Globe and Mail , 30 March 2007

Gary Mason 

Lobbyists at the centre of an RCMP probe into allegations of corruption in the sale of B.C. Rail had a relationship with the Department of Finance's top bureaucrat.

An e-mail exchange highlighting the relationship has been obtained by The Globe and Mail. The bribery and influence-peddling trial stemming from the B.C. Rail sale and connected to the December, 2003, raid on the B.C. Legislature is scheduled to start later this spring. Charged in the case are former political aides Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi. All deny wrongdoing.

Back in August of 2003, Paul Taylor was arguably the most powerful bureaucrat in the B.C. government and a friend of Brian Kieran, a lobbyist with the Victoria-based government relations firm Pilothouse. Pilothouse represented OmniTRAX, an American company that was bidding on the controversial rail sale that was being handled by the B.C. Ministry of Finance.

Erik Bornmann, also a Pilothouse lobbyist, has said he offered bribes and Mr. Kieran, a monetary inducement to Mr. Basi and Mr. Virk in exchange for confidential information related to the sale of B.C. Rail. It is alleged bribe money paid to Dave Basi, a former ministerial assistant to then-finance- minister Gary Collins, was laundered through his cousin, Aneal, a low-level political aide. Lawyers for the accused maintain that Mr. Bornmann and Mr. Kieran could have received information on the B.C. Rail sale from any number of sources, not simply Mr. Basi and Mr. Virk.

In an e-mail to Mr. Bornmann and a third partner, Jamie Elmhirst, dated Aug. 23, 2003, Mr. Kieran talks about a fishing trip he'd had earlier in the day with Mr. Taylor. The e-mail describes how Mr. Taylor went to bat for Pilothouse in a bid to get the firm work with the New Car Dealers of BC, formerly called the B.C. Automobile Dealers Association, of which Mr. Taylor was president before becoming deputy finance minister.

The memo describes Mr. Taylor recalling a recent meeting he'd had with Glen Ringdal, current president of the association.

"Paul told Glen he needed GR [government relations] on the ground . . . needed us," the e-mail reads.

"Paul says they have been missing stuff. He is totally amazed that BCADA has not got in the habit of coming to him for help on their issues.

"Paul says he continues to be very close friends with several store owners and really likes the industry. One owner has offered to bank roll Paul if he ever decided to buy a dealership. Paul was making it clear he will be there for us."

The e-mail then goes on to state that Mr. Taylor apparently told Mr. Ringdal he would have to pay about $50,000 a year for good government relations work.

"That's why Glen says he has a number in mind," wrote Mr. Kieran, referring to an earlier discussion with Mr. Ringdal. "Knowing that I'm inclined to come in at $6,000 [a month] and be prepared to retreat to $5,000. It will be more than the $50,000 but Glen doesn't have many options and he's still saving thousands."

The memo goes on: "Paul also says he has a special fund for $1 million for special projects."

In a reply to the e-mail later that same evening, Mr. Elmhirst writes, "Yah, well I could come up with this kind of great intel too if I lived next door to a blabby deputy minister!"

Contacted by The Globe and Mail about the e-mail, Mr. Ringdal confirmed that Pilothouse was hired by the association around this time to do some lobbying on its behalf in Victoria.

Asked if it was Mr. Taylor who recommended Pilothouse to him, Mr. Ringdal said: "It's not inconceivable. I got to know Paul because he's a friend of one of our very big dealers. That's where I would run into him. The fact he would make that kind of suggestion would not be untoward. That's very possible but I don't quite recall."

Later, Mr. Ringdal said he respected Mr. Taylor's understanding of how government worked. Asked about the overall contents of Mr. Kieran's e-mail, Mr. Ringdal said: "It sounds to me like [Mr. Taylor] was helping them get work and indeed he did. Which turned out to be fine."

Mr. Ringdal said that after Pilothouse was hired, he recalls being in several meetings with Finance Ministry staff who would have reported directly to Mr. Taylor. But he can only recall Mr. Taylor being in "one or two" meetings in which Mr. Ringdal and possibly a representative from Pilothouse would have been lobbying for changes that benefited the automobile dealers association.

At the time, the automobile dealers were looking for a number of tax cuts from the Finance Ministry.

There is no evidence that Mr. Taylor specifically approved or recommended specific changes that would benefit the association.

Mr. Taylor, meantime, said he was recently sent a copy of the e-mail by a person he would not identify. He said it was likely leaked to the media "to achieve mischief."

"It's an unfortunate e-mail that reflected a private conversation between two people [he and Mr. Kieran]. We were out fishing together and at the end of the day there's nothing of real substance in it I would say."

Mr. Taylor confirmed that he and Mr. Kieran had boats in the same marina and would go fishing together from time to time.

"Go back and understand one thing," Mr. Taylor told The Globe. "I was past president of the automobile dealers association. So I'd seen Mr. Ringdal from time to time. I may have had conversations with him from time to time."

He said he did not have any recollection about talking to Mr. Ringdal about hiring Pilothouse.

Asked about the perception of the deputy finance minister recommending the firm of a friend who was going to be lobbying his ministry, Mr. Taylor said: "There's nothing in the conversation [Mr. Kieran recollected] that has anything to do with the Finance Ministry."

Asked what he thought Mr. Kieran meant when he wrote that Mr. Taylor said he "would be there" for Pilothouse, Mr. Taylor said: "I don't know. I didn't write that."

Mr. Taylor is now president of the Crown-owned Insurance Corporation of B.C. Mr. Kieran and partner Mr. Bornmann are expected to testify for the Crown.