A sensitive document assigned to NPA Coun. Peter Lander went missing for two days after the Oct. 14 in-camera meeting at which Vancouver City Council approved loaning up to $100 million to the developer of the Olympic Village at Southeast False Creek.
The document, which was later found in NPA Coun. B.C. Lee’s office, is suspected of being the mystery source on which The Globe and Mail based a Nov. 6 report that broke news of the city bail-out.
“B.C. Lee and I have been set up on this,” said Ladner, who is the Non-Partisan Association candidate for mayor.
Ladner’s version of events is as follows:
“We had a closed meeting... The meeting consisted of all the councilors and a number of senior city staff,” Ladner said. He refused to say whether or not Finance Director Estelle Lo was present at the Oct. 14 in-camera meeting.
“Every councilor was given a numbered document,” Ladner said. “We were asked to leave the documents behind” prior leaving council chambers.
“At the end of the meeting, I put my document on the table, and left the meeting, and was seen leaving the meeting with nothing in my hands. As was B.C. Lee,” Ladner said.
“Two days later, the document with my number on it appeared on his desk, after he left his office unlocked,” Ladner said.
He said staff determined that his document was missing that same night.
“It was discovered right away. And there was a lot of people running around trying to find it. And nobody could find it,” Ladner said.
When asked whether the document had been stolen, Ladner chose his words carefully.
“Somebody picked it up, and took it away, and dumped it on B.C. Lee’s desk,” Ladner said.
Ladner also said he was notified promptly after the document was rediscovered two days later
“Right after B.C. Lee found it, he told me,” Ladner said.
That discovery would have been a full week prior to Ladner’s mention of the loan during the Oct. 22 homelessness debate at St. Andrew’s Wesley.
Monte Paulsen reports on Vancouver politics for The Tyee.
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RossK
3 years ago
Now You Don't See It....Now You Do!
Mr. Ladner said:
“At the end of the meeting, I put my document on the table, and left the meeting, and was seen leaving the meeting with nothing in my hands....."
Hmmmmm....
Who, exactly, "saw nothing!"
Sgt. Schultz?
.
Blackbird
3 years ago
Good question, RossK. Also
Good question, RossK. Also interesting is Mr. Ladner's sharing what he did at the end of the meeting when anything that happens in camera is not to be revealed, by law. Now it's okay to tell us something about what happened behind those closed doors, what someone apparently saw? Too bad there isn't a camera in the in camera meeting room. And why wait so long to share the news? It's been a month and he decides to start pointing fingers now? Plus, it's all so iffy and vague that trying to pin something on his opponent by claiming he and Mr. Lee were "set up" without introducing evidence makes it all come across like some desperate attempt at dirty electioneering. That sort of thing might work in some of the death belt states, but most here are equipped with good BS radar. People see through it.
I'd like to know where they find this stuff. Make interesting bathroom reading.
spartikus
3 years ago
Ladner can't have it both ways.
Revealing the vote was unanimous is also a violation of in-camera rules. It's very hard to take his objections seriously, under such circumstances.
Two, the phrase "set-up" implies conscious action, which in the circumstances implies an act of theft. That's a very serious, and unsubstantiated, charge. But Ladner has a history of making wild accusations. Remember during the civic strike he was one of those who claimed to have seen "union documents" that showed, allegedly, that they were planning to hold the Olympics hostage. These documents were never produced, of course.
It's this behaviour more than anything else that suggests to me Peter Ladner will be Sam Sullivan cubed.