Diamond Isinger

TransLink on the Murray-Clarke Connector: “the estimated $69-million capital cost of the connector and its attendant maintenance costs would have to drop by at least 65% before the project would be viable” (July 8, 2011 - http://www.tricitynews.com/news/125238319.html)

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BC NDP by-election candidate Joe Trasolini is playing a reckless game with the Murray-Clarke Connector project. On Monday (Jan 30, 2012), he announced his call on the province to take action on the Connector… an announcement that makes little sense since Murray-Clarke is the responsibility of TransLink. Trasolini, as a  former mayor and director on TransLink’s board, is plenty aware of their jurisdiction over the project.

On the financial side, the Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer said the following about that announcement: “If Trasolini and Dix have their way, the $70-million connector would be built straightaway, and never mind the business plan.”

TransLink rejected funding for the Connector project after reviewing a report conducted by well-respected engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, a firm that has much experience in local rapid transit projects, being the company responsible for the 19-km Canada Line through Vancouver and Richmond. SNC-Lavalin’s conclusion was that there was no business case whatsoever for the Connector – and that it would cost upwards of $70 million, not the $50 million Trasolini had said.

This is not, however, the first time he’s played reckless political games with taxpayer dollars for Murray-Clarke.

After TransLink rejected the Connector, Trasolini was upset. So much so – in fact – that in July, his city council took the irresponsible step of planning to remove Murray and Clarke from TransLink’s Major Roads Network. In doing so, the roads – and their expensive maintenance costs – would be the responsibility of the City of Port Moody. The cost to taxpayers? $500,000 per year – a 2% increase in property tax for all residents. Luckily for Port Moody taxpayers, the city’s engineering department had the good sense to advise Trasolini’s council that this would be a reckless decision. (http://www.vancouversun.com/news/seeks+byelection+traction+with+overpass/6083414/story.html)

Local residents and businesses have even voiced opposition to the Murray-Clarke project, citing a desire to not have a freeway project running through the area and separating the city from the beautiful waterfront. (July 7, 2011 http://www.tricitynews.com/news/125175953.html)

Now, Trasolini is pinning the responsibility for a currently-needless Connector on the provincial government. What he certainly knows, as a former long-time mayor who has worked with TransLink, is that this is in no way Victoria’s responsibility. The roads were and are under the operation of the Major Roads Network, and have been since the 80s.

Regardless, Trasolini is trying hard for this to become a by-election issue, because it would be awfully convenient for him to buy a by-election win by making a $70 million commitment to his pet project. Local media has, in past, even referred to his activism for this project as cheap political “stunts” (Tri-Cities News, December 12, 2007).

But wait! It gets better! Not only is he disparaging the provincial government for not taking action on something they’re not even responsible for, he’s now claiming that the BC government hasn’t invested in infrastructure in the region (Tri-Cities News, Wednesday edition, Feb 1, 2012).

In saying that, he conveniently ignores the fact that the BC Liberal government is the biggest partner of the 3 levels of government involved in construction of the Evergreen Line… with a $558 million investment by the province into that project.

In the words of Vaughn Palmer: “What better way to revive the prospects for a pet project, than to inject it into the promise-making mill of a by-election campaign?” (http://www.vancouversun.com/news/seeks+byelection+traction+with+overpass/6083414/story.html)

You can’t make this stuff up.

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Here’s a third look into Integrity BC. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here.

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“IntegrityBC is a non-partisan advocacy group championing accountability and integrity in BC politics” (integritybc.ca)

“Who really runs BC?” is IntegrityBC’s hilarious slogan. Well, the better question is “Who really runs IntegrityBC?” I’ve checked out the money & the people behind the organization for the last while and can say with certainty that their claims of being “non-partisan” are completely false.

Their continued refusal to come clean about their funding is hypocritical and wrong. When an organization preaches the importance of transparency and campaign finance reform, it’s completely laughable that they would not, then, be transparent in their finances.

