(The following article by Steve Berry was posted on the Vancouver Province website on January 13.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The $1-billion B.C. Rail deal should go ahead, Transportation Minister Judith Reid said yesterday.
The deal came under fire after police raided the B.C. legislature Dec. 28 and seized documents from two political aides with close connections to the privatization of the railway.
The raids were connected to a separate 20-month investigation into drugs and organized crime in the province.
But Reid said she has faith in the privatization process.
“I have confidence that the process has been right, has been scrupulous, has been fair,” she said.
“There would be no reason not to continue on and complete.”
During the raids, the office of Reid’s aide, Bob Virk, was visited by police and dozens of boxes of government files seized. Virk was suspended with pay.
Police also raided the offices of Dave Basi, ministerial aide to Finance Minster Gary Collins, taking more files. Basi was fired.
Reid said she has not been visited by the police.
“If they want to talk to me, I would be more than willing to,” she said.
Reid said Virk — a “diligent worker” — was deeply involved with the B.C. Rail file.
“He would attend meetings that I could not attend, and report back to me,” she said.
“He worked along side of me. He had the information going through the entire process. While he had that information it wasn’t his to do anything with.”
Last week, union labour leaders called for the deal to be put aside until the police investigation is finished.
Meanwhile, bureaucrats responsible for negotiating the privatization have not been contacted by police.