SCANDAL RINGS IN NEW YEAR

What is it about the changing of the annual calendar that brings
scandal to our B.C. Liberal government? Twelve months ago, 2003 was
barely a couple of weeks old when Premier Gordon Campbell downed one
too many martinis and wound up in the drunk tank in Maui.

Shortly thereafter, John van Dongen had to step aside as minister of
agriculture, food and fisheries while the RCMP conducted a criminal
investigation into his handling of a file relating to fish farms.

(Van Dongen was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, but he did admit
making the mistake of tipping off a fish farm company of a Ministry of
Environment investigation into said fish farm).

And how else would we ring in another year, but with the sight of cops
carting off boxes of evidence from the legislature in Victoria? The
police say the search warrants executed at the legislature and in
homes and businesses in the Vancouver and Victoria areas are connected
to what began 20 months ago as a cross-border drug smuggling
investigation.

That probe has apparently led to investigations of other crimes, and
is somehow connected to a police corruption probe within the Victoria
Police Department. What is known is that the cops are interested in
David Basi, ministerial assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins,
and Bob Virk, ministerial assistant to Transportation Minister Judith
Reid.

Premier Gordon Campbell and Collins remained on vacation in Hawaii,
but found time to have Basi fired and Virk suspended with pay.

While we agree with NDP MLA Jenny Kwan's demands that Campbell release
as much information as possible without compromising the
investigation, we stop short of echoing her call for Campbell to jump
on the next plane and get back to B.C.

The province will not implode if the premier finishes his
vacation.

But there are questions that beg answers. Why was Basi fired and Virk
suspended? Why was Pilothouse Public Affairs, a consulting company
that lobbied on behalf of a company bidding for BC Rail, searched by
police?

What, exactly, did the cops seize from the legislature?

What is known is the latest intrigue in Victoria can not surprise even
the most casual observer of politics in this wacky province; remember
the trials and tribulations of Bill Vander Zalm, Mike Harcourt, Moe
Sihota, Dave Stupich, Glen Clark and Bill Bennett?

When listening to the comments of various politicians and pundits, keep in
mind the words of George Orwell: "Political language -
with variations, this is true of all political parties - is designed to make
lies sound truthful, a murder respectable and give
appearance of solidity to pure wind."