Pubdate: Mon, 05 Jan 2004
Source: Burnaby Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.burnabynow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1592
Author: Dan Hilborn

RAID OPENS UP OLD POLITICAL WOUNDS

A political scandal that is swirling around the legislative building in
Victoria has reached into Burnaby.

One of the most successful Liberal politicians to represent this city over
the past two decades - Vancouver South- Burnaby MP Herb Dhaliwal - is
calling on B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell to come home from his Hawaiian
vacation to answer exactly what involvement he had with the two senior
political staff people who are under investigation by the RCMP.

"The premier should be asking some tough questions of his two ministers,"
Dhaliwal said after the Sunday morning raid on the offices of two aides to
B.C. cabinet ministers in Victoria. "I think that some of the people
involved should certainly come out and make it clear what their involvement
was."

Dhaliwal, who has served as a member of Parliament in Burnaby since 1997,
said that David Basi, who was fired from his post as ministerial assistant
to B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins on Monday, was instrumental in
organizing a coup of Dhaliwal's riding executive in November 2002.

Last Sunday (Dec. 28), as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal
drug trade, the RCMP commercial crime section removed more than 30 boxes of
materials from where Basi worked in Collins' office, plus the office of the
Bob Virk, a ministerial aide to Transportation Minister Judith Reid.

Basi was fired by Premier Gordon Campbell and Virk was suspended with pay.

No charges have yet been laid in the case, however, police spokesperson Sgt.
John Ward confirmed the investigation revolves around allegations of
organized crime and drugs.

"I can say in general that the spread of organized crime just in the past
two years has been like a cancer on the social and economic well-being of
all British Columbians. Today, the value of the illegal marijuana trade
alone is estimated to be worth in excess of $6 billion. We are seeing major
increases in organized-crime-related murders, beatings, extortion, money
laundering and other activity which touches many innocent lives," Ward said.

Dhaliwal, the former senior political minister for British Columbia,
believes Basi was one of the organizers of a controversial November 2002
meeting that resulted in his loss of support in the riding.

"I was quite concerned that people from Victoria were involved in meddling
in my riding," said Dhaliwal, who announced earlier this month that he will
be retiring from politics to go back into his family-run businesses. "I was
the senior minister for B.C. who was working closely with the premier and
they had their own political staff trying to undermine me. I find that
incredible.

"I think the premier should be asking some tough questions of his ministers
Collins and Reid," Dhaliwal said. "I was just amazed that there were people
in Victoria who were actively trying to take over my riding."

The November 2002 meeting resulted in SFU political science professor
Shinder Purewal being installed as the new riding president.

Purewal, a former BVNPA candidate for Burnaby city council who now lives in
Surrey, has already announced his intention to run for the federal Liberal
party nomination in the new South Vancouver riding.

"Mr. Purewal should come out and clear the air," Dhaliwal said. "This was an
orchestrated coup, and that's unfortunate. This is the sort of sleazy part
of gutter politics that people have to sometimes deal with, and it's
regrettable."

Purewal refuted the allegations and said that, while he does know Basi, the
people from Victoria had no involvement in the controversial meeting.

"If there's any evidence that Mr. Dhaliwal can show that these people from
Victoria were involved, then he should present it," said Purewal.

While Purewal admits to knowing Basi, he also claims that their relationship
ends there. "I know him but I also know Liberal party operators in Ontario.
So does that mean that all the Liberals I know are friends?"

Purewal also said that Dhaliwal was simply looking for excuses for his own
inability to hang onto the riding. "In November 2000, he (Dhaliwal) was
saying that I did it (organized the coup). Then Dhaliwal said Paul Martin
did it, and now, all of a sudden with the bad publicity, they want to
associate this with the events in Victoria. It has absolutely nothing to do
with it."

Meanwhile, according to press reports from Victoria, several other prominent
names from Burnaby have possible connections to the two ministerial aides
who are the focus of the investigation.

Bill Cunningham, a longtime city resident and the president of the B.C. wing
of the federal Liberal party, said the link between the two provincial
ministerial assistants and the federal Liberal party is tenuous at best.

"First of all, other than some irresponsible speculation, there has been no
inference that the investigation in Victoria really had anything to do with
the federal party. I know there's quite an absence of facts and there's
rampant speculation. People are trying to find links and ties that are
probably being quite exaggerated."

Cunningham said the controversy in the Vancouver South-Burnaby constituency
was simply an airing of animosities between supporters of current Prime
Minister Paul Martin and his predecessor Jean Chretien.

"The people we're talking about, David Basi in particular, certainly have
been active in the federal party for some time. He was a supporter of Paul
Martin and his primary circle of influence was in Victoria. He may very well
have connections with friends and family that extend beyond that, but to
suggest that he was a key player in what happened in Vancouver South-Burnaby
is clearly an exaggeration."

Meanwhile, another well-known local name may have other connections to the
case. Erik Bornman, a 27-year-old employee of Pilothouse Public Affairs
Group in Victoria who had his office raided by police on Sunday, worked as a
campaign manager for Burnaby Coun. Lee Rankin, when he ran unsuccessfully
for the federal Liberals in November 2000.

Rankin, a former NDP member who quit that party in disgust in the aftermath
of the North Burnaby Inn casino scandal, said his formal involvement with
Bornman ended after that election.

"He (Bornman) was assigned to manage my campaign. Let's put it that way,"
Rankin said, noting that he became a candidate after the election was
underway, and needed to put a campaign team in place quickly. "I see him
from time to time, but that's it. I have absolutely no other information."

When asked if he is concerned about the investigation tarnishing the image
of the B.C. Liberals, Rankin said he wants to see how events unfold over the
coming months.

"I've been reading with interest what the RCMP are saying and, hopefully,
they are doing their jobs with a dispassionate, professional investigative
approach. However, it is not clear to me exactly who are the suspects.

"The individuals who worked for the ministers, it's not clear if they are
the focus of the investigation or if they just have material that might be
of importance to the investigation.

"I concur with the statement from the RCMP that criminal activity associated
with drug production and trafficking and the money laundering associated
with that activity is a serious and corrupting factor in society and needs
to be rooted out forcefully," Rankin said. "The potential for corrupting the
body politic as well as the serious criminality of assassinations and
criminal influence of organizations is profoundly dangerous for our
society."
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