Heavily censored documents show premier Gordon Campbell and finance minister Colin Hansen likely knew more about the province's finances than they admitted during the election, said New Democratic Party finance critic Bruce Ralston.
“There's very little information being released and most of it is blank,” said Ralston, showing reporters hundreds of pages the NDP received in response to a freedom of information request.
The documents include slides from a March 24, 2009, monthly finance meeting with titles “updated fiscal forecast” and “risks to forecast.”
“As of March 24, 2009, the government knew, the premier knew, the finance minister knew, and had in their possession an updated fiscal forecast with risks to that forecast,” said Ralston.
In the month ahead of the May 12 election Campbell and Hansen said the February, 2009 budget, with a $495-million deficit for 2009-2010, was on target. The updated budget released in September, less than four months after the election, showed the projected deficit for the year had grown to $2.8 billion.
“In good times or in bad times the public should be able to rely on representations made by a finance minister or a premier, regardless of whether its in the middle of the term or whether we're leading to an election,” said Ralston. “My sense is the public no longer has confidence in the minister of finance.”
Ralston said the NDP is appealing to the information and privacy commissioner to order uncensored copies of the documents to be released. The party has also asked auditor general John Doyle to investigate whether the government has met its responsibility to the public to be “open and truthful regarding deficits and spending.”
Update, 3:25 p.m.: Hansen said he reviewed the document and found it was an update on the 2008-2009 fiscal year, not 2009-2010. He refused to release an uncensored version.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
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G West
2 years ago
Rely on the representations of THIS government?
Hardly. These people have NO SHAME and they have no intention of ever being open and accountable for their decisions.
To Campbell the words 'open', 'transparent' and 'accountable' are just part of a pre-election slogan...they have no real meaning to him, no real significance for his behavior and no reality in the 'world' in which the man and his business cronies operate.
Whiskey River
2 years ago
They also violated section 25 of FIPA
Section 25 of FIBA states...
All information regarding environmental safety and public health and safety must be released immediately...
So why did Gordon Campbell and the ministry of environment with-hold toxic air reports with Formaldehyde levels 20 times the highest Provincial allowable standard,and these air test were in a residential area,with schools,day cares,seniors.....These test were done in 2008,the results were hidden and not reported until May/20/2009,one week after the last BC election?
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2010/03/gordon-campbell-ignored-laws-regarding.html
In my opinion Gordon Campbell should be jailed for deliberate criminal activities!
BC Boy
2 years ago
Have it run through the court first.
"In my opinion Gordon Campbell should be jailed for deliberate criminal activities!"
If that were true, it would need to be handled through the courts first.
Don't ever recall that cabinet documents regarding a budget were ever released by the NDP when they were government.
A previous poster noted:
"To Campbell the words 'open', 'transparent' and 'accountable' are just part of a pre-election slogan"
So was:
'We're on your side' - Glen Clark, 1996.
"A Harcourt government will be as honest as the people who pay for it"
- NDP Campaign slogan, 1991.
Stephanie T
2 years ago
“My sense is the public no
“My sense is the public no longer has confidence in the minister of finance.”
NO LONGER HAS CONFIDENCE??? In order to no longer have confidence, wouldn't you first need to HAVE confidence? This criminal gang lost my confidence immediately after they produced their first budget and they have since done nothing to regain it.
The one and only thing they have done right, IMO, is the moratorium on uranium mining and exploration and for the life of me, I can't figure why they did that. But I digress.
How in hell can anyone have confidence in in a government that headlines a press release thusly: "Province protects services for low income clients" then proceeds to list cuts to those same services? How can anyone have confidence in someone who would cut funding to a program that supplies people who can not speak, with technology that gives them the means to communicate? Who would trust someone who says mere days before the election "The HST is not even on our radar" then completely reverse themselves only a few weeks later?
I could go on and on about these shameless, heartless, brainless, compassionless assholes, but everyone here knows their record all to well as it is. Suffice it to say I am pissed off beyond belief and wish daily for karma to catch up to them.
Frank
2 years ago
BC Boy
And your problem with those two statements is what exactly?
Whose side do you think Clark was on?
What about the Harcourt government do you not consider to be honest?
Notice you didn't have a negative word about Gord though, the guy you campaigned for last May.
BC Boy
2 years ago
Who says I campagined for Campbell?
"And your problem with those two statements is what exactly?"
They weren't exactly accurate to every voter.
"Whose side do you think Clark was on?"
The usual - labour and the so-called
"working people" (which is a misnomer)
"What about the Harcourt government do you not consider to be honest?"
We'll start with the CMHS and go from there.
"Notice you didn't have a negative word about Gord though, the guy you campaigned for last May."
No need. The previous poster is doing very well managing that part of the political file.
Sorry did not campaign for Campbell. I don't live in his riding.
Frank
2 years ago
BC Boy
In other words, Clark's statement is accurate.
