The City of Vancouver has appointed an independent barrister to investigate October's theft of secret Olympic loan documents from city hall.
The secret documents -- which outline a $100 million loan to the developers of the 2010 Olympic Athletes village in False Creek -- went missing from an in-camera council meeting. The papers, which ended up belonging to NPA councillor Peter Ladner, resurfaced several days later on the desk of another staff member.
The stolen documents were a key issue in last month's battle for mayor between Non-Partisan Association candidate Peter Ladner and Vision Vancouver's Gregor Robertson.
Ladner repeatedly defended the secret loan approval, while Robertson called for increased transparency in the government -- even going as far as calling for a public inquiry into the matter once he won the mayor's seat in November.
The hiring of barrister Richard Peck was approved at Vancouver's final city council meeting on Nov. 25.
The Investigation
Peck will investigate the theft in two phases. Phase one will focus on the city's policies during in-camera meetings and the treatment of sensitive documents and confidential information. The second phase - which will only proceed if council deems it necessary -- will be a "fact-finding process" to determine how and who helped the documents disappear.
Peck's first round findings are expected to be presented to council by mid-Feburary. At that time, council will decide whether to proceed with phase two.
