The Hook

David Basi appeared in B.C. Supreme Court today in Victoria for what was marked on the court registry as the “continuation of a trial or a hearing.”

There is a publication ban on the preliminary hearing, making it illegal to report on any evidence presented in court.

Basi is charged with breach of trust by a public officer, accepting a bribe as a government official, accepting a bribe from a person dealing with government and offering to influence a government official.

The charges are connected to the removal of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in Sooke in 2003. Developers Tony Young and Jim Duncan are alleged to have paid $50,000 to Basi for his help.*

“We look forward to the trial of this matter,” said Basi's lawyer Michael Bolton after the hearing. “The preliminary hearing gave us an opportunity to see the evidence.”

Basi was the ministerial assistant to former B.C. Liberal finance minister Gary Collins.

Judge Ernie Quantz ruled the trial could proceed on all four counts. A first appearance was scheduled for April 1.

It's the Tyee's understanding that former lobbyist Erik Bornmann will be called as a witness.

* Details added at 9 a.m. on March 12.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.