Earlier, Public Eye reported on a labour relations board decision that opened the door to a Canadian Taxpayers Federation-funded legal action against the Hospital Employees' Union. That decision was subsequently appealed by the union. But in a Supreme Court decision handed down today, Justice Stephen Kelleher ruled against the appeal. The federation will now likely be proceeding with a class action lawsuit against the union, seeking hosptial patient damages that may have resulted from the illegal strike action in April 2004.

The Georgia Straight has lost its editor Ian Hanington. There's been no official explanation for Mr. Hanington's departure. But, on Monday, he'll start work as the editor of Shared Vision. News editor Charlie Smith, who is rumoured to have replaced Mr. Hanington, refused to respond to questions about those personnel changes or even confirm them. Instead, he angrily stated "You can do whatever you want" before hanging up. Looks like Mr. Smith's been taking some media relations lessons from the flacks and hacks who refuse to talk to him!

As has been noted by a number of our readers, rumours are afoot that mayoral nomination candidate Christy Clark's campaign manager Mike Hillman will be hired by the Non-Partisan Association. But, according to our operatives, that hiring decision has not yet been made. The Non-Partisan Association's campaign committee is meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the issue. And, if committee members are amenable, the association will invite Mr. Hillman to become its campaign director. Greg Wilson will remain the association's campaign manager.

By now, most Public Eye readers are acquainted with the backroomers who will be managing the Non-Partisan Association and Vision Vancouver's election campaigns: namely, Greg Wilson and Ian Reid But who will be running the Coalition of Progressive Electors election operations? Come on down Sean Hill, executive assistant to Toronto city councillor Joe Mihevc! Mr. Hill most recently managed provincial New Democrat candidate Mel Leham's unsuccessful run in Vancouver-Point Grey against Premier Gordon Campbell. And, according to our operatives, he also has managed a number of urban elections in Ontario for progressive candidates.

If your having trouble locating Vision Vancouver's Website, you can partly blame provincial Conservative president Ryan Warawa. Just before city councillor Jim Green's civic party officially announced their new moniker, Mr. Warawa purchased the domain names visionvancouver.org, visionvancouver.net and votevisionvancouver.ca, votevisionvancouver.com, votevisionvancouver.org and votevisionvancouver.net. That blocked Mr. Green from using any of those addresses. Instead, Vision Vancouver's Website can be found at the far less intuitive votevision.ca. Mr. Warawa - the son of Langley Conservative MP Mark Warawa - is using his Internet pages to post information critical of Vision Vancouver. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

Jordan Bateman is reporting he heard a "rumour from a reliable source today that (failed Non-Partisan Association mayoral nomination candidate) Christy Clark has accepted a spot on the Sam Sullivan election strategy team." That rumour has been floating since Ms. Clark showed up Tuesday morning at the civic party's Terrace Place election offices for a campaign committee meeting. Our operatives understand that the former provincial cabinet minister will be regularly attending future meetings.

The provincial New Democrat affiliation committee's majority report continues to be shredded by labour movement members. Yesterday, in a comment posted on Public Eye, United Steelworkers of America research department staff representative Kim Pollock opined that the committee responsible for the report was "a rough, rude railroad job, not a reasonable meeting of (the) minds on a matter of cardinal importance to the future of the party." He also questions the political value of de-affiliation noting "my own analysis of recent BC Fed and NDP polling, for instance, indicates that there is little if any support for a change in the relationship between unions and the party among voters the NDP needs to win." And Mr. Pollock, who is married to New Democrat treasurer Cheryl Hewitt, calls on an elder party statesman "to mediate this matter before we hurt the party irreparably." Mr. Pollock's boss, United Steelworkers of America district three director Steve Hunt, was one of three union leaders on the affiliation committee who opposed the majority report. The following is a complete copy of his posting.

Name: Kim Pollock

Comments:

I think the point that is being missed, not only here but throughout much of the debate on affiliation, is that the NDP was originally formed as a partnership or federation. For instance, there were originally affiliates from the co-op movement and farm organizations as well as labour. That was the basis on which labour became a direct participant in the party.

The reason for this was that the union leaders and other builders of the New Party wanted to give it both the financial clout and enhanced access to the affiliates' members that might flow from a more direct relationship than was in place under the CCF.

Over time, the other affiliates back away. But the unions stayed. So for us, it remains a partnership, not just one more organization which we simply ask our members to join or support. Many union members become NDP members through involvement in their unions and they see their party involvement as part and parcel of their labour activities. They believe they have become members of labour's political party.

Unions are therefore still one of the main recruiting, information and ideology-disseminating and motivating vehicles available to the NDP. And many union workers frankly do not have the time or opportunity to take part in constituency associations. Most constituency organizations have their meetings on work-day evenings. That makes it difficult for shift workers or folks like the logging-truck drivers, loggers, etc. who get up and go to work at 3 a.m. or the growing number of people who work 10 or 12-hour shifts on a four-day rotation to take part. They still want to be involved in the NDP but it is unrealistic to expect them to participate at the constituency level, take it or leave it. Affiliation offers them that possibility.

At the same time, unions want affiliation so that they are not merely a "cash cow" from which the party can access funds without having in return some guarantees of labour involvement and participation in policy development and electoral strategy. We do not want an American-style system in which we bargain or even bid for the support or one party or another. We believe in the concept of a "people's party" which represents directly the interests of unionized workers in addition to its other members. That doesn't mean that we want to control the party -- 25% of delegates at conventions, coupled with OMOV for leadership selection, hardly constitutes control -- but it does mean that we want a significant role in its processes and activities.

All of this tells me that we need to rethink the current process before we create a severely-damaging and irreparable split. The party, as I have noted, is a partnership. If folks want to dissolve this partnership, they should perhaps do it some other way than via a split vote in a party committee in which the affiliated unions voted one way about their future in the party, unaffiliated unions or individuals voted another way. We should be clear, as well, that not one of the affiliated unions wants an end to affiliation. What we see here is effectively a rough, rude railroad job, not a reasonable meeting of minds on a matter of cardinal importance to the future of the party.

