FORMER GOVERNMENT AIDE FIRED AFTER RAID FACES DRUG CHARGES

VICTORIA (CP) -- A former B.C. government ministerial aide fired after his
legislature office was raided last year is among eight people charged
Wednesday with drug offences.

A federal prosecutor said the charges against [NAME DELETED] arose from the
seizure of marijuana from a Shawnigan Lake, B.C., home, located about 20
kilometres north of Victoria.

Police said they raided [NAME DELETED] office because of information
gathered during an unrelated federal drugs and money-laundering investigation.

A news release from the RCMP and Victoria police said Wednesday that eight
people had been charged in an investigation into cocaine-trafficking and
marijuana production that began more than two years ago.

"The drug-related charges include possession of a controlled substance for
the purpose of trafficking, production of a controlled substance -- in this
case marijuana -- and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance," the
release said.

[NAME DELETED] is charged with possession and production of a controlled
substance.

[NAME DELETED], in a statement issued by his Victoria lawyer Chris
Considine, said he is not guilty of the charges.

"I would like to state unequivocally and without hesitation that I have not
cultivated marijuana and I am not guilty of the charges," said the statement.

"I intend to see this matter through to the end so that I am fully cleared
and my family and I are able to end this terrible nightmare.

"On numerous occasions I have offered to fully co-operate with the
authorities. I expect this matter will be resolved in the near future."

Considine said [NAME DELETED] owned a house that he rented out to a third
party who apparently used the property for a marijuana grow operation.

[NAME DELETED] has previously stated he did not participate in a grow
operation, he said.

"Unfortunately many people in British Columbia who have rental properties
could find themselves in the same position as Mr. [NAME DELETED]," said
Considine. "Landlords from all walks of life ranging from rental agencies
to politicians have all been victimized by illegal grow-ops."

A Vancouver-area rental property owned by Ujjal Dosanjh, federal health
minister and former B.C. premier, was once raided by police for an illegal
marijuana grow operation.

Considine said he expected [NAME DELETED] matter will be in court in November.

[NAME DELETED] and [NAME DELETED] are charged with conspiracy to traffic
cocaine.

[NAMES DELETED] are charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

Also charged with conspiracy to traffic in marijuana are [NAMES DELETED].

"The RCMP can say that there are no elected officials involved in these
investigations," the statement said.

The legislature raid involved allegations that [NAME DELETED]and colleague
[NAME DELETED] traded government inside information on the privatization of
B.C. Rail for job recommendations with the federal Liberal government.

[NAME DELETED] is suspended without pay.

The allegations, which have not so far resulted in charges, were contained
in search warrants and accompanying sworn information that resulted in
several police raids.

The documents were released last Friday by Associate Chief Justice Patrick
Dohm after eight months of court hearings on an application by news outlets
to unseal the warrants.

Special prosecutor Bill Berardino, who's handling the separate case
involving [NAMES DELETED], said the police investigation should be wrapped
up by the end of this month and he will make a decision on charges before
the end of the year.

The information alleges [NAME DELETED], former ministerial assistant to
Finance Minister Gary Collins, and [NAME DELETED], his counterpart with
then-transportation minister Judith Reid, accepted help from lobbyist Erik
Bornmann to get federal government jobs.

It's alleged that in return, the pair agreed to provide information to
Bornmann on bids to sell off the operations of B.C. Rail. Bornmann's lobby
firm, Pilothouse Public Affairs Group, was acting for OmniTrax, one of the
bidders.

OmniTrax was not the successful bidder for the Crown-owned railway.

Bornmann is on a list of names that come up in the search-warrant
information but who are not "at the present time" subjects of the
investigation.

The list includes Collins, deputy premier Christy Clark, her brother Bruce
Clark and husband Mark Marissen.

Bruce Clark and Marissen were both active federal Liberals.