This Day In Clarkland...Giving The Dean What He Wants.

AllYourInquiries'R
OursVille


From Mr. Shaw of the VSun:

VICTORIA — The B.C. government has asked the independent Ombudsperson to probe the botched 2012 firings of eight health researchers.

Health Minister Terry Lake has asked the legislature’s standing finance committee to refer the case to the Ombudsperson...
Meanwhile...

Which, of course, is why the Wizards of Equity Place had to move so fast.


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The good Mr. Palmer had something to do with this?....Sure did.


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Canada Day's Alright For (NotUke) Cover Fighting.

SomeKeysAreAlwaysGoingToBeJustA
LittleOffVille


When we were kids our Dad bought home three LP's with the new record player.

I'm pretty sure one of them was Arlo's post-Alice grab-bag of Hobo songs. And if I'm wrong one of my brothers will correct me.

But I know for sure that one of them was also that last S&G album with all the hits.

When we were wearing out the grooves for the first time, I was pretty certain that the brains behind the operation was the tall kinda cool looking guy in the back.

And even though I didn't believe him at first back in those pro-Googlified times, my littlest brother (who later became the real musician) set me straight.

Who knew the little guy in the front would just keep on keepin' on for pretty much ever?

****

This tune came out much later.

By then we were living in Vancouver (the first time) and C. was running a daycare while I went to Gradual School and developed a somewhat problematic Revello addiction.

We bought the album on cassette.

I know it made it down to Berkeley but I'm not entirely sure it made it all the way back...

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Other cover tunes currently in the rotation can be found...Here.


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This Day In Clarkland: Burying The Mt. Polley Report...

AllTheNewscycleSpikeSpinThat
FitsVille


...Under the 'coincidental' same day release of the Transit Plebiscite (non) results.

****

Via the MoCo:

A report released by B.C.'s Information and Privacy Commissionerabout the Mount Polley Mine disaster last summer reveals that the province had information that indicated a potential safety risk that it did not disclose to local residents — but it didn't have to do so.

The commissioner examined records from the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Environment from January 2009 to August 2014.

The report found that the information the ministries had about the mine did not meet provincial requirements to share the risks to residents. However, they did have information about two events — a tension crack and a "freeboard incident" — that they could have disclosed nonetheless.

"With today's report, I have concluded that urgent circumstances are no longer required to trigger proactive disclosure where there is a clear public interest in disclosure of the information," said the commissioner Elizabeth Denham in a written statement...


So.

The government had information that indicated a potential safety risk to to the public and the environment and they didn't tell anybody.

But, according to the 'rules' they didn't really have to tell anybody.

Therefore the actual disaster is an impetus for changing the 'rules' about actually telling people what is actually going on.

Just think about that for a minute, because...

I mean it's like the precautionary principle times negative eleventy billion infinities.

Sheesh.



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Crowd Sourcing For A Country.

Ya, sure...

They have only hit ~0.1% of their goal so far.

But 1.5 million euros and more than 90,000 contributors is, at the very least, some kind of statement don't you think?

This Day In Clarkland...'I Would Support A Corruption Inquiry'.

Rob Shaw of The VSun talks to Alana James...

In Australia:

The whistleblower whose concerns led to the investigation and firing of government health researchers is speaking publicly for the first time, and says B.C. should hold a full public inquiry into alleged corruption.

Alana James, who worked as a senior health information advisor in the Ministry of Health during the 2012 firings, said she wants a deeper probe into allegations she first raised about conflicts of interest, contracting, privacy breaches, data handling and financial matters involving ministry health research and contracting.

“I would support a corruption inquiry,” James told The Sun in an email exchange from Australia, where she now works as a lawyer.

“I would not support a review by the Ombudsperson.”

James would be a key witness in any review. Not only was it her concerns that first prompted the ministry investigation, but she has also kept key emails and documents about the initial stages of the government’s actions...


Gosh.

Whatever will the Dean say?


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Go read Mr. Shaw's entire piece....Ms. James, who says the fired 8 were scapegoated, talks a lot about how this 'business' is much bigger and more endemic than anything that has been speculated on so far.
Merv Adey, who is on fire over at his blog, tells us about...The foreshadowing.



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New Music Tuesday...'The Collection'.

AllTheTuneificationThat
FitsVille


There's a whiff of the earnestness of the sky pilot on 'em.

But what the hell...

I dig them anyway.

A more restrained, NPRish version (literally) of this tune, which is called 'The Gown of Green', can be found, here.

Their website, where you can buy their stuff, is here.

