Investigators link organized crime activity to search warrants served on BC's legislature

While news media scrambled to make sense of this blistering story, political leadership of the province was - where else - in Hawaii.

Maui seems to bring bad luck to Premier Gordon Campbell like trailer parks bring tornadoes to a neighborhood [ http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/cana... ] . Amazingly, however, Premier Campbell did not see the situation at home as significant enough to cut short his annual tropical vacation and return to the capital, noting he could think of no purpose that would be served by his doing so.

How about this one: demonstrating leadership in the province?

On the face of it, the Premier is correct: there was really nothing concrete he could accomplish by returning to the scene of the alleged crime. Indeed, some would likely criticize him for potentially interfering in the police investigation by returning home.

But leadership isn't just about doing. It's also about being. Truthfully, it is unlikely many people in the province felt themselves in a crisis when they saw pictures of the police carting boxes of evidence from the halls of power in Victoria.

Mr. Campbell, however, is not just the top administrator of the province; he is also the face of the province, not only to British Columbians but also to the rest of the country and the world. While he may not be able to hasten the investigation and would be wrong to even try, when law organized crime specialists in law enforcement see the need to search the legislature, the Premier should be at home, at work, assuring residents, investors and fellow Canadians that all is well and under control.

Certainly if the premier sees fit to remove the two ministerial staffers from their positions he ought to see fit to return home and answer questions in person as best he can. Being fired from a distant employer on the beach sipping a Mai-Tai (virgin, of course) can only add insult to injury.

And what of the two ministers? Recall this is the same Gordon Campbell and same Liberal party who many times in opposition called for the resignation of cabinet ministers or government officials while their ministry was being investigated. It is true neither ministry itself is directly implicated in the criminal investigation but given the access and influence of Basi and Virk the work of both departments are certainly suspect until such time as the case becomes public.

It will be some time before the public gets to find

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