And to what end? My own analysis of recent BC Fed and NDP polling, for instance, indicates that there is little if any support for a change in the relationship between unions and the party among voters the NDP needs to win. The strongest support for the propostion that the party is "too close to unions" comes from the highest income-earners, unsurprisingly -- the folks least likely to vote NDP and most likely to vote Liberal. In other words, it's hard to understand what folks who want a change in the affiliation relationship actually hope to gain from it.

What we desperately need right now is someone to mediate this matter before we hurt the party irreparably. The caucus, which has been put in the uncomfortable situation of either harming their leader or harming the party, can't do it. Almost all the Table Officers and Executive have taken sides. We need some senior diplomats or elder statemen or women, therefore, to take both the affiliated union leaders, the leader of the unaffiliated BCGEU and the party leader aside and convince them how destructive this whole affair is to the party.

On Monday, Vision Vancouver announced provincial New Democrat pollster Ian Reid would be the civic party's campaign manager. Not announced was the hiring of his deputy Matt Smith, a partner with consulting firm Tactical Outcomes Strategy. Most recently, Mr. Smith was Vancouver city councillor and New Democrat candidate Tim Stevenson's campaign manager during the last provincial election. He also managed Kelly Quinn's failed bid to win the party nomination in Vancouver-Kensington. And he was an organizer for Raj Sihota, who lost the Vancouver-Hastings nomination race to community activist Shane Simpson.

With civic elections just two months away, Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention delegates are on their best behaviour. But those hoping for an outbreak of verbal violence are anxiously waiting for a discussion of Hazleton's fish farming resolution, scheduled for Thursday morning. The resolution calls on the provincial government to "place a moratorium on any expansion of open-net farming on the BC coast until the final report of the BC Pacific Salmon Forum is completed." The forum, announced by government in December 2004, is developing policy recommendations to protect and enhance wild salmon stocks, enhance confidence in fisheries and aquaculture management. It received $5 million in funding from the government but is independently chaired by former federal fisheries minister John Fraser. Our operatives anticipate aquaculture-friendly communities will push back against the resolution. The following is a complete copy of that document.

B127 FISH FARMING Hazelton

WHEREAS viable wild salmon stocks are a vital component for the economic, cultural and social health of many communities in BC;

AND WHEREAS the provincial government estblished the BC Pacific Salmon Forum with a $5 million budget in 2004 as an independent, balanced and impartial body with a mandate to analyze scientific and socio-economic issues in order to develp policy recommendations to protect and enhance the viability of wild salmon stocks and their economic, social and environmental benefits to all British Columbians, especially in regards to the issue of open-net fish farms:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be requested to place a moratorium on any expansion of open-net fish farming on the BC coast until the final report of the BC Pacific Salmon Forum is completed.

NOT PRESENTED TO THE NORTH CENTRAL MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION

UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: No recommendation

UBCM RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS:

The Resolutions Committee notes that the BC Pacific Salmon Forum was established in December 2004. Previous federal Fisheries Minister John Fraser chairs the forum, which also includes six community, fishery and First Nations representatives on the Forum Board.

The purpose of the Forum is to provide recommendations and options, with a goal to meeting three objectives:
1) protect and enhance the viability of wild salmon stocks and their economic, social and environmental benefits to British Columbians;
2) increase public confidence in fisheries management generally, and in aquaculture in particular, in the maritime environment; and
3) enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of aquaculture for all coastal communities.

The Forum is to decide what priority issues it believes need to be addressed and what research is needed. It will be reporting to the public and, at the same time that it reports to the public, it will launch its report with a standing committee of the Legislature. However, it is not known when the Forum Board is expected to report out, so the Committee is not clear how long a moratorium would be in effect and what the implications would be for the fish farming industry and affected communities.

Since the Committee is not aware of the reporting date for the Forum, it is not able to recommend if such a waiting time is feasible.

What's this we hear about the federal Liberals wining and dining provincial backbencher and former government Whip Kevin Krueger? According to Union of British Columbia Municipalities conventioneers from the heartlands, the natural governing party is attempting to convince the MLA from Kamloops-North Thomspon to run against Conservative MP Betty Hinton. But all those restaurant bills may be for naught. Mr. Krueger, who ran as the federal Liberal candidate in Kamloops back in 1993, is said to like the job Ms. Hinton is doing. And he's also committed to finishing up his present term in the house.

The pagentry. The pomp. The bad suits. It's all part of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities's annual general meeting, where local politician gather to praise and occassionally pan their provincial and federal colleagues. And your humble organ will be on hand to bring you the latest gossip and goings-on at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Around 2,135 Non-Partisan Association members voted at the civic party's Saturday nomination meeting. But Sam Sullivan - the association's chosen mayoral candidate - didn't cast a ballot. The reason: in an interview, Mr. Sullivan confirmed he had inadvertently let his association membership lapse. And by the time he renewed that membership - about a week before the nomination meeting - he hadn't been a card-carrier long enough to vote. "I was so embarrassed about it that I didn't want to press the issue," Mr. Sullivan admitted. Christy Clark, his competitor, also wasn't able to cast a ballot because she isn't yet eligible or registered to vote in Vancouver's civic election. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

There may not have been any two-fisted assaults at the Non-Partisan Association's nomination meeting. But those who backed mayoral hopeful Christy Clark are claiming there was a robbery. A man identifying himself as one of the former provincial cabinet minister's campaign volunteers asked Clark campaign scrutineers to hand-over the forms they had been using to track which supporters had made it the polls and which still needed to be taxied in. But after the man got 17 of those documents, he calmly left the voting area - and then started rushing toward the hotel exit. Ms. Clark's election day co-chair Kim Haakstad pursued him down the stairs and out of Marriott Pinnacle. But she stopped chasing when he hit the street. In an interview, Sam Sullivan's campaign manager Colin Metcalfe said, "I am sure that it was no one from our organization that would do that. We were too busy worrying about our own operations to be worried about the operations of our opponent." A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

