Index du Forum

aderfp633 · Inscrit le: 27 Sep 2011 Messages: 7915 Localisation: England

{Auditor General loses bid to see BC Rail agreement}
John Doyle, B.C. Auditor GeneralBy Bob MackinTue Jan 29, 2013 4:00pm PSTThe chief justice of the BC Supreme Court upheld the principle of solicitor-client privilege today, in a verdict against Auditor General John Doyle's bid to see the indemnity agreement that paid the legal bills for two ex-BC Liberal aides.Doyle wanted to know why the government ignored standard policy and landed taxpayers with the $6 million bill for Dave Basi and Bob Virk's lawyers after their surprise guilty plea on October 18,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], 2010. Basi and Virk had claimed their innocence for more than six years over allegations they sold confidential government information to representatives of OmniTrax, a bidder for BC Rail.In July 2011, Doyle began a performance audit of government indemnities and 33 third-party indemnified persons waived their privilege over information held by the government. The Ministry of Attorney General granted Doyle access to some Basi-Virk documents, but not the key agreement that led to the abrupt end of the sensational BC Supreme Court corruption trial.During hearings last September and December, Doyle's lawyer Louis Zivot argued the Auditor General needed unfettered access to the documents in order to fulfill his duty to the legislature – and, ultimately, taxpayers – because he is the government spending watchdog.However, Chief Justice Robert Bauman's 42-page written judgment called solicitor-client privilege "fundamental to the proper functioning of our legal system," and denied the judgment was a "triumph of secrecy over transparency and accountability.""Solicitor-client privilege is not a lawyer's trick to avoid proper scrutiny of [a] client's conduct or the steps taken on his or her behalf during the retainer," Bauman wrote. "It is a critical civil right."Bauman said solicitor-client privilege is "as sacred as any secular business relationship can be" because citizens must be able to freely discuss legal matters with their lawyers and receive "frank advice."Bauman appointed Michael Frey as "amicus curiae,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url]," or friend of the court,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], to argue against the Auditor General's petition. Frey relied heavily on expert witness Wayne Strelioff, a former Auditor General, who testified that "wholesale access to privileged materials ... is not necessary for the purposes of an audit undertaken in accordance with (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants) standards."Bauman noted in his judgment that the new Auditor General for Municipal Government is similarly constrained."It is interesting to note the legislature's view that a performance audit in the local government context does not require unfettered access to materials subject to solicitor-client privilege."Bauman heard arguments in September and December, and received an 11th-hour affidavit from government lawyer Richard Butler. That sworn statement claimed Butler did not look at billing certificates when they were originally submitted. He blamed "failure of memory" for making misstatements in an affidavit a year earlier.Former Liberal MLA John van Dongen successfully obtained intervenor status to support the Auditor General's petition and was represented by Roger McConchie. Van Dongen is awaiting the results of a conflict-of-interest probe by Northwest Territories conflict-of-interest commissioner Gerald Gerrand into Premier Christy Clark. Clark was a cabinet minister at the time of the BC Rail sale and is implicated in memos by Basi that she supplied confidential cabinet documents to lobbyists for OmniTrax. Clark has denied any wrongdoing.B.C. conflict-of-interest commissioner Paul Fraser shifted the file to Gerrand after van Dongen learned Fraser's son John Paul is a longtime friend and political appointee of Clark's."I understand (Bauman’s) decision, I respect the decision, I think I get the decision," van Dongen told BIV. “The judge did conclude the Auditor General has sufficient power and scope to do an audit of special indemnities. Also, there is a way for the legislature to amend the law,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url],[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], to enable the Auditor General to infringe on solicitor-client privilege.”BMackin@biv.com@bobmackinTags: law, standards,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url], Christy Clark,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], John Doyle, Northwest Territories,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], British Columbia Supreme Court,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url], provincial government
_________________
People watching the forthcoming beginning of the German half of the inhabitants of Berlin are no interested in co-optation

Index du Forum -> Clubs et associations -> Auditor General loses bid to see BC Rail agreement