Bill Vander Zalm happy

“1 can never explain how different it really felt to be there before a
judge and to have the arguments presented and to have witnesses appear
— and then for them to be cross-examined on what it is they said.

“As opposed to having the judge and jury prosecution wrapped up in

the same individual.’”’

— Bill Vander Zalm.

THE FORMER premier had just received a crash course in
the difference between due process of law and the arbitrary
whims of a Conflicts of Interest Commissioner.

We had a lengthy chat the day
of his court victory.

Modern governments have an
obsession with commissions, regu-
. latory tribunals and quasi-
government agencies. God-like
powers are given to political ap-
pointees. They have the ability to
make or break businesses, and to
have a devastating impact on
people’s lives.

Bill Vander Zalm has had the
best and worst theills of a political
career. The public court of judg-
ment he has always understood.
He has recently developed a con-
siderable appreciation for a proper
court of law.

On the way to court on the
morning of his acquittal, barrister
Peter Butler was confident.

“Mr. Butler said that this will
be one of the greatest days in your
life — a tremendous victory,”
Vander Zalm recalled.

**] said, ‘Mr. Butler, it’s your
victory celebration, in more ways
than one, of course. Because for
me, I can’t afford too many vic-
tories like this: one’s enough.’ "

During the months leading to
this trial, every senior barrister I
talked to was amazed that the
allegation of criminal wrongdoing
was going to proceed.

The former government ap-
pointed the special prosecutor,
Peter Freeman. This followed an
exhaustive review by conflicts of
interest commissioner Ted :
Hughes.

Freeman was given a blank
cheque, the lawyer’s equivalent of
striking oil. But the government
appointment was even more in-
credible. Freeman was told that if
his investigation established
grounds to lay a charge, he would

Gary
Bannerman

OPEN LINES

be given the