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Unique newspaper coverage of local, regional and global topics - serious and light-hearted.




BC Rail


BC Rail: The great disappearing act

Mar 24, 2011

All the evidence from the aborted BC Rail (Basi-Virk) trial is to be returned and destroyed. Key players in the scandal are dropping out of public life. No public enquiry into the sale is slated and can never be if evidence is destroyed.

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Crown seeks to bury BC Rail deal evidence

Jan 13, 2011

Despite the Special Crown Prosecutor seeking an Order to put Basi-Virk trial evidence permanently under wraps, information about the BC Rail deal is coming to light.

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BC Rail trial halts

Oct 28, 2010

BC Rail case comes to a sudden halt. Basi and Virk’s plea bargain gives them mild sentences; the government pays their $6 million legal bill. Many witnesses avoid testifying; many questions remain.

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Mourning in Courtroom 54

Oct 28, 2010

The end of justice in British Columbia, October 18, 2010-commentary by Robin Mathews

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BC Rail trial delayed again, and again

Oct 14, 2010

Many delays dog the BC Rail trial. Will it be finished by next April?

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Editorial: Beyond Recall

Sept 30, 2010

The long-awaited Basi-Virk case is starting to untangle the web of BC politics, despite the poor memories of the witnesses.

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Basi Virk Trial Underway

June 24, 2010

The long-delayed Basi-Virk trial is far more important than a mere petty corruption trial, as can be witnessed by how long the pre-trial was dragged out. Finally, we may find out how BC Rail was 'sold' but don't hold you breath. The court is worth a visit.

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Editorial: Full Disclosure

July 2, 2009

The destruction of government records, while derailing the Basi-Virk case, will make it impossible for the BC government to disprove allegations of a crooked BC Rail deal.

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Legislature Raids

June 18, 2009

A review of 'The Legislature Raids' blog reveals on-the-spot reporting and an astonishing story, with an unimaginable ending which has not yet been reached.

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BC Rail Judge

June 4, 2009

In the continuing saga of the filibustered Legislature Raids, Madam Justic Elizabeth Bennet has been bumped up to the BC Appeal Court and says 'I'm the only person who knows best how to proceed.'

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More Tracks, More Connections, Less News

March 12, 2009

What are the connections between drug money laundering, the BC Rail Deal and the 2003 BC Legislature raids?

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Justice and Politics

Aug 7, 2008

It is now close to five years since a raid on the legislative offices in Victoria by the RCMP yielded many boxes of documents said to have a bearing on the sale of BC Rail to CN Rail.

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Basi - Virk trial fogged in technicality and secrecy

December 13, 2007

The seemingly never-ending legal proceedings surrounding the takeover of BC Rail by CN Rail have plunged further into a legal fog.

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Riding the rails: tracking the BC Rail deal

November 15, 2007 | Commentary by BC Mary

During the provincial election of 2001, Gordon Campbell promised BC that he would never sell BC Rail. Then he sold it in a deal which remains secret and tainted.

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In Depth look at the BC Rail Deal: North to Alaska

November 18, 2004

When CN bought BC Rail from the provincial government, they not only achieved a monopoly on rail freight traffic for most of the interior of British Columbia, but also sewed up the two major route possibilities for a future railroad to Alaska. Given CN’s ambitions for a railroad empire spanning all the North American Free Trade area, did they pay enough?

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