2.7 million.

Nyal Wilcox, executive director of the Turner Foundation, replaced Clifford Turner as a director of Sunstone Ridge. Girling and accountant Neil Colquhoun, the president of Janspec Holdings, are listed as officers of the company.

Marc Geiger, the head of music at leading talent agency WME, vowed to pursue all the organizers personally, to the full extent of the law. Geiger represents several acts that were booked to play Pemberton, including Tegan and Sara. 

Skelly had no comment. 

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Bob Mackin The lawyer for a former director

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Bob Mackin

The email purge apparently resumed in Premier Christy Clark’s office before the provincial election was called. 

theBreaker applied under the freedom of information law for all of communications director Ben Chin’s email, in all folders, for the period of 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on April 6. That was the day when Ombudsperson Jay Chalke released his scathing 487-page report into the unjust 2012 firing of eight drug safety researchers in the Ministry of Health. The 11 a.m.-unveiled report was the dominant provincial story on the last Thursday before the election period officially began April 11. 

On May 25, more than two weeks after the governing BC Liberals lost their majority status, the Office of the Premier sent theBreaker a scant three-pages.

Clark’s top fart-catcher, Ben Chin (BC Gov)

The three pages contain not a single syllable about the Clark administration’s reaction to the Chalke report. They consist of an email between Chin and press secretary Stephen Smart (both former CBC journalists), with an attached two-page, opinion-editorial about B.C. softwood lumber exports to the U.S. Ghost-written for Clark.  

Chalke concluded the eight researchers, including suicide victim Roderick MacIsaac, should never have been fired and that the government lied when it claimed the RCMP was investigating a data breach. Chalke’s office also issued a news release headlined “Flawed 2012 investigation, rushed decisions had widespread repercussions.” 

The executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association was dismayed by the lack of disclosure. 

“It does seem odd that the head communications person in the Premier’s office would have so few incoming or outgoing e-mails on the day of a major report affecting the reputation of the government,” Vince Gogolek told theBreaker. “Or maybe not so odd, given what has happened in the past with important government records.”

History of deception, deceit and delete

In her damning October 2015 report, then-Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham found the government was systemically evading the public disclosure law. Staff in Clark’s office and Transport Minister Todd Stone’s office were mass-deleting email on their computers and the government’s server in a practice called triple-deleting. Stone aide George Gretes eventually pleaded guilty to lying to Denham while under oath. 

Clark responded to Denham’s “Access Denied” report by ordering all cabinet ministers and staff to retain their email. Clark’s office hired Denham’s predecessor, David Loukidelis. He made 27 recommendations in his mid-December 2015 report, including a ban on triple deleting email and an endorsement of the Denham-proposed duty to document law.

Elizabeth Denham, now U.K’s information watchdog.

The BC Liberal government gave itself a pat on the back for the March 16-passed Documenting Government Decisions Act, but Gogolek said it was anything but the duty to document law that Denham had conceived. Instead, it is entirely discretionary, because it merely gives the Chief Information Officer power to bring in “directives and guidelines” on records creation. 

In February, the NDP unsuccessfully proposed the Public Records Accountability Act, which included explicit duty to document language and fines up to $50,000 for the unauthorized destruction of government information. 

The party’s culture of concealment includes its Ontario-import executive director. Laura Miller is facing a trial to begin Sept. 11 in Toronto. The breach of trust, data mischief and computer system misuse charges date back to Miller’s time as an aide to Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty in 2011. Chin is also a former McGuinty aide. 

Chalke’s report mentioned that Deputy Health Minister Stephen Brown and the premier’s deputy John Dyble met with Chin in December 2013 “to tell him that there would likely be a number of settlements with terminated employees over the following year, which would need to be managed from a communications perspective.” Chin apparently favoured a third-party review, but the government didn’t act until early October 2014, three days after MacIsaac’s sister Linda Kayfish held an NDP-supported news conference. 

“There is no indication that, but for Ms. Kayfish’s press conference government would have established the review at that time, if ever,” Chalke wrote.

“[Clark’s] senior political staff and managers and her deputy minister get together, they find out they wrongly dismissed people and they did nothing to tell the truth about it, even though they had smeared them publicly,” said NDP critic Adrian Dix. “That says everything you need to know about them.” 

When that review was finally published in December 2014, lawyer Marcia McNeil said it was inconclusive because she lacked “the reports, briefing notes, meeting notes or other documents which are frequently prepared in situations where discipline may be contemplated.”

On April 11, before the Legislature was dissolved, Kayfish challenged Clark to look her in the eyes, apologize and take responsibility for the health firings and her brother’s death. Clark told reporters she would repeat a previous apology if it would bring Kayfish “some closure,” but she has refused to take responsibility.

In the May 9 election, Clark’s BC Liberals went from 49 to 43 seats and lost their majority. The Liberals and the 41-seat NDP are both in talks with the Andrew Weaver-led Greens, which hold a three-seat balance of power. 

UPDATE, May 31: theBreaker has filed a formal complaint and request for an investigation directly to Information and Privacy Commissioner Drew McArthur. If you are concerned about the BC Liberals mass-deleting or destroying public records while the governance of British Columbia remains unsettled, you can also complain to McArthur. His email address is DMcArthur@oipc.bc.ca

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Bob Mackin The email purge apparently resumed in

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Bob Mackin

On May 16, theBreaker exclusively reported that the BC Liberals had raised almost $7.3 million between New Year’s Day and Election Day. That figure was based on the party’s unaudited, proactive disclosures on its website. 