(and they'll be in Seattle in September)


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Not that I'm suggesting that there is anything whatsoever wrong with the earnestness for earnestness sake...
Rod Mickleburgh has a solid 'B-List' of Canada Day songs up over at his place....Here.



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This Day In Clarkland...Horse 1A Has Left The Stable.

AllBetsHedged
'RUsVille


From Mr. MacLeod of The Tyee:

After 17 years as an MLA and many years in cabinet, George Abbott is no longer a member of the BC Liberal Party that he once sought to lead.

"I made a decision not to renew [my membership]," he told The Tyee. "It wasn't a dramatic and instantaneous rip-up-the-card-and-burn-it kind of thing. This is something I've thought about for awhile."...

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Horse 1A and bet-hedging and all that?....This.


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This Day In Clarkland...They Don't Call Him The Dean For Nothing.

ThereIsAClub
HerdVille


Last Thursday we noticed that Mr. Palmer of the VSun and the current Clarklandian Minister pretty much simultaneously came up with the 'idea' of taking the health care researcher firing mess to the Ombudsperson instead of setting up a public inquiry.

And then Mr. Horgan weighed in, as noted by Cindy Harnett of the VTC:

...B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan argued the province’s new ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, a former assistant deputy minister of justice who starts on July 2, would be in the position of investigating his former staff.

“I think that’s a pretty difficult start to a new job,” Horgan said. “It’s not fair to the individuals or the office.”...


And how did the 'Dean' of the Lotuslandian Legislative gallery respond, almost immediately, in his next column the following day (i.e. Friday)?

Thusly:

...The ombudsman, as noted here Thursday, has all the powers needed to get to the bottom things: summon witnesses, take testimony under oath, seek documents and so forth. The office is independent of government and reports directly to the legislature. And if past practice is any guide, an independent officer of the legislature can get the answers in a matter of months if not weeks, unlike public inquiries, which can drag on for years.

But the office is in transition, with outgoing ombudsman Kim Carter preparing to step down and her successor, Jay Chalke, not scheduled to take up a six-year term until July 1.

He comes highly recommended by both parties in the legislature. The New Democrats and the B.C. Liberals on the selection committee last month signed off unanimously on a report that said he has “an extensive background in … the conduct of fair and independent investigations.”

Sounds like an ironclad testimonial. But as the New Democrats among others pointed out, Chalke has served for the past few years as an assistant deputy in the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

The ministry would likely be drawn into any inquiry because of the outstanding question of who decided to put that business into the press release about the fired health workers being under police investigation.

In light of that concern, Chalke could chose to delegate the investigation to the deputy ombudsman or another official, as is permitted under the legislation for his office.

Before getting to that point, he would first have to agree that the office should take on the matter, and he can’t be asked to do that until he takes up his duties later next week. He could refuse, after concluding that this mess was the last thing he needs as the new watchdog on the block.

The Ombudsperson Act does say that the “the legislative assembly or any of its committees may at any time refer a matter to the ombudsperson for investigation and report.”

In that event, the ombudsman must 1) investigate and 2) report back. So if the government really wanted to engage the office, it could proceed by bringing in a motion when the house sits July 13...


Gosh.

Notice how that wee little matter of a potential conflict of interest was deftly swept under the rug by the good Mr. Palmer.

Regardless...

By Sunday that noted deep thinker and all around deep sea 'both-sides-do-it' diver, Mr. Smyth of The Province, went out of his way to try and turn the three-day-old 'Ombuddy Solution' into conventional wisdom:

...Watch for the government to appoint provincial ombudsman Jay Chalke to investigate and produce a public report. It’s not the full public inquiry critics are demanding, but Chalke has the power to subpoena documents and witnesses.

The announcement of such an inquiry may come soon — before the legislature resumes sitting for a rare summer session starting July 13...


Sure Mr. Chalke has the 'power'.

But here's the thing...

Would the Clarklandians, and more specifically, Attorney General Ms. Suzanne Anton, actually let him wield it, especially if his preliminary investigations led him to the 'Executive Council' (i.e. the Clarklandian inner sanctum)?

Reader GWest sent us to the heart of that matter's darkness in the actual Ombudsperson's Act.

Section 18 to be exact:

Attorney General may restrict investigative powers

18 (1) The Ombudsperson must not enter any premises and must not require any information or answer to be given or any document or thing to be produced if the Attorney General certifies that entering the premises, giving the information, answering the question or producing the document or thing might

(a) interfere with or impede the investigation or detection of an offence,

(b) result in or involve the disclosure of deliberations of the Executive Council, or

(c) result in or involve the disclosure of proceedings of the Executive Council or a committee of it, relating to matters of a secret or confidential nature and that the disclosure would be contrary or prejudicial to the public interest.