Christy Clark didn't bus in her block voters on Saturday. Public Eye didn't see a single diesel-chugging engine was seen idling outside the Marriott Pinnacle. But there were a considerable number of black tops circling the hotel. The reason: the Vancouver Taxi Association, the industry group representing Terminal City's four major cabbie companies, was shuttling Clark campaign supporters to and from the nomination meeting. And why didn't they back her competitor Sam Sullivan, instead? Well, it might have had something to do with the fact the Vancouver city councillor tried unsuccessfully, on March 3, to increase the dual taxicab annual license fees from $321 to $940. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

Famed French gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once opined "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are." And perhaps something similar can be said about the snacks that are served by political campaigns to their supporters? With that thought in mind, Public Eye took on the daunting task of sampling the munchies available at Sam Sullivan and Christy Clark's post-nomination parties. Mr. Sullivan, the underdog who became the Non-Partisan Association's overdog, served up generous helpings of all-dressed chips (very populist, trying to be all things to all people) accompanied by dip and salsa. Ms. Clark, on the other hand, had a more elaborate menu: deep-fried potstickers, spanikopita, miniature quiches and trays of vegetables and dip. Make of that what you will. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

The Non-Partisan Association's mayoral nomination race, which saw the election of Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan, was a real squeaker. According to our operatives, Mr. Sullivan's margin of victory was between 60 and 70 votes (we're hearing 64 or 69). And Clarkites tell us ballot challenges didn't effect the final election result. We're also told 2,100 association members voted.

We now have the results of the Non-Partisan Association's mayoral nomination race, as just announced by the civic party's president Paul Barbeau. And the winner is: Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan, who accepted the nomination with Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop booming in the background. The fact those results were more than 90 minutes late could be an indication a great many ballots were challenged during vote counting.

The ballots haven't been counted yet. But supporters of Non-Partisan Association mayoral nomination hopeful Christy Clark are already passing out invitations to her "victory party." The booze-up is being held at The Cellar, an establishment operated by Granville Entertainment Group - the pub and restaurant empire owned by Blaine Culling. Federal Conservative operative and Sea Level Communications Ltd. principal Tim Crowhurst is known to be a close associate of Mr. Culling's and firm vice-president Vance Campbell. Meanwhile, Sam Sullivan's campaign seems to have vacated the second floor of the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel - with not a single leather jacket in-sight. But we're told their reception will be held in the Mariott Pinnacle Hotel's Shaughnessy Room. The following is a copy of Ms. Clark's invite.

CHRISTY CLARK
VICTORY PARTY
@
The Cellar
Granville at Nelson Street
4:30 pm
(this is a private function, so please enter through Doolins Pub)

The Non-Partisan Association nomination meeting's polls have now closed. And now the waiting and worrying begins. There seems to be some sentiment among association hierarchs that, if former provincial cabinet minister Christy Clark does win the mayoral nomination, that victory needs to be decisive. Otherwise, Sam Sullivan and his operatives may cause a ruckus. And Mr. Sullivan continues to dodge questions about whether he'll run for council if Ms. Clark leads the association's slate in the upcoming civic election. In an interview with Public Eye, the candidate said "I'll have to sulk a while" before making that decision.

No sign of the feared Indo-Canadians bus-block vote yet. And there isn't much time left for the diesel-guzzers to make a showing (16 minutes to be exact). But your humble organ notes the presence of four past provincial Liberal MLAs and two from the present. Defeated executive council members Brenda Locke and Joyce Murray were scrutineering ballots on behalf of their old colleague Christy Clark (we can tell because they were wearing a pink name tags - Sam Sullivan's vote checkers have blue ones). Vancouver-Burrard and Surrey-Tynehead MLAs Lorne Mayencourt and David Hayer are also out supporting Ms. Clark - as is former Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain and Surrey-Panorama Ridge backbenchers Karn Manhas and Tony Bhullar. And we've been told by brother muckraker Allen Garr that former finance minister Gary Collins made an appearance.

Of course, there's a reason why Colin Metcalfe is managing Non-Partisan Association mayoral hopeful Sam Sullivan's campaign from a hotel hallway rather than a comfortable conference table. Turns out competitor Christy Clark booked the four rooms that were available on the Marriott Pinnacle's second floor, leaving Mr. Metcalfe without a headquarters. Running get-out-the-vote operations for Ms. Clark from those rooms are Election Day co-chairs Kim Haakstad, executive director of the federal Liberals in British Columbia, and Doug Beaton, senior advisor to Industry Minister David Emerson.

Your humble organ has hopped across the pond to attend the Non-Partisan Association's nomination meeting. And from what we've seen so far, they'll be no shortage of votes when the results are announced at around 3:30. A steady stream of association members has been arriving at the palatial Marriott Pinnacle Hotel since the polls opened at 10:00, marching past a gauntlet of hand-shaking candidates and their supporters. Mayoral nomination hopeful Sam Sullivan seems to have a the most eye-catching presence, with leather jacket cool campaign manager Colin Metcalfe commanding his operation via walkie-talkie headset. No sign yet of competitor Christy Clark's much feared Indo-Canadian block vote. But Sullivanite backroomers are expecting some busloads to arrive after 12:30.