I first wrote about this situation in December, and wrote a followup early this month (January). Upon not getting any response from the organization, I posted a link to their Facebook fan page. Finally, I got some acknowledgement on January 23 that they had read my questions, 3 days after posting it to their page. “Diamond’s blog deserves a more thorough response than can be posted to a Wall on Facebook” was their response. I replied with my email address in hopes of getting an answer, but still no luck. (See below for screenshot fun.)

Now, days later, I’ve received some new information through a friend about Wayne Crookes. I wrote about Crookes in my second post about IntegrityBC.

He’s a past national campaign manager of the Green Party of Canada, well known for suing a whole lot of people, and a major donor to the Greens. In fact, Crookes donated over a third of the Green Party of BC’s funding in 2001, in the amount of $83,545 from him. In 2005, he donated a small but notable amount of $1,525 to the federal Greens. Also in 2005, he again donated to the Green Party of BC, in the amount of $31,510.

Any sensible person looking at those amounts would appreciate his financial investment in both the Green Party of BC and the Green Party of Canada. His total donation of $116,580 to the two parties in a span of only 4 years (between 2001 and 2005) is sure generous. Also generous is his personal investment through his many years spent working in Green politics.

But it turns out that his political donations pale in comparison to the amount of money this key Green benefactor has sunk into the “non-partisan” IntegrityBC.

Last year, former Green campaign manager Crookes contributed more than $200,000 to IntegrityBC. This year, he plans to do the same.

About his personal and financial involvement in IntegrityBC, Crookes said the following in an email to a friend:

As the founder – and principal funder – of IntegrityBC I wanted to reply to
you personally.

When IntegrityBC was launched last March, I participated in a number of
media interviews to discuss my reasons for launching and funding the
organization, including with CKNW, CBC, CFAX and the Globe and Mail. We
posted a video to our website and YouTube channel where I discuss my
motivation at greater length. My biography is posted there as well.

At that time, I committed to provide funding of at least $200,000 in 2011,
with continued financial support in 2012.

It’s my hope that as we move forward more and more British Columbians will
support our work either as donors or volunteers. Already we have volunteers
helping across the province, but beyond our PayPal option we deliberately
chose to hold off on a full-fledged fundraising drive until this year. I
plan to reduce my financial commitment as others join with us in our work.

I want to thank you for writing and hope that you will consider joining in
our work to make BC politics more transparent and accountable. The nearly
fifty percent of BC voters who didn’t vote in the last election deserve
nothing less from us.

Best wishes,

Wayne

My favourite part of this email is where he mentions a YouTube video of him discussing IntegrityBC. For screenshot-related laughs, check out the “related videos” in the photo below – nearly all of which are the organization’s videos of Green Party of BC leader Jane Sterk. Imagine that.

IntegrityBC, my problems with you are many, but here’s my major one: your claims of being “non-partisan” are an absolute joke.

Your move, IntegrityBC.

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you can follow me on Twitter here.

Here’s a second look into the people behind Integrity BC. You can find part 1 here.

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Wayne Crookes is an interesting man.

He’s a past-financier of a political party, the Green Party of BC. He was campaign manager for the federal Greens – the Green Party of Canada – in 2004 and was due to manage the campaign in 2006 prior to his resignation over internal party issues. He’s best known for being involved with a large number of lawsuits against both political and personal opponents (i.e. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/wins+Supreme+Court+battle+over+hyperlinking/5576983/story.html).