(2) The Ombudsperson must report each certificate of the Attorney General to the Legislative Assembly not later than in the Ombudsperson's next annual report.

Do you see what's really going on here now?


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There's a Club?....You bet there is.
Up next...The public inquiries that Mr. Palmer did NOT tell you about when he wrote the original 'Ombuddy Solution' column...Stay tuned...


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The Notorious RBG Is...

...Happy.


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For the uninitiated, that would be Ruth Bader Ginsburg.


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Health Care Research Inquiry...Vaughn Palmer, Policy Maker?

Who'sIdeaWasThis
AnywayVille


Which came first, the column or the Minister's 'new' idea?

Both were published today, Thursday June 25th, in the VSun (sans time stamp so I'm not entirely sure who was first as I'm just catching up now, at 7pm, due to busy sci-geek day).

Here's a bit from the 'double-happ(il)y' column by Mr. Palmer under the header 'Public Inquiry not always the best option':

...Happily, there are other options for getting answers and holding the government to account. The keys are independence, coupled with the ability to seek documents, summon witnesses, take testimony under oath and then to write a report that lets the chips fall where they may.

The independent officers of the legislature have the power to do all that and they exercise those powers whenever the need arises. They do so without the spectacle of public hearings and report back to the legislature in timely fashion.

Granted they sometimes incur substantial legal billings as well, though rarely to the extent of a public inquiry. In most instances, they complete their work on budget and in a matter of months.

Mindful of those possibilities, there have been suggestions — from Health Minister Terry Lake among others — to call in the auditor general on the health firings.

In an open letter to Lake Wednesday, seven fired researchers and the sister of an eighth who killed himself expressed a “strong preference” against the auditor general because of the office’s role in passing on the whistleblower complaint that led to the firings in the first place.

Happily there is another option, namely the provincial ombudsman. The leading precedent for that office to inquire into allegations of government wrongdoing was set back in the 1980s, when then ombudsman Stephen Owen reached some damning findings on political interference in the awarding of a pub licence on Knight Street in Vancouver....


And here's a bit from the happy Minister as reported by Rob Shaw:

...B.C.’s health minister says he’s considering asking the province’s independent ombudsperson to investigate the health firings scandal that has plagued the government.

Terry Lake told reporters Thursday that a probe into the botched firings of eight health researchers by the ombudsperson’s office is one way to conduct an independent inquiry without spending too much money or taking too much time.

Lake said asking for an independent watchdog to investigate the file would also address any conflict that exists between having members of the civil service, who were involved in the 2012 firings, continue to decide what information about the case can be released publicly.

“The office of the ombudsperson is potentially that,” Lake said, when asked Thursday...

*****

So.

Regardless who thought of this potential 'solution', (which the Keef has already given his blessing to, btw), all of this has me wondering...

Why?

As in why, suddenly, are the previously stonewalling Clarklandians now bending over backwards to pretend(?) that they are actually amenable to some kind of independent inquiry?

Well....

There is the following, which definitely did come out after both the 'column' and the Minister-babble late today, to consider:

Does anybody not understand the significance of this?

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Ya, But Can She See Roger Ailes From Her House?

ThanksSoMuchJohnny
McCainVille


Via Politico:

...Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in the 2008 presidential election cycle. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1...


And the fruit flies were all boiled in their tanks.

Or some such thing.


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This Day In Clarkland (ctd)...Why The Fired Health Care Researchers Do NOT Want The AG To Head Inquiry.

WhenItMattersConflictsStill
MatterTooVille


From their open letter to current Clarklandian Health minister Mr. Terry Lake:

...It is our strong preference that the inquiry not be conducted by the Auditor General or any other part of government, given that the Auditor General and many other agencies of government were directly involved in the events that led to the 2012 firings. However, if the inquiry is conducted under the auspices of the Auditor General, the inquiry should be stand‐alone and as independent as possible. The inquiry should report to the House and be mandated to release its report, without redactions, to the public at the same time as it is provided to the House...


'Nuff said?



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This Day In Clarkland...The Resurrection Of The Sparkle Ponies.

There'sNoShinyLikeThis
ShinyVille


I remember it like it was only yesterday...

Yes.

That's right, straight from the noted policy-wonk/elevator-chaser's mouth.

Sparkle Ponies for everyone!

