ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER SCANDAL IN LOTUS LAND

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, our own 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 remain 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."