Earlier, we reported the Non-Partisan Association's returning officer Jacques Leger would be reviewing 194 questionable names on the civic party's membership list. Those names were identified by mayoral nomination hopeful Sam Sullivan's campaign as possibly not being eligible to vote at tomorrow's nomination meeting. But there has been some backroom grumbling about Mr. Leger might not be the right man for that job. The reason: said backroomers point out his wife Mary Pynenburg is the federal Liberal candidate for Burnaby-New Westminister. And Mr. Sullivan's competitor, former provincial cabinet minister Christy Clark is also a card-carrying Grit. But, in an interview with Public Eye, association president Paul Barbeau said Mr. Leger "has acquited himself perfectly in this process. There is absolutely no reservations on the part of the organization with regard to the independence of our returning officer."

On Monday, The Vancouver Sun's Frances Bula reported Non-Partisan Nomination candidate Sam Sullivan said a "preliminary audit of the NPA memberships (conducted by his campaign) appeared to indicate that as many as 45 per cent of the names didn't appear to be on the provincial voters' list." Which had some Clarkites asking, how did Mr. Sullivan's campaign get their hands on that list? After all, under the Election Act, only registered political parties and municipal and provincial election candidates are allowed to have copies. And candidates must destroy those copies once the election they're running in is over. So your humble organ contacted to Elections British Columbia communications manager Jennifer Porayko to see whether anyone had raised this issue with her office. And it turns out the answer is yes.

"There was an inquiry about it on September 20," confirmed Ms. Porayko. "So I actually contacted Sam Sullivan's campaign office and left a message. And I had a call back from a woman - a representative of his campaign. And I advised her that I'm not sure if he has a copy (of the provincial voters list) or where he got a copy but that he shouldn't have a copy. And I've asked that they contact me and let me know if, in fact, he did have a copy and where they got it from. And also advised her that he needs to destroy it. So I haven't heard back from her. I did speak with her yesterday. And I've left a number of messages this morning on a cell phone and his campaign office. So I'm following up on it."

Also making news at David Emerson's fundraiser: roast hoast David Haggard, who is rumoured to have told a number of attendees he would be running as a federal Liberal candidate in the next election. But it won't be in New Westminster-Coquitlam, the constituency where he came in third during the 2004 campaign. Instead, Mr. Haggard, the former president of the Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers Union, will be taking on Nina Grewal in Fleetwood-Port Kells.

Landlubbing unionists and politicos weren't the only ones schmoozing at Industry Minister David Emerson's fundraiser. A flotilla of shipping industry representatives purchased a 10-seat table at the event, headed by International Shipowners Association of Canada president Wilfred Vacheresse. The reason for their attendance: the delegation planned on speaking to the minister about Bill C-15. That bill, which was passed in May, includes a number of offenses meant to clamp down on marine polluters. But the industry wants to change the strict liability nature of those offenses. A strict liability offense means once the prosection has proven a law has been broken, there is no need to prove intent to secure a conviction. Instead, to avoid one, the accused most show he acted with due diligence prior to the offense occuring.

Those at the shipping industry table included International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada president Tom Dufresne, Shipyard General Workers Federation of British Columbia president George MacPherson, British Columbia Ferry, Marine Workers Union president Jackie Miller, Fairmont Shipping Ltd. president Robert Ho, and representatives from the International Shipowners Alliance of Canada, International Transportation Workers' Federation and British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.

Friends, associates and those wanting to lobby David Emerson paid out $200 each last night to attend a fundraising roast for the federal Liberal industry minister's constituency association. According to our operatives, former Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada president David Haggard hosted the event, held at Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant. Barbs were delivered by Senator Jack Austin, minister's regional office executive director Billy Cunningham, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and former provincial deputy minister Bob Plecas. And a who's who list of powerhouse personalities was on hand to witness that delivery.

From the union movement there was British Columbia Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair and British Columbia and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council executive director Wayne Peppard. Former top British Columbia bureaucrats John Allen, Lee Doney and Don Wright also showed up. And so did Barrett administration cabinet minister Bob Williams, ex-Vancouver-Fraserview New Democrat MLA Bernie Simpson and 24 hours president and former premier Glen Clark, who was sitting at The Pattison Group's table. Other notables included First Nations Summit executive member Grand Chief Ed John and Chief Stewart Phillip of the British Columbia First Nations Leadership Council, as well as a number of forest industry executives.

Last night, a special meeting of the Non-Partisan Association's board of directors was held at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel to discuss concerns about the mayoral nomination process. Those concerns were contained in a letter sent to the board last Friday by Warren Smith, a representative of nomination hopeful Sam Sullivan's campaign. Those familiar with the letter inform us the Sullivan campaign challenged the eligibility of 194 new association members to vote at the upcoming Saturday nomination meeting. According to review of 429 forms conducted by the campaign, those members aren't on the provincial voters list. Additionally, Mr. Smith questioned whether former Campbell administration cabinet minister Christy Clark's mayoral nomination campaign paid for the memberships of those they signed-up. If that were the case, those sign-ups would also be ineligible to vote. And what was the board's view of those complaints, you may ask?

Well, according to our operatives, the association executive passed a resolution to have the civic party's returning officer Jacques Leger review the 194 questionable names. But the board questioned the relevance of whether those voters were on the provincial list, noting association bylaws simply require members to be eligible or registered to vote in Vancouver's civic election.

As to the second challenge, the board has told the Sullivan campaign there isn't evidence to support such concerns. And it dismissed a suggestion that the association should have some kind of verification process ready on Saturday to determine everyone who's voting is eligible to vote. The board's view was that such a process already exists: voters need to have their membership forms on hand and sign a declaration stating they are 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident and eligibile to vote in the election.

Of course, none of this will sit well with the Sullivanites. We can already feel campaign manager Colin Metcalfe's blood rising. But whether that pressure finds a release remains to be seen.

Earlier this week, New Democrat critic Adrian Dix revealed the provincial government altered its investigation into the tragic death of toddler Sherry Charlie. That alteration specifically involved the removal of a term of reference that Mr. Dix says would have looked into the role the ministry of children and family development played in that death. The minister responsible Stan Hagen has said senior civil servant David Young, who left government in January 2004, was responsible for that removal. And today, in an interview with Public Eye, Mr. Young spoke for the first time about that claim, confirming Minister Hagen's statement that there was no political interference involved in that decision.

