The Victoria lawyer and economist hired to monitor the liquor distribution and warehousing privatization said he is powerless to recommend the government postpone bidding.
In a June 22 letter, NDP critic Shane Simpson called for the pause because the government has not released a business plan, the liquor industry was not consulted and Liquor Distribution Branch general manager Jay Chambers is resigning on July 6.
“Since the government announced its misguided intention to privatize (LDB), there have been a number of issues raised about the integrity of the process,” Simpson wrote to fairness monitor George Macauley.
Macauley responded to Simpson on June 25 in a letter that said: “I understand the nature of the concerns that you have expressed in your letter, and appreciate your input. However, my role as fairness monitor is limited to the terms of my engagement.
“To the extent that I have any concerns about fairness within the (negotiated request for proposals) process, these concerns will be reflected in my written fairness summary.”
Macauley listed his three-pronged duties as:
- reviewing the tendering documentation;
- monitoring adherence to the terms of the request for proposals; and
- preparing a summary report on the process.
That report is due two weeks before his March 31, 2013, contract expiry.
“He really doesn't have much authority here, based on his own assessment, to be able to actually intervene in any way, to deal with significant issues in relation to this other than the process of paperwork,” Simpson told BIV. “The government is using this process of a fairness monitor as a tool to validate the process. It’s becoming increasingly clear it’s a pretty inadequate tool, and it’s not something people should have a lot of confidence about.”
Macauley declined a BIV interview request. He was hired March 26 for $74,900 after an invite-only bidding process. The contract was $100 less than the $75,000 threshold that would have triggered an open bidding process.
June 29 is the deadline for formal bids to privatize LDB warehousing and distribution. Simpson called the process “tainted” during Question Period on May 8 after a BIV investigation revealed frontrunner Exel Logistics hired BC Liberal lobbyists in 2005, claimed a close relationship with liquor minister Rich Coleman and considered influencing the writing of the RFP.
Meanwhile, the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union fired its first salvo since the breakdown of talks for a government-wide contract. It announced June 29 that it would stage one-day strikes at three LDB locations in Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops. Picketers are planning to demonstrate at the LDB headquarters office, flagship store and warehouse for 24 hours beginning 11:30 p.m. Monday.
Tuesday strikes are planned for the Kamloops warehouse strike from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Victoria wholesale customer centre.
The successful bidder must assume BCGEU workers at LDB’s warehouses after the union signed a March 21 post-privatization job security and early retirement agreement. During talks on the memorandum of agreement, the government rejected a BCGEU proposal for province-wide Sunday store openings.
BCGEU is campaigning against privatization, despite the 2009 Exel internal memo that indicated the BCGEU was concerned “their members will be out of work” if Exel loses the bid.
The memo also described Exel lobbyist Mark Jiles as having “close ties” with BCGEU director Jeff Fox. Former NDP president Fox retired from the BCGEU in 2010, but refused a BIV interview request.