****

But, of course, that was before the last election.

And then everything fell apart to the point where even the puffed-up punditry started to downgrade the  Sparkle Ponies in advance of their inevitable demise.

And as for the irresponsibility of the cheerleading that led to the public bamboozlement via Sparkle Pony in the first place?

How could the pro-punditry possibly have 'predicted' what was going to happen?

Or some such thing.

But now?

Well, who cares about all that history, because....

They're back!

And I believe Shane Woodford of 'NW had the story first on Monday:

A fund promising to cure all our financial woes promised by Premier Christy Clark in her election campaign two years ago will finally see the light of day just before the next provincial election.

In a mandate letter to the minister of finance, Christy Clark instructs Mike de Jong to table her promised Prosperity Fund in the legislature in the Spring of 2017.

That is also when the next provincial election will be held...


And, just in case you missed the follow-up misdirection...

To get the immaculate deception ball really rolling there is going to be a one day legislative bacchanal in mid-summer so that the Clarklandians can tell us that we will soon be rolling in so many duodecillions of dough that we won't know what to do with it all.

Heckfire.

Maybe then there will even be private school for every kid forever!

And a $10 million dollar house for every family!

And more.

So much more!



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At the beginning of the week I wondered what 'Big Shiny' bauble would be rolled out in an effort to turn the proMedia herd away from the public inquiry business...As Grant G. pointed out pretty much immediately, this is most definitely it...Will it work?...Stay tuned.
In case you would like a little bit of non-puffed-up local punditry Bloomberg has a pretty good wrap-up of the 'challenges' still facing the Petronas project...And will we get to see the details of the deal before the bacchanal, which will likely really be designed to lock us into the the thing for the 10 million sparkle pony lifetimes?...Well, Cookie Dough Mike promises that we will...But what Mr. de Jong says and what he actually does are sometimes two very different things.


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This Afternoon In Clarkland...When In Doubt, Obfuscate.

WhenAThingIsNotBeforeTheCourts
InvokeThemAnywayVille


Here is your Premier and mine with the latest limited hangout on the public inquiry into her government's wrongful firing of Health Care scientists/workers...

All of which makes sense, I guess.

Especially when you consider the fact that this is a person who was once proud to tell the world that she saw Russia....errrr...Maggie Thatcher from her dorm room.

In Scotland.


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John Furlong Tells Court That It Was 'Well Known' He Taught In Burns Lake.

From the GStraight's Carlito Pablo reporting on today's developments in the Laura Robinson v. John Furlong civil trial:

...Addressing Furlong, (Robinson's lawyer Bryan) Baynham said that nobody among Olympics officials knew about Furlong’s past as a missionary.

“You’re dead wrong,” Furlong countered, saying “lots of people at Vanoc” knew that he was once in Burns Lake, B.C., where he taught physical education to school children as part of his missionary work.

Furlong maintained: “It was well known.”...


Interestingly,  Mr. Gary Mason, he of the The Globe, who also ghost-wrote Mr. Furlong's 2011 autobiography/memoir,  apparently did not know this well known thing.

Or, at the very least, Mr. Furlong did not tell Mr. Mason of this well known thing according to a 2012 Tyee piece written by Bob Mackin. Here is Mr. Mackin's lede:

A story by Ontario journalist Laura Robinson published by the Georgia Straight on Sept. 27 (2012)alleges that several of Vancouver 2010 Olympic CEO John Furlong's ex-students have filed affidavits claiming he abused them while he taught at Prince George Catholic school in the 1970s.

The story also claims significant inconsistencies in Furlong's post-Olympic memoir, Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics that Changed a Country.

The February 2011 book was co-written with Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason.

Furlong has not immediately responded to an interview request, but Mason told The Tyee via email:

"I have been asked if John Furlong ever mentioned working in Burns Lake for several years before 1974 during the course of our interviews for Patriot Hearts. I can say he did not..."...


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And, just in case you missed it... Mr. Mason himself has more recently written about the five (or maybe more; see more on today's revelations in court at the CPablo linked-to story, above) years between when Mr. Furlong first actually came to Canada and when Mr. Furlong said he first came to Canada in his memoir....It was (one of) the later date(s) that the good Mr. Mason dutifully wrote in the published memoir...According to Mr. Mason, writing in the Globe (i.e. not the memoir), those years included the brief period  Mr. Furlong spent time in Burns Lake...You can read about Mr. Mason's more recent non-memoirish writings...Here.
In my opinion, Merv Adey has written a very well-balanced piece on the local press coverage of the trial...Here.


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