"What that term of reference would have provided is a mandate for the reviewer to look at the actions of the (ministry) district office involved with the family," as opposed to the entire ministry.

"Now, in this particular case, there was no district office involved with the family. The aboriginal agency delivered (the service). So that term of reference shouldn't have been included in the first place," explained Mr. Young, who added other civil servants were involved in making the removal decision.

"Would that term of reference actually have led to an examination of budget and staffing - and I see (assistant deputy minister) Jeremy Berland is suggesting it would? The answer is no. And he should have known better."

In fact, Mr. Young, who was the ministry's aboriginal agencies child protection director, said these kinds of investigations, in his experience, have never looked into such matters.

Mr. Young, now the executive director of the Ottawa-based Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs, also questions Mr. Berland's claim to have known nothing about the removal of that term of reference until November 2004 - two years after the investigation began.

"Berland was executive director of aboriginal agencies at the time. I worked closely with him and his staff on the development of the terms of reference and anything to do with aboriginal agencies. So I'm shocked that he's saying he didn't know anything about the removal...And if he had an issue with the terms of reference then there was an opportunity to correct it."

And he wonders why it took so long for the government to release the investigation to the public - an investigation he thought would have been completed by fall 2003.

"I have to tell you when this report was released in July, I thought 'Gee. Another child has died in British Columbia.' And then when I pulled it up, I found out this was the one that happened years ago. And I wondered, 'Why is this just coming out now?'"

Mr. Young then went onto say that Mr. Dix was justified in calling on government to review the impact budget cutbacks have had on the care provided by the children's ministry.

"Should one do a review of the impact of all the changes going on in the ministry and the budget reductions we were facing and the impact that had on practice in general? I think that would be an excellent idea."

But Mr. Young added a question specifically focused on the role the ministry may have played in Sherry's death would likely not turn up new information. To date, Mr. Young has yet to be contacted by a government representative about any of these issues.

Sherry was slain in 2002, days after being placed in the care of relatives under a so-called kith and kin agreement. Those agreements usually cost government less money. The man who beat her to death, the father of the home, had a long and violent criminal record that government failed to properly investigate prior to placing the 19-month old in care.

Last week, Non-Partisan Association rivals Jennifer Clarke and Philip Owen came together to endorse Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan's mayoral nomination bid. But there was one little detail concerning that dramatic endorsement that went unreported. According to our operatives, Mr. Owen requested he not appear on stage or in any photographs with Ms. Clarke. Bitterness perhaps? Not so, say those close to the former mayor. Evidently, Mr. Owen simply wanted to ensure the media's attention was on Mr. Sullivan rather than he and Ms. Clarke.

The deadline for becoming a Non-Partisan Association nomination candidate may have passed. But rumours persist that former city councillor Sandy McCormick - who's name is not on the presently on the list of nomination hopefuls - would somehow end up on the starboard-leaning civic party's slate. So we phoned up Ms. McCormick to see what she had to say about the matter: "My name was put forward. I've had a lot of people encouraging me to run. But I think it would be in conflict with a position I'll be fulfilling with the government related to 2010." And what position might that be? "I have to be vague because it's not finalized. It's related to 2010 and that's all I can say." Back in March, Ms. McCormick - who was then running for the provincial Liberal nomination in Vancouver-Langara - stepped aside to make room for star candidate and future finance minister Carole Taylor. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

Today, provincial Liberal backbencher John Rustad rose in the house to refute New Democrat claims that commodity prices rather than provincial policy are responsible for the re-opening of the Mount Polley mine. His evidence: during a Friday ceremony marking that re-opening, Imperial Metals Corp. Pierre Lebel stated "much of the credit goes to a provincial government that has streamlined the permitting process and encouraged British Columbians to invest in mineral exploration by offering additional tax credits under the federal flow-through share financing program." High praise, indeed. But perhaps not surprising. Shortly after Mr. Rustad made that statement, The Times Colonist's Jeff Rud pointed out to press gallery colleagues that, last year, the Campbell administration forgave a $2,946,392.65 loan to Huckleberry Mines Ltd. which is co-owned by Imperial Metals. Government has previously defended that decision by explaining the mine would have closed without that write-off. The firm subsequently donated $8,340 to the Liberals during the recent election.

Our sincere apologies to Andrew Wynn-Williams, executive assistant to Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen. Public Eye was remiss in failing to note your departure from the legislative precincts to become operations director for the premier's technology council. Quite a nice promotion. But one that is not without merit. Like Progress Board executive director Tim McEwan, who was previously a senior policy analyst with the British Columbia Business Council, Mr. Wynn-Williams was once a member the private sector's cheerleading squad. Before joining government in 2003, he was communications and policy development director for the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Washington Post and Newsweek columnist George Will once wrote that football is committee meetings punctuated by violence. So it comes as no surprise that BC Lions right guard Bobby Singh is rumoured to be interested in running for local politics in Richmond. The evidence: an astute Public Eye reader points out the similarly-positioned Richmond First Voters Society has created a skeleton Web page for a Mr. Singh on the civic party's Web site, listing him as a member of their school trustee candidate team. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

The Non-Partisan Association's mayoral nomination race has so far been anything but boring. But there seems to be some concern among association members that the race has gotten a bit too exiciting. After all, the civic election is just two months away. And it would be a shame if poorly-chosen words said during the heat of the nomination process were turned against the association come November. So it was not surprising to hear the civic party's president Paul Barbeau and campaign co-chair Peter Hyndman had a meeting with Ms. Clark and Mr. Sullivan's campaign managers on Thursday, during which they reminded Mike Hillman and Colin Metcalfe to keep the tone of the debate civilized.

