While the memo may have been unique in some respects (indeed Dix rarely wrote memos, in order to avoid Freedom of Information requests), it was nonetheless part of a larger pattern of obsession with information control and indifference to procedural values that was the hallmark of the Clark government, and which Dix has exemplified on practically a daily basis right down to the present day.
Consider the passage in the Auditor General's Report that mentions Clark's Ministerial Assistant's (i.e. Dix's) role in lining up ferry contractors in a manner calculated to present accountability bodies with a fait accompli. NOBODY EXEMPLIFIED THE MOTTO OF "PROCESS IS FOR CHEESE" MORE THAN DIX DID.
For me, the most telling aspect of his leadership campaign was the way he played possum in December, saying he was mulling a leadership bid, all the while having an invisible busload of ethnic voters lined up to materialize on the day of deadline for new memberships--before the competition could even respond. Once again, Dix showed his preference for secrecy and surprise over transparency or the enlightenment of dialogue. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.
After all, it has made him what he is today!
P.S. Have the New Democrats thought through the REAL significance of the memo? The purpose of the memo was to make it look like the premier (Glen Clark) was more recused, or recused earlier, from the casino application than he really was.
The nature of the BC Rail scandal is that the government allegedly acted in such a way as to make the bidding for BCR look more competitive than it really was.
More dollars were at stake in the BCR case, but the general nature of the ethical issue is virtually the same. Unfortunately, the accuser needs clean hands to be persuasive. Is this really the right man to be nailing the Liberals for this kind of unethical behaviour? "I resigned, you didn't" might have been an answer to Gordon Campbell, but not to Christy Clark. "It was 12 years ago" isn't very compelling either--the BC Rail prevarication was 9-10 years ago. Ethically speaking, is there really a big difference?
And Mike Farnworth, John Horgan, or Leonard Krog would be much better-positioned to do the finger-wagging.
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