British Columbia's auditor general is reviewing the controversial $6 million payout for two former government employees who pleaded guilty in connection to the BC Rail scandal, but it's yet to be known if the public will get its own glimpse.
Confidential documents laying out the plea agreement that ended the trial last fall have been released to the auditor general after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling, posted online this week.
John Doyle can now sift through the records giving an accounting of the province's decision to foot the costs for former ministerial aides Dave Basi and Bobby Virk, a deal that drew criticism from the Opposition NDP not only for its size but surrounding secrecy.
The pair sat through a halting six-month trial last year that abruptly concluded in October with surprise guilty pleas to charges of breach of trust and accepting bribes. They were sentenced to two years house arrest.
Doyle asked the courts in mid-June to compel the government to open the books, stating the information was necessary to fulfil his duties examining its finances.
Requests in November and February had been denied because the records were bound by a confidentiality agreement.
Judge Bruce Greyell said in his June 30 oral judgment he's satisfied both Basi and Virk "have chosen, with full knowledge of their rights, to waive such rights."
The men did so after being asked directly, and their responses may have been interrupted by a Canada-wide mail strike. Greyell also noted the documents are only for the auditor general's examination purposes.
The province didn't take a position in the matter.
A spokeswoman in the auditor general's office confirmed Tuesday Doyle has received the documents and they are under review. Whether or not an investigation and subsequent report will be released won't be revealed publicly unless a formal decision is made to do so, she said.
Before any report is issued, the judge said Basi and Virk must be given an opportunity to look it over first "and give them the right to challenge, should they wish, the content."
The judge said the auditor general would hear the challenge on matters related to potential breaches of confidentiality or solicitor/client privilege.
None of the documents relate to information around the criminal proceedings faced by the pair, according to the judgment.
Opposition New Democrat critic Leonard Krog said the decision is good news for British Columbians.
"At least somebody is going to get a look at these documents," he said in an interview Tuesday. "And in as much as the auditor general will be confined by his responsibilities, it should nevertheless give the public some view of what appears to be just a horrible series of decisions by this government."
The only way to get the full-truth on the scandal itself, Krog said, would be if the province holds a full public inquiry that discloses the content of tens of thousands of other documents of evidence gathered for the trial itself.
Basi and Virk were accused of leaking information related to the 2002 privatization sale of Crown-owned BC Rail.