Next week will be a busy one for Terminal City politicos travelling the rubber chicken circuit. Among the events: on Monday, Vision Vancouver will be having its launch party at Monk McQueen's Fresh Seafood and Oyster Bar, the award-winning False Creek restaurant owned by Canadian National Railway Company chairman David McLean. Tickets to the evening event are $150. Then, on Tuesday, mayoral nomination hopeful and former provincial cabinet minister Christy Clark is buying lunch for Non-Partisan Association members at the Floata Seafood Restaurant, an infamous federal Liberal haunt. There's some speculation that Ms. Clark could announce a number of endorsements at the luncheon, which is expected to attract around a thousand supporters and moochers. The following is a copy of the invites for both events.

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 12:28 PM
Subject: Vision Vancouver's Fall Launch

Vision Vancouver's Fall Launch
Monday September 19 is Vision Vancouver's fall launch at Monk McQueen's on False Creek. Please join Jim Green, Raymond Louie , Tim Stevenson, and the rest of the team, as they launch their election campaign. Get your tickets today.

Date: Monday, September 19, 2005
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Monk McQueen's
Address: 601 Stamp's Landing, False Creek, Vancouver
Tickets: $150

Ticket Hotline: 604-764-5988 or tix@votevision.ca

***

-----Original Message-----
From: "Christy Clark Campaign"
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 16:39:23
To:"Christy Clark Campaign"
Subject: Lunch with Christy

I am pleased to invite you to:

Lunch with Christy
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Noon-1:15
Floata Seafood Restaurant
400-180 Keefer Place

I would be happy if you could join us.

Thank You

P.S. To help with the organization of the event, please RSVP by replying to
this email or calling the campaign office at 604.648.7603

Much discussion at yesterday's New Democrat provincial council meeting concerning the party's future relationship with labour. And, according to our operatives, that discussion didn't go especially well for the reformers. Porkchoppers and their backers controlled the microphone during much of the meeting, speaking passionately and sometimes incoherently against the recommendations contained in the affiliation committee's majority report. An example: your humble organ had no idea the pyramids of Egypt were built by trade unionists. Nor do we understand what that "fact" has to do with a debate about affiliation. But it was mentioned at the meeting.

Meanwhile, reformers were somewhat surprised neither party leader Carole James nor any of the 18 or so caucus members who attended provincial council spoke in favour of the majority report recommendations. And there is some discussion that, if Ms. James wants to modernize the New Democrat's relationship with the labour movement, she should take responsibility for stickhandling that putsch away from legislative staff and into the hands of those who actually know how run a ground campaign. A final decision on whether to send the majority committee's recommendations to the convention floor has been postponed until October 21.

Today, The Province reported the provincial New Democrat's affiliation "committee wants to 'modernize' the relationship by allowing only provincial unions (not their locals) to affiliate with the party. Each union would have the power to send two delegates to party conventions and to submit resolutions to the party's governing council. Labour would still have seats on the council and the party's executive...But even those dinky changes were too much to swallow for hard-core unionists on the committee." Public Eye published a complete copy of that still unreleased report last Thursday.

The hissing and pissing directed at Gordon Gibson's morning column slamming Christy Clark's bid to win the Non-Partisan Association mayoral nomination continues. Earlier today, an anonymous sniper posted a comment on Public Eye noting "Is that the same Mr. Gibson whose wife Kilby is working full time on the Sam Sullivan campaign, and whose daughter is on the 'youth wing' of the federal Liberal 'machine' that her father calls so 'polluted'? Shurley not!" Picking up the gauntlet, Ms. Gibson wrote back valiantly under her own name "Shurely so! I am a staunch supporter of Sam Sullivan I believe he's the best person for the job - simple."

"I do not work 'full time' for him - I have a job. My daughter to whom you refer is indeed a member of the 'youth wing' of the Party but now lives in Victoria and is not a member of the NPA - and my husband's comments regarding the current state of the Federal Liberals are worth thinking about." Take that! The following is a complete copy of Mr. Gibson's comments.

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Looks like Vancouver's Non-Partisan Association is getting ready to shoot itself in the foot again.

Back in 2002 we saw a muscular, organized effort that was able to steamroll a proven, popular NPA mayor out of the way in favour of an ambitious successor-in-a-hurry.

This so offended the citizens that they said "no thank you" to the NPA and Jennifer Clarke. "We'll take this Larry Campbell fellow, whoever he might be."

Now in 2005 we see another muscular, organized effort about to steamroll a proven, popular councillor, Sam Sullivan, who has paid his dues on council for 12 years. Curiously, Sullivan's challenger for the mayoral nomination is another wannabe Clark, Christy, this time around.

But the resemblance ends there. Unlike the Christy version, Jennifer Clarke had served on city council and had been planning her takeover for donkey's years. She was a good councillor and the knock on her effort was mostly the callous manner of jettisoning Philip Owen, one of the best mayors we've ever had.

By contrast, Christy Clark hasn't paid her dues. She doesn't even live in Vancouver, though she has graciously agreed to move here if she gets the nomination. Now that, my friends, is commitment.

She's been a provincial cabinet minister, indeed, but is this relevant? Ministers are named by the premier. They are part of a corporate organization, vice-presidents, so to speak. In this capacity they represent the government, not the people, and when push comes to shove, they do what the boss says or leave.

City councillors, by contrast, really do make up their own minds and vote as they think appropriate on local issues. They may not deal with international affairs or energy policy, but they are pretty important to our little lives. Thus it may be worth observing that while Clark is a pretty good talker, Sullivan has proven a pretty good listener.

Sullivan has been working at the council table for as long as most can remember, doing a thorough, steady job. His leadership on the ward system issue last year was of a high order - taking an apparently hopeless cause (though a right one, the preservation of the electoral system that is one of the basics of our great city) from obvious loser to clear victory.

