BC Rail crook Dave Basi took $50,000 bribe for ALR land deal

“Shades of corrupt Liberal wrongdoing Batman”!  It seems another way to a Liberal official’s heart is the ALR.

The agriculture land reserve  (ALR), implemented to keep farmland, farmland and out of the hundreds of lower mainland developers greedy little hands seems to be quite the lucrative way for government seat moisteners to cash in, and cash in big.

Fresh off the BC Rail trial, while in the Liberal governments employ, convicted criminal and former government official David Basi pleads guilty in yet another scandal, this time BC taxpayers have learned Basi  accepted a $50,000 bribe from developers Shambrook Hills Development Corporation, aka Sunriver Estates in influencing ALR decisions in turning farmland into a housing development.

Many taxpayers with inquiring minds want to know!   Will the Liberal government go after Basi’s assets?  Will Basi be ordered to pay through the nose? Will Basi at least serve jail time over this recent scandal?

Is ex BC Liberal government minister John Les’  investments sitting pretty on what was once ALR land?

While the opposition New Democrat House Leader Mike Farnworth called the BC Rail corruption trail  “probably the biggest corruption case in the history of British Columbia.”  The NDP, most likely are trying to replace this Liberal scandal over the previous NDP governments scandal which saw the NDP government replaced quicker than you can say Pacific Fast Cats!  

Amnesia once again rears its ugly head with those political parties when it comes to those adept at creating scandals, courtesy of the taxpayers who pay the billion dollar bills.

It seems when it comes to politicians and their self entitlement that the motto, “Only help those, who help themselves” seems to be a party platform.
 

Yesterday I commented on the Liberal government waiving the legal fees for Basi and Virk, I then ended the commentary with an opinion piece to ensure the political ROT is nipped in the Bud.  If voters insisted these rules I have written be followed, hopefully a new age of honest politicians would be acting in our interests instead of their own. 

After all politicians state they are acting in the best interests of the voters. I say "time to put your mouth, where our money lies".

Here are just a few political scandals by both the NDP and Liberals, with the Socreds pulling up the rear to help refresh the memories of those voters unclear on the concept of politicians.

·  Driver's Licensing Scandal - widespread bribery of license examiners by new Canadians and their translators

·  Gracie's Finger - Gerrymandering in Vancouver-Little Mountain

·  Lillooet Cattle Trail - cost overruns, poor design and other scandalous aspects on most expensive provincial infrastructure project in 19th Century BC

·  Solidarity Crisis - crisis was launched by Premier Bennett overstaying his mandate, triggering a constitutional crisis

·  Fantasy Gardens (Social Credit Party) - improper sale of property and influence-peddling by Premier Bill Vander Zalm, in connection with Asian gambling lord Tan Yu

·  Stephen Rogers (Social Credit Party) - resigns as environment minister after a conflict of interest due to owning shares in a company[4]

·  Cliff Michael (Social Credit Party) - resigns from cabinet due to conflict of interest over the sale of some land[4]

·  Reid affair (Social Credit Party) - Bill Reid forced to resign after a report showed that he was diverting lottery funds into a company owned by his former campaign manager

·  Bud Smith resigns after tapes and transcripts of him talking disparagingly about a lawyer hired by the oppsition NDP to investigate the Reid Affair

·  Robin Blencoe - (NDP) - allegations of harassing an office employee[1]

·  Phil Gaglardi (Social Credit Party) - improper use of expenses

·  British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation (BCRIC or "Brick") (Social Credit Party) - public boondoggle involving publicly-distributed and soon-worthless shares of former Crown Corporation

·  Bingogate - New Democratic Party of British Columbia - skimming of charity funds (1990s)

·  Doman Scandal - (Social Credit Party) - insider trading; Premier Bill Bennett indicted but acquitted

·  Coquihalla Highway - (Social Credit Party) - cost overruns and graft

·  Casinogate - New Democratic Party - Premier Glen Clark was charged but acquitted of breach of trust in connection with his official duties.[5] Collusion between Global television and the RCMP in trying to incriminate Clark is alleged by many commentators.

·  FastCat Fiasco (aka "Ferrygate" or simply "the Fast Ferries") - 1990s construction of a fleet of high speed ferry vessels that ended up being massively over-budget and actually slower than existing ferries

·  Gordon Wilson-Judy Tyabji Affair (British Columbia Liberal Party) - semi-secret romance between the Opposition Leader and his House Whip leads to their downfall

·  BC Legislature Raids ("Railgate") (BC Liberal Party) - raids on offices of senior political aides in the legislature connected to everything from marijuana grow-ops to questions connected with the sale of BC Rail to Canadian National.

In ending, regardless who gets elected in this province whether the NDP or Liberals, while in power both parties seem to enjoy the fruits of their labours one way or another.  Yet for some unknown reason, BC’ers still vote them into power time and time again, knowing full well their past history that like a leopard, you can’t change its spots.   Yet BC voters seem to almost have a religious fanaticism about these two political parties, blindly following their every word. 

 Thank god the Reverend Jim Jones is not around, for if he was a political candidate, BC voters would be downing grape juice by the gallon.