Many individuals contribute to political causes in Canada, but few are as involved and generous as Mr Crookes. In 2001, the Green Party of BC raised $247,104. Crookes donated a total of $83,545 – over a third of the party’s total funding in that year. In 2005, he contributed a smaller – but still noteworthy – sum of $1,525 to the federal Greens. (http://www.elections.ca/scripts/ecfiscals2/default.asp?L=E&FP=225&Page=Part4&PTY=56&bhcd2=1323752130)

The provincial donations continued in 2005 for a total of $31,510 that year. (http://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/SA1SearchResults.aspx?FilerSK=(ALL)&EDSK=0&FilerTypeSK=0&Contributor=crookes%20wayne&PartySK=0&ED=(ALL)&FilerType=(ALL)&Filer=(ALL)&Party=(ALL)&DateTo=&DateFrom=&DFYear=&DFMonth=&DFDay=&DTYear=&DTMonth=&DTDay=)

My favourite quote, personally, is the following: “One of the things I’m proudest of is having been part of the team that established the Green Party as a truly national party.” – Wayne Crookes on Integrity BC’s website.

Now, here’s a fun read: Integrity BC’s media kit. http://integritybc.ca/media-kit

Media kits are usually filled with great promo material for an organization, but bizarrely, Integrity BC’s is made up of one 1 thing: the biography of Wayne Crookes. Turns out that this past Green financier, the storied Crookes, is the founder of the “non-partisan” organization. Surprised? Me neither.

I can appreciate that people in politics wear many hats, and that they – at times – will leave political parties, but Crookes’ level of involvement with the Green Party is an inescapable part of his past. Now, he has founded Integrity BC, which claims to be a non-partisan organization. The problem with that couldn’t be more obvious.

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Brad Slade:

Brad Slade is a past FightHST organizer and NDP activist. I wasn’t aware of his involvement with this whole debacle until a friend drew my attention to an interesting email (see below) they received from the “campaign manager” of Integrity BC.

Hello,

After researching various post secondary student clubs and associations, we felt IntegrityBC should contact your group to enquire whether you would be interested in assisting us with our current campaign on Electoral Reform in BC. You will find various links below to our campaign and website in order to assist you in your decision whether to get involved in our campaign.

In a nutshell, our campaign calls for banning corporate and union donations from political parties, as well as a cap on individual donations. We also call for a binding Citizen’s Assembly to deal with the questions that will naturally arise out of such a major change, such as public funding of political parties.

Here are some links to help you understand who we are, and what we hope to accomplish in BC:

our website: www.integritybc.ca

download electoral finance reform backgrounder

download Integrity BC brochure

Download the petition here  (please note the petition is also available to sign digitally online through our website, integritybc.ca)

A complete copy of our recent survey is available here

And a recent Op-Ed by our Executive Director, Dermod Travis, can be found on the Times Colonist website here:http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Making+case+electoral+finance+reform/5754419/story.html#ixzz1eYb3MwIl

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to help us with our campaign, or  require more information.

Thanks,

Brad Slade

Campaign Manager

IntegrityBC

Meet the non-partisan Integrity BC campaign manager… NDP activist Brad Slade. Um… well, that’s awkward. If there was any doubt to his partisan leanings after seeing the photo above, here’s a good screenshot:

Now, I’d love to hear from Integrity BC about how they can – with integrity – say that they’re a non-partisan organization. I’d also love to see some financial disclosure from the organization. If they continue to operate without disclosing funding sources, British Columbians should be wary of the money being spent in dishonest ways on attacking BC politics.

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If you have any tips, send me an email: diamondisinger (at) hotmail (dot) com

Considering the irony of the organization calling themselves “Integrity BC”, it would be nice to see them display some integrity. It’s time for them to disclose partisan involvement & funding sources. The strong connections between Integrity BC and the provincial & federal Green Party are cause for serious questions.

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People:

Executive Director Dermod Travis is former director of communications of the Green Party of Canada, where he worked from March 2004 to August 2006 (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dermod-travis/11/a1a/864). Dermod is also a regular columnist for an online magazine called “Green Party Strategy”, a website that calls itself an “independent news source for Green party members and supporters.” This website commissioned research from Green pollster Oraclepoll Research on federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May’s chances in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, which Dermod then wrote about on the Green Party Strategy website (http://www.greenpartystrategy.com/articles/saanich-gulf-islands-poll).

