Saturday, July 02, 2011

Hey, Dean Palmer....He Is Not Voldemort.

AllTheDeputiesThatFit
HarmonizeThisVille


So, The Dean has weighed in on the BC Supreme court's ruling to hand over a bunch of documents to Auditor General John Doyle about the $6 million dollar deal that stopped the RailGate trial in its tracks just as it was about to finally leave the the station last fall.

And The Dean even has a pithy summary in his piece about how the deal went down without cabinet approval.

Which has inquiring minds asking why the Dean can't actually say the name of the fine public servant who actually pulled the cabinet fingerprint-free trigger on the deal?

"....The Financial Administration Act, the key law governing provincial finances, states that: "A debt or obligation to the government may not be forgiven without the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council" -that's the cabinet-"if the amount forgiven is $100,000 or more."

No such order was forthcoming to cancel the $6 million in outstanding legal bills for Basi and Virk. Instead it was done by the deputy minister of finance, on advice from the attorneygeneral's ministry that the outstanding legal bills were only a contingent liability, advanced by an indemnity, and thus not a debt or obligation....."



Now, we know the name of the Deputy Attorney General who gave the 'advice' because that's who was trotted out as the impartial arbiter of all things legal by the proMedia, following up faithfully on PAB-smeared offerings served bright, shiny and glistening on a silver platter, at the time.

But who was the Deputy Finance Minister who actually gave the order?

Well, he was not a character in a J.K. Rowling novel.

But he and the former Finance Minister who never did have to testify at the RailGate trial in the wake of the $6 million dollar deal did both work at the same private, but now-defunct, airline not so long ago.

So....

Come on Mr. Palmer, why is it that you can't say his name?

Huh?



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2 comments:

Tony Martinson said...

Meanwhile, over on the twitter, Balderdash Baldrey is pimping Kieran's piece about how recall is for losers. Kieran, who, it must be said, is a hack, doesn't mention Kevin Falcon but says with a straight face that it's mostly been used by the NDP. What's the word you'd use for this? Starts with a "w".

RossK said...

Tony--

'Mostly' is a most weasly descriptor, me thinks.

And while we're on the topic of descriptors, I find the Lotuslandian proMedia's rehabilitation of the good Mr. K. most(ly) interesting.

As for Mr. Baldrey, and his penchant for wide-brimmed hats and installing shag-carpetting on the dashboard of the Caddy, well....

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