Right before Victoria Day weekend, the party slipped another PDF onto its website. After conversion to Excel, theBreaker has discovered that the Liberals brought in another $914,751.50 in donations.

That pushes the total for 2017 so far to a whopping $8,211,335.27. 

Compare that to the $7.44 million the party raised for the entire 2008 calendar year. Add it to the $13.1 million gross from 2016, and the Liberals have raised $21.3 million in less than 17 months. Deputy Premier Rich Coleman boasted last September that the party was already “fully funded” for the campaign. So why didn’t it stop?

Elections BC set $4,882,404.95 as the maximum a party could spend during the 28-day election period and $77,674.92 per candidate (or $6,757,691.94 for a full slate in 87 ridings). Even if the Liberals spent to the limit under both categories, they would have a sizeable war chest for 2021 or sooner.

The new list includes $100,000 from Rick Ilich, the CEO of Townline Homes, which ties Goldcorp’s Jan. 4 donation of $100,000 for the biggest single contribution of the 2017.

Townline scored a $23.2 million loan from BC Housing in late 2015 for a Port Moody project called The Strand. BC Housing is the Crown corporation under Coleman’s control. 

Ilich also gave the party $100,000 in February 2016, on the same day that the party was showered with $700,000 from various arms of the Wall-Redekop clan. 

The new list also shows $75,000 from Wesgroup Properties, $50,000 from Maple Ridge Plaza Properties Ltd., and $30,000 from Burnco Rock Products Ltd. 

There were four donations from four of developer Norman Cressey’s numbered companies, totalling $100,000. 

Robert Bosa’s BlueSky Properties Inc. and Bosa Properties gave $25,000 each. Though the Liberals claim they processed the donations on May 12, donations may have been received many months prior. 

Citizens disgusted

Despite widespread calls for reforms, there are still no legal limits to the size or source of donations to B.C. provincial or municipal political parties. The RCMP and special prosecutor David Butcher are investigating donations made by lobbyists on behalf of their clients, after a March 4 Globe and Mail story. The Liberals have returned nearly $250,000 in illegal donations. 

Under the freedom of information law, theBreaker asked March 17 for copies of correspondence to the Office of the Premier about BC Liberal fundraising, the lack of laws, and Elections BC calling in the RCMP to investigate lobbyists donations. According to documents received May 23, the citizens who wrote to Premier Christy Clark wanted immediate change. Many said they would base their ballot box decision on the need for campaign finance reform.

(The Premier’s office censored the names of letter-writers, citing a privacy clause in the FOI law.)  

March 4, 10:38 a.m.: “The current lack of limits on who can donate and how much is corrupting to our system of government. Is would and must be changed. Your lack of action on this is morally wrong and should damage your re-election chances. For what to do and how, look to Quebec, which used to be the target of many corruption allegations and is now becoming a model of campaign financing probity.” 

March 5, 12:41 p.m.: “The B.C. rules on poetical donations are a blight on democracy in our province. It is time for real limits on how political parties are funded. This will certainly affect my vote this year.”

March 6, 2:53 p.m.: “How can you possibly project yourselves as competent and trustworthy guardians of what is best for this great province when you refuse to address this issue? It is irresponsible and reeks of the potential for corruption – or, more likely, it is corrupt already.” 

March 7, 3:23 p.m.: “Donations from large corporations to the Liberal Party of B.C. is legalized bribery. It appears that your government has been bought and paid for by the corporate lobby.”

March 9, 4:53 p.m.: “So now I will know in real time who is buying the government. Stop legalized corruption of our democracy. Do the right thing by ending corporate and union donations and limiting individual contributions. This election is yours to lose.” 

March 13, 9:18 p.m.: “I don’t want my government determining health policy based on the size of donations to the governing party from Big Pharma, Big Pot, Big Alcohol, or Big Tobacco, establishing environment programs based on the size of donations from the oil industry or fish farmers, or deciding taxation and social safety net strategy based on the size of donations from only the wealthiest citizens.” 

March 14, 7:41 a.m.: “Legislation can be enacted quickly – the ethically right thing to do would be to change the law today. There should be no donations over one hundred dollars.” 

March 10, 11:20 a.m.: “Unlimited corporate and union donations to political parties are not only unethical, but also are eventually poisonous to the recipient. We’re watching and we don’t like what we see. The optics suck!”

March 10, 10:34 p.m.: “Accepting money from foreign corporations and holding private meetings where rich people can get the undivided attention of politicians is beyond despicable. Apparently ethics in politics is not a part of the Liberal party of British Columbia’s strong suits.”

March 6, 8:30 p.m.: “I think that it is time to put a cap on donations. Access to government by a monied few is not right.” 

The documents released to theBreaker included a copy of an undated, handwritten letter from a citizen that had apparently been trying to get a meeting or phone call with Clark for two years, but could not afford to attend a cash-for-access fundraiser. 

“Sadly, because of financial constraints, most of us cannot participate in the above practices, which in essence is undermining the ‘democratic process’. It is becoming evident that British Columbia is essentially a plutocracy, where the wealthiest of us are now governing the province.” 

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Bob Mackin On May 16, theBreaker exclusively

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