WHY ARE WE BEING KEPT IN THE DARK?

British Columbians have questions about raids on the legislature that
must be answered

Times Colonist

What the heck is going on? Put in its most basic way, that's the
question newspapers try to answer every day.

Especially when big and troubling events come along, our first job is
to get the facts on the record so that citizens can have a basis for
forming their own judgment.

This week we've had a more than usually frustrating time. The raids on
the British Columbia legislature last Sunday raised a host of
questions, but answers have so far been few and far between.

An RCMP spokesman said it all has to do in some undefined way with
drugs and organized crime, which he said has "stretched into every
corner of B.C. and onto most city streets." Then he clammed up, saying
that answering more questions could hamper the investigation.

That isn't good enough. There is a cloud over the political life of
our province, and it must be dispelled sooner rather than later.

We all know that police investigations take time, and that the legal
system's first responsibility is to ensure justice for all.

But are British Columbians expected simply to wait for weeks or months
until the police and politicians choose to tell us more?

That might accord with the long-standing Canadian tradition of
deference to authority, but it will only fuel speculation and lead to
more suspicion of wrongdoing in high places.

On Friday, representatives of four media outlets, including the Times
Colonist, went to court to seek access to the search warrants used to
authorize the raids at the legislature. Associate Chief Justice
Patrick Dohm of B.C. Supreme Court put off his decision until at least
Jan. 14.

In the meantime, we are still left asking: What the heck is going
on?

Our colleagues at the Vancouver Sun took the unusual step on Friday of
devoting most of their front page to asking 27 unanswered questions.

We think they are good ones. For the record, here they are, along with
a few more of our own:

- - What triggered this investigation?

- - How closely linked is the drug investigation led by federal
prosecutor Robert Prior to the investigation led by special prosecutor
William Berardino?

- - What, if anything, is the link between drugs and organized or
commercial crime to staff in the B.C. legislature? To the federal
Liberal party?

- - Who are the nine people recently arrested and why have none of them
been charged?

- - What premises were searched on Sunday?

- - Who was arrested Sunday and then released?

- - Have other arrests been made?

- - Were other search warrants executed prior to Sunday's
action?

- - Have any criminal charges been laid in either investigation? If so,
when and against whom?

- - Does the government know more than the public is being
told?

- - How is the suspension of Victoria police officer Ravinder Dosanjh
linked to this investigation?

- - Why would RCMP spokesman Sgt. John Ward choose a press conference on
the raids at the legislature to say that "organized crime is a cancer
eating away at the social and moral fabric of British Columbia"?

- - Does the fact that so many individuals have connections to the B.C.
Rail deal mean anything?

- - Has the investigation uncovered evidence that government policies or
decisions may have been illegally or inappropriately affected?

- - Were phones at the legislature or politicians' private phone lines
tapped?

- - Are there connections to Indo-Canadian gangs? Other criminal
groups?

- - Does it mean anything that so many of the individuals have links to
the federal Liberal party, Prime Minister Paul Martin's organizing
team in B.C. and his leadership campaign?

- - Why did a 20-month investigation come to a head on a Sunday between
Christmas and New Year's?

- - Why was Finance ministerial assistant Dave Basi fired and Transport
ministerial assistant Bob Virk only suspended?

- - Why would the government fire someone who has not been charged with
any crime?

- - Have the province's $28-billion operations been compromised?

- - How long will this investigation cast a shadow over
B.C.?

- - With so many unanswered questions, can the citizens of this province
be confident in the government's ability to function
effectively?

- - Will this affair adversely affect the province's economy and
reputation?

Still more questions that come to mind:

- - Does the fact that both the husband and brother of Deputy Premier
Christy Clark have been asked to turn over documents to the police
affect her ability to do her job?

- - Were Finance Minister Gary Collins and Transportation Minister
Judith Reid aware of their senior assistants' involvement in mass
signups of new Liberals in local federal ridings?

- - If so, did they approve of the practice?

- - How much money was involved in these recruitment campaigns, and
where did it come from?

Answers, please.