The NDP liquor critic wants the provincial government to put a cork in the privatization of liquor warehousing and distribution for the time being.
Shane Simpson wrote June 22 to ask fairness monitor George Macauley to recommend the government postpone the controversial tendering. The bid deadline is June 29.
"Since the government announced its misguided intention to privatize (the Liquor Distribution Branch), there have been a number of issues raised about the integrity of the process, including the failure to produce a business case," Simpson wrote to Macauley in a letter obtained by Business in Vancouver. "The liquor industry was not engaged in any meaningful consultation before the decision to move forward with the privatization, and it does not support the changes, which will saddle them with higher costs. It is questionable as to whether these changes are in the best interests of British Columbians in the long run."
Simpson wrote the letter just over a week after the June 14-announced resignation of LDB general manager Jay Chambers. Chambers departs July 6 to become president of the Motor Vehicle Sales Authority of B.C.
LDB chief financial officer Roger Bissoondatt will act as general manager until a replacement is hired. Simpson called Chambers "the key civil servant who was to be shepherding the RFP process."
"Fairness requires that government engage members of the affected industry and the public in major decisions like the sale of important, revenue-generating public assets," Simpson wrote. "It also requires that we bring the maximum amount of knowledge and expertise to the table in negotiations."
The tender document was published April 30 and a shortlist of as many as three companies is expected by July 20. Simpson said in Question Period on May 8 that the process was "tainted" after a Business in Vancouver investigation showed that Exel Logistics donated to the BC Liberals, hired Liberal-connected lobbyists Patrick Kinsella and Mark Jiles and considered using its relationship with liquor minister Rich Coleman to influence the writing of the RFP. Exel-owned Connect Logistics privatized Alberta's liquor warehousing and distribution in 1994.
Macauley did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Documents obtained via Freedom of Information show that Macauley was one of six people invited March 12 to apply for the $74,900 fairness monitor contract. The deadline was March 19 and Macauley, a Victoria lawyer and economist, was chosen March 26. The contract was $100 under the $75,000 threshold, so there was no requirement that it be advertised.
Macauley's three-pronged terms of reference include reviewing the procurement documentation, monitoring the procurement process "for adherence to the terms of the NRFP," and writing a summary report.
The deadline to submit the report to government is two weeks before the March 31, 2013, end of Macauley's contract.
Macauley acted as a fairness monitor in 2009 for the government's strategic telecommunications services procurement. The nine contracts on the market were bundled into one 10-year, $1 billion deal and awarded to Telus in June 2011. Unsuccessful bidders like Bell, Rogers and Shaw wrote to government to dispute the fairness of the process. Macauley was also fairness monitor for the $300 million, 10-year workplace desktop support services award to IBM. As of January 2012, the government had spent $124,522.48 on legal fees to prevent release of the uncensored 2004 contract. On June 14, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Keith Bracken ordered the Citizens' Services ministry to release the 535-page document.