Aisha Vance (Aisha Grimard), who until recently worked as communications manager and general contact (i.e. http://www.crestonevents.ca/?id=1300) for Integrity BC prior to moving to the UK, has lengthy involvement in green initiatives and sustainable development. According to her Facebook page, she “likes” left-leaning and sustainability-related causes including the Canadian Federation of Students and a variety of mining-related advocacy groups. In 2006, she also spoke out to Coquitlam city council about deforestation and her passion for BC’s temperate rain forests (page 59, http://www.coquitlam.ca/NR/rdonlyres/58D1011A-69D7-4983-9303-3C694C65C3B3/52764/CITYDOCS425459v1RC_July42006_505.PDF).

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Communications:

On social media, their website and in press releases, Integrity BC disproportionately goes after BC Liberals – particularly Premier Clark, Kash Heed – and their supporters/donors.

Integrity BC has also recently done several informal polls on their Facebook page, in which they’ve asked questions about the Northern Gateway pipeline. Exec director Dermod voted in his own organization’s poll that he disagreed with Minister Joe Oliver’s assertion that protests won’t stop the pipeline. Integrity BC asked another question in an informal Facebook poll, recently, about fixed election dates – which BC Green leader Jane Sterk voted in.

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Polling & integrity:

Oraclepoll, mentioned previously as a firm hired to do research for Green Party Strategy (as written about by Integrity BC executive director Dermod Travis on the GPS website), is additionally the pollster of Integrity BC.

Sudbury-based Oraclepoll takes a hired gun approach to taking on clients, working for everyone from labour groups and environmental alliances, to corporations like General Motors. However, the majority of clients include left-leaning and environmental causes, including Environmental Defence, the World Wildlife Fund, the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union, and several dozen others. (http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2007/03/federal-green-party-polling-in.html)

Oraclepoll is also a founding member of the Green Group. The Green Group is a strategic alliance of market research, PR, and ad agencies based in Sudbury/Barrie/Toronto that provide services to “green” and Green clients (http://www.greengrp.com/founding.html).

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Direct partisan involvement:

Oraclepoll polled Canadians in 2004 on behalf of the Green Party of Canada, following the federal leaders’ debates.

In 2007, Oraclepoll conducted research for the Green Party of Canada co-deputy leader (and newly elected Green councillor in Vancouver) Adriane Carr’s candidacy in the federal riding of Vancouver Centre (http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2007/03/federal-green-party-polling-in.html).

During the mid-2011 HST referendum, Integrity BC took aim at the pro-HST Smart Tax Alliance (http://www.straight.com/article-422681/vancouver/dermod-travis-democracy-takes-hit-hst-referendum-campaign) for campaign spending and defended the anti-HST forces of FightHST.

Most recently, in November 2011, they undertook push polling against Premier Christy Clark (http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=7060), asking aggressively-leading questions about the Premier in relation to Vancouver-Point Grey all-candidates’ meetings and BC Rail.

This week, Integrity BC has gone after Premier Clark once again with expensive full-page ads in the Georgia Straight (http://integritybc.ca/newsroom/57-newsroom/196-integritybc-ad-in-georgia-straight-has-clark-in-nascar-drivers-suit-).

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Expenses:

Office – Integrity BC maintains a full-time office in downtown Victoria, in the “Nootka Court” building at 633 Courtney St – a building which also houses government offices (including a trade competition branch office on the same floor) – which presumably costs them a large amount in monthly rent.

Advertising – They have an expensive full-page ad running in the weekly Georgia Straight newspaper this week, as well as bus stop ads in Vancouver.

Website – Their website is professionally-designed and exists via an IP address located in Burlington, Ontario. The design was done by a Kitsilano-based company called Wingtip Media (http://www.wingtip.ca/Case-Studies/integritybc-timely-help), and designed by Neal Dustin.