And what exactly did the Harcourt government do that was dishonest?
I'm not surprised you have nothing negative to say about Campbell.
BC Boy
2 years ago
Why add to the negativity?
"In other words, Clark's statement is accurate."
Clark sure wasn't on the side of the small
business owner or those who didn't vote NDP.
"And what exactly did the Harcourt government do that was dishonest?"
Let's start with that trip of his right
after the October 1991 election to Japan.
Did anything tangible actually come out of that or was it just the photo op of Harcourt clapping his hands as if at a shinto shrine?
"I'm not surprised you have nothing negative to say about Campbell."
Why add to the negative comment here. I don't like quite a bit of what Campbell has done recently, but there's no compulsory need to state what I don't like
about him and his government here.
The left wingers can do that for me and save me the typing.
Frank
2 years ago
BC Boy
Did Clark say he was on the side of business and Liberals? Nope.
So again, you were in error.
As for Harcourt and a Shinto shrine, what? Dictionary.com has definitions of words like "dishonest". You should check it out.
"Why add to the negative comment here"
Because you're already negative. Here's a better suggestion, why not stick to the subject of the articles instead of finding new negative things to say about the NDP which are apparently not even true.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Notwithstanding all BC Boy's red herrings..
...the Campbell gang are the most dishonest of any government in BC's history. No other government gets such a blank cheque for its lies from the media. They never have to worry as even if they are caught out, the story "has no legs." because we choose not to give it any.
Clark and Harcourt were saints compared to these guys. They cost us a hell of a lot less in waste, gifts to friends, sell-offs of resources and outright stupidity. Campbell wins gold in a walk.
Whiskey River
2 years ago
Gordon Campbell has bloodstained hands!
BC Boy,you can read section 25 of the FIBA act...Public health issues must be disclosed,it`s enshrined in law!
Section 25---------Of the FIBA ACT---Public safety issues must be divulged even without a request,it`s the law...Ministry of the environment broke the law,withheld the toxic air reports! The Below information comes directly from the freedom of information act,specifically ....Section 25____________________________________________________________________________________
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
<— Public Interest Paramount Information must be disclosed if in the public interest
25 (1) Whether or not a request for access is made, the head of a public body must, without delay, disclose to the public, to an affected group of people or to an applicant, information
(a) about a risk of significant harm to the environment or to the health or safety of the public or a group of people, or
(b) the disclosure of which is, for any other reason, clearly in the public interest.
(2) Subsection (1) applies despite any other provision of this Act.
(3) Before disclosing information under subsection (1), the head of a public body must, if practicable, notify
(a) any third party to whom the information relates, and
(b) the commissioner.
(4) If it is not practicable to comply with subsection (3), the head of the public body must mail a notice of disclosure in the prescribed form
(a) to the last known address of the third party, and
(b) to the commissioner. >___________________________________________________________________________________Well isn`t that interesting, so when Doug Routley of the NDP asked Ben Stewart(minister of citizen services) why the toxic air results from Prince George that recorded Formaldehyde levels 20 times the legal limit in a residential area were not reported to the public until May/20/2009, one week after the last BC Election, 10 months after the air test were done,well,
The silence was "Deafening"
Grania
2 years ago
Citizens Arrest
I would love for a group of people to make a citizens arrest of Hansen and Campbell. Those citizens would be applauded from one end of BC to the other.
worried
2 years ago
financial records
I think until Canadian media is not monopolized by the right wing Aspers who endorsed Campbell and Harper, we will never have a fully informed voter base. This is not good news for healthy democracy. A Fraser Institue person is on the Sun Editorial Board, and the tendency to gloss over Campbell's massive cost overruns and major cuts to public services give out a far from accurate picture of B.C.'s economy.
Stephanie T
2 years ago
Quote: "Let's start with
Quote:
"Let's start with that trip of his right
after the October 1991 election to Japan."
See, the funny thing is, Harcourt never emphatically stated pre- election "Taking a government sponsored junket to Japan is not even on my radar." only to completely reverse himself almost immediately post-election.
Nor did he state with (worthless,false,insincere,pick an adjective) certainty "The deficit will NOT be more than $495 million." only to come back mere weeks later with a deficit over $2 billion. (who could have known?)
Nor did he state pre-election "I will not sell BC Rail." and we all know how truthful THAT was.
So, to get back on topic i.e the trustworthiness of THIS government,
that is a mere smattering of the broken promises and outright lies that this government has as a record.
Barryeng
2 years ago
Media bias
Everything the NDP was wrong, in big screaming headlines while they we in power. The silence is deafening now that the Liberals hold the reigns.
That is why I read the Tyee and the Globe and Mail every day, but have not read the Sun, the Province or the National Post in several years. I notice that neither the Tyee nor the G&M have had to file for bancruptcy protection lately.
Maybe a little bit of balance in reporting would be a good economic idea.