When you can be big enough to go against the flow in the interests of what is right and bring others to that view, that is leadership.

But that is not all. Much more important in political terms, Sullivan is regarded with a good deal of affection in this city - as was, one reminds, Owen. Machine politics can deny such individuals a nomination among machine-dominated party members, but the general voter knows what is going on and will react.

So far, so good or bad - but there is another element here that poses an even greater problem for the NPA as a party and for civic government. That is the question of the takeover of municipal politics by the federal Liberal party.

Christy Clark was a provincial Liberal but that should not confuse anyone. This is a federal deal. Her husband, Mark Marissen, is Paul Martin's B.C. boss as federal campaign chairman. He runs the federal show in this province, has all the lists and is using them. Christy Clark's campaign manager is Mike Hillman, vice-president of the federal Liberal party. The Ottawa Liberal fingerprints are all over this exercise.

Not to say it is not a Marissen-Clark family exercise as well. Of course it is. Whether Clark's eventual ambition is to be premier of British Columbia or a federal cabinet minister, who knows? But it is the feds driving the bus.

The way you win a game like this is signing up tame voting delegates. The Martin Libs are past masters at this, and have lists in the thousands in the Vancouver area. A particular specialty has been helpful membership from the Sikh temples. Federal control of immigration is a powerful tool.

So another issue is whether we want federal Liberal politics imported to our city hall. And indeed - does the federal Liberal party itself want to be seen as a swaggering bully that can win any game it wishes?

This all poses an unhappy conundrum for the NPA, which has worked diligently to open up its previously controlled organization to real democracy. The feds are using the new openness against the civic party, just as of course the Martinites used the Liberal nomination and party election process to ambush the Chretienites.

Will this fly in Vancouver? Maybe at the NPA mayoral nomination on Sept. 24 the federal machine can prevail. It may be able to blow Sam Sullivan out of the water.

What could be a greater pleasure for Jim Green? Because Sullivan is the only one who can beat him.

Today, Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan's campaign announced they would be holding yet another endorsement event for the Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate - this time, at the Opus Hotel on September 19. Of course, the fact Mr. Sullivan has received so many props is not a surprise. The man is friendly to a fault and the association's favourite son. But he's also been doing a considerable amount of backroom glad-handing and back-slapping. An example: last Friday, Mr. Sullivan hosted a dinner with association candidates at the same establishment, which is right around the corner from the good councillor's abode. Said dinner had been scheduled before former cabinet minister Christy Clark entered the mayoral race as a team-building exercise. But Mr. Sullivan went ahead with the event anyway, giving him a chance to tell his compelling (and vote-getting) life story. The following is a copy of his campaign's most recent media advisory.

September 16, 2005

MEDIA ADVISORY

Prominent community endorsers rally behind Sullivan's candidacy for Mayor of Vancouver

When: Noon, Monday (September 19)
Where: Opus Hotel (second floor), 322 Davie Street
What: A number of leading community leaders announce their endorsements for Vancouver City Councillor Sam Sullivan's Mayoral bid

For more information:
Colin Metcalfe

Last Saturday, The Vancouver Sun's Frances Bulla "obtained" a copy of a poll, commissioned by Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate Christy Clark, showing the former provincial cabinet minister "has a better chance than four-term councillor Sam Sullivan of beating Jim Green in a race for mayor of Vancouver." But the 300 Terminal City dwellers surveyed by Synovate Inc. weren't just questioned about who they'd most likely vote for. The polling firm also asked them what they thought was the single most important issue facing Vancouver. The following is a copy of that previously unreleased data. The poll, conducted between August 24 and 28, had a margin of error was 5.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

City Of Vancouver Poll

Table 1

Q1. I'd like to start by asking you what you consider is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT issue facing City of Vancouver residents at this time - one which you think City Hall should give the highest priority.

Total 300
Traffic/congestion/transportation 53 (18%)
Poverty/homelessness 39 (13%)
Housing/affordable housing/costs 29 (10%)
Drug addiction/problems 22 (7%)
Public transit 17 (6%)
City services-engineering/road/sewers 11 (4%)
Violent crimes 9 (3%)
Public safety/comfort on streets- pan handling 9 (3%)
Theft of personal property - homes/offices/cars 7 (2%)
Environment/recycling/air pollution 7 (2%)
Overdevelopment/growth/need for planning 7 (2%)
Taxation 6 (2%)
Other policing issues 3 (1%)
Schools/education issues 3 (1%)
Parks/community centers 3 (1%)
2010 Olympics 3 (1%)
Economy/unemployment/jobs 2 (1%)
Immigration/need for ESL 1 *
Other 45 (15%)
Don't Know/Refused/No Opinion 2 (48%)

City Of Vancouver Poll

Table 2

Q3. As you may be aware, COPE Mayor Larry Campbell is not running for re-election in the upcoming municipal election in November. Several names have been mentioned as candidates or potential candidates for Vancouver Mayor.

a. If the municipal election were being held tomorrow, which of these two candidates would you be likely to vote for Mayor?

Total 300
Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 112 (37%)
Councilor Sam Sullivan of NPA 80 (27%)
No preference 26 (9%)
Would not vote 8 (3%)
Don't Know/Refused 74 (25%)

Male Total 145
Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 51 (35%)
Councilor Sam Sullivan of NPA 43 (35%)
No preference 12 (8%)
Would not vote 4 (3%)
Don't Know/Refused 35 (24%)

Female Total 155
Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 61 (39%)
Councilor Sam Sullivan of NPA 37 (24%)
No preference 14 (9%)
Would not vote 4 (3%)
Don't Know/Refused 39 (25%)

Q3b. And which of these two candidates would you be likely to vote for Mayor?

Total 300
Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 108 (36%)
Christy Clark, former Deputy Premier as the NPA candidate 111 (37%)
No preference 20 (7%)
Would not vote 5 (2%)
Don't Know/Refused 56 (19%)

Male Total 146
Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 49 (34%)
Christy Clark, former Deputy Premier as the NPA candidate 62 (43%)
No preference 6 (4%)
Would not vote 3 (2%)
Don't Know/Refused 25 (17%)

Female Total 155

Councilor Jim Green, formerly of COPE and now of Vision Vancouver 59 (38%)
Christy Clark, former Deputy Premier as the NPA candidate 49 (32%)
No preference 14 (9%)
Would not vote 2 (1%)
Don't Know/Refused 31 (20%)

Today, in The Vancouver Sun, former federal Liberal candidate Gordon Gibson put the boots Christy Clark's bid to become the Non-Partisan Association's mayoral candidate. Comparing the former provincial cabinet minister with Vancouver city councillor Sam Sullivan, Mr. Gibson wrote, "By contrast, Christy Clark hasn't paid her dues. She doesn't even live in Vancouver, though she has graciously agreed to move here if she gets the nomination. Now that, my friends, is commitment." Of course, some of our correspondents wonder whether those musings have anything to do with the fact Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell (another non-due payer) was recently appointed to the Senate - a post Mr. Gibson had also been touted for. That appointment was engineered by Ms. Clark's husband Mark Marissen.

But, in an interview with Public Eye, Mr. Gibson said "No. What I wrote today was motivated by my love for the city of Vancouver. And I just do not want it polluted with federal Liberal-style politics." When asked whether he had lobbied for a Red Chamber appointment, Mr. Gibson forthrightly declared, "I was told (a seat) might be available. I said I would accept it. That was a year ago."

Mr. Gibson, a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute, was once a special assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He also led the provincial Liberals between 1975 and 1979. Ironically, Mr. Gibson's 1993 campaign to reclaim that post was managed by Mike Hillman, who is now running Ms. Clark's nomination bid.

Earlier, Public Eye reported an internal provincial New Democrat's committee had recommended allowing affiliated province-wide unions (as opposed to locals) to sent two delegates each to convention - a significant reduction. And now we have the proof! Public Eye has exclusively obtained a copy of the committee's confidential and final majority report, which stops short of banning labour groups from affiliating with the party. But it seems even that change didn't sit well with the unionists.

The committee's three labour movement members - United Steelworkers of America district three director Steve Hunt, former Canadian Union of Public Employees British Columbia secretary-treasurer Colleen Jordan and British Columbia Federation of Labour secretary-treasurer Angie Schira - have signed-off on a potentially explosive minority report that stands behind the status quo. And they are also recommending provincial council reject the majority report and wait till a consensus solution can be reached. The following is a complete copy of those reports, which were distributed to council members last night. A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.

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CONFIDENTIAL

FINAL REPORT OF THE BCNDP AFFILIATION COMMITTEE
September 7, 2005

Terms of Reference

This Committee is empowered through the following resolution which was adopted at the 2003 BCNDP Convention:

C2003--02 THE PARTY AND THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

WHEREAS since the earliest days of the CCF the Party has had a special relationship with the trade union movement and its members; and
WHEREAS in coming years legislation may alter the financial aspects of affiliated membership participation, as has occurred at the federal level and in other provinces; and
WHEREAS the B.C. NDP is on record supporting the reform of campaign financing; and
WHEREAS to remain effective any dynamic organization must periodically review its structure and its relationships with other organizations;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the B.C. NDP review the structures that govern our relationship with affiliated members; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT to conduct this review the Provincial Executive immediately appoint an ad hoc Committee, representing individual and affiliated members, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Committee be empowered to seek the cooperation of all Party bodies and individuals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Committee formulate recommendations to retain and/or change the structures that govern affiliated members; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT consideration be given to different models of participation and representation by the affiliated membership in anticipation of new party financing legislation, including but not limited to changes such as those being proposed by the Federal Council of the NDP for the 2005 NDP of Canada Convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT such a Committee forward its recommendations in a preliminary report, with any minority reports attached, to the second Provincial Council meeting of 2004, and a final report with recommendations for discussion at the Council's third regularly scheduled meeting in 2004.

Constitution and Party Affairs Committee with thanks and reference to resolutions proposed by Oak Bay Gordon Head and Saanich South the Salt Spring NDP Club

Also, a further resolution was adopted which amended the Constitution by adding Article 19.02, which allows Provincial Council, on a 3/4 vote, to amend the Constitution to implement the recommendations of this Committee and the OMOV (""One Member, One Vote"") Committee.

The Committee Process

This Committee met on a number of occasions in 2004 and 2005. Minutes were kept and reports were issued. Input was requested of all bodies of the BCNDP, and the Committee wishes to express their appreciation for those valuable comments from members and constituent bodies.
Membership on the Committee was determined as directed in the resolution and consisted of:

Ian Aikenhead, Q.C. (Chair)
Angela Schira
Colin Gabelmann
Colleen Jordan
George Heyman
Gretchen Brewin (withdrew May 2005)
Jane Burton
Linda Asgeirsson
Moe Sihota (appointed June 2005)
Steve Hunt

All of the Affiliation Committee members expressed an appreciation of the importance of the labour movement historically and currently to the BCNDP. The NDP was created out of a coalition with the labour movement, and the labour movement shares common goals and is an important partner of the BCNDP.

The clear assumption of the Affiliation Committee is that the purpose of any recommended change is to ensure that now and in the future all British Columbians who share our vision, including trade union members, are encouraged to join the BCNDP and become more active in our Party at every level.

This Committee first provided a detailed discussion paper in May 2004 which was discussed at the following Provincial Council. We made no recommendations at that time, but made a number of comments to help advance the debate, and provided options for consideration by Provincial Council. Provincial Council and other party members have provided us with helpful input which assisted our discussion.

A second report was brought forward to Provincial Council in September of 2004 which included an ela