BASI-VIRK - NDP wins access to 8000 pages of documents related to BC Rail privatization in Supreme Court of BC decision today

UPDATED 4:20 P.M.

The New Democratic Party opposition won a big legal victory in BC Supreme Court today when Justice Elizabeth Bennett ruled that they - and the public - could have access to 8,000 pages of government documents related to the privatization of BC Rail.

The documents contained in 15 binders had been obtained by defence counsel for three former BC Liberal government aides facing corruption charges connected to the 2003 BC Rail deal - David Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi.

The documents will take some time to photocopy but should be available in the court registry by this afternoon.

UPDATE - The government documents ordered released by the court will not be available until Thursday due to the length of time needed to photocopy them.

NDP MLA Leonard Krog said outside court that the public deserved to see details of what he called a "giveaway" of BC Rail before the May 12 provincial election.

"We're getting 15 binders of documents that hopefully will cast some light on what I believe is the giveaway of a crown asset that led to criminal charges," Krog said.

But Krog said the BC government could release far more documents if it chose to, including two more binders of BC Rail company information that Bennett today declined to release to the NDP.

"The body that is holding back documents is the government of British Columbia," he said. "BC Rail can release those documents if they wish. The fact that this case has gone on so long is entirely the fault of the provincial government."

Krog said the Gordon Campbell government was using "entirely political" moves to keep the facts from the public.

"Bleak House by Charles Dickens doesn't begin to compart to this fiasco," Krog concluded, referring to the classic novel about a long-running legal dispute that was a criticism of the British judiciary system at the time.

A shorter version of this story will run in Thursday's 24 hours newspaper.

UPDATE 4:20 p.m.

The successful NDP legal application was brought to court by lawyer Mike Mulligan. In court Mulligan told Bennett that: "There should be a presumption of openness in court, including pre-trial hearings."

Bennett was unimpressed, replying: "This courtroom has been very open. There have been very few publication bans. Disclosure [of evidence to the defence] is not something the public generally has access to."

Defence lawyer Michael Bolton, representing David Basi, argued successfully in court for the exclusion of two documents in the 8,000 pages.

"It's communication between a lobbyist and Mr. Basi with regard to some Liberal Party matters," Bolton told Bennett. "It has relevance to these proceedings - I can tell from the date of it."

"I have concern with it being available prior to the trial because it affects Mr. Basi's right to a fair trial," Bolton said. This particular document will be relevant to cross-examinatino of one of the key Crown witnesses."

Bolton did not mention any names but former BC lobbyists Erik Bornmann and Brian Kieran, partners in the now defunct Pilothouse Public Affairs, are both testifying for the Crown and are alleged to have provided benefits to David Basi and Bob Virk in exchange for obtaining confidential government information. Neither Bornmann nor Kieran face any charges.

Bornmann and Kieran were retained as lobbyists by OmniTRAX, one of the two bidders for BC Rail. OmniTRAX has denied any knowledge of their actions and is not under investigation.

Bolton also received Bennett's approval to have a second document removed from the release.

"Binder 3, Tab 3, page 29 is a discussion between Mr. Basi and his previous counsel, Mr. Considine, regarding his employment," Bolton told the court. "It would not normallly be released under the Act. It involves employment history."

Outside court Bolton said that the information obtained by defence counsel through FOI requests that will be made public has much to do with the BC Rail privatization.

"There are a huge volume of documents that will illuminate aspects of the BC Rail deal - it doesn't affect the fair trial rights of Mr. Basi," he said in an interview.

The court adjourned until the next pre-trial session, scheduled to being March 9 with arguments over parliamentary privilege issues and disclosure of documents.

Lawyer Frank Falzone will be representing the Speaker of the BC Legislature, the Clerk and the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.