British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.
In a ruling that places limits on the principle of cabinet confidentiality and is expected to prove pivotal in a long-running political corruption trial, Premier Gordon Campbell and his top officials have been ordered to turn over their e-mail records to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett said Monday she wants to review the e-mails of Mr. Campbell, his chief of staff, Martyn Brown, his executive assistant, Lara Dauphinee, his deputy minister, Brenda Eaton, his former chief adviser, Ken Dobell, and several other key elected and appointed officials.
The government is also required to produce the e-mails of former finance minister Gary Collins and former deputy premier Christy Clark, both of whom left politics in 2004.
In a ruling described by defence lawyers as unprecedented in its impact on the principle that the confidence of cabinet discussions is absolute, Judge Bennett has determined that communications that took place at the highest level of the B.C. government between 2001 and 2004 could contain evidence relevant to the case she is hearing concerning the $1-billion sale of BC Rail, a provincial Crown corporation, in 2003.
She ordered the records produced so she can review the material before deciding if it should be given to lawyers defending three former government employees - Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi - who are charged with fraud, breach of trust and money laundering.
Judge Bennett was recently given a government affidavit stating that backup tapes holding e-mail records for the period in question had been deleted. But a second affidavit, filed a few weeks later by the government, states that the records, or some of them, may be intact.
"At this point I am not dealing with whether these documents exist or have been destroyed," Judge Bennett said in ruling the material is relevant.
George Copley, a government lawyer representing the Premier and cabinet, told court an inventory of electronic data files is being made and "a complete listing of what's available" will be ready on August 17.
"This is a very critical ruling in this trial. We've been seeking the e-mails of the Premier and his key staffers, including the chief of staff, in relation to the divestiture of BC Rail deal … for years. And we've now got an order from the judge that these be produced," said Michael Bolton, one of the defence lawyers.
He said the defence believes the e-mails will show the accused men were only following orders when they handled the BC Rail file.
And he said if government can't produce the e-mails, the stage will be set for a motion to dismiss the case.
"Potentially the destruction of evidence, whether by recklessness, negligence … or a willful failure to preserve, could be a very significant factor in the outcome of this case and it potentially could lead to a motion [of dismissal]for abuse of process," Mr. Bolton said.
"That step is down the road, but that is something we'll be looking at very, very closely over the next few weeks as we find out what in fact can be produced," he said.
Leonard Krog, attorney-general critic for the NDP, said the ruling sends a clear signal that the government is accountable to the courts.
"This message to the government is very simple. Nobody in British Columbia is above the law, including Premier Gordon Campbell and the Liberal Party and the people who work for Gordon Campbell. The fact is they are going to be accountable to Justice Bennett in this court," Mr. Krog said.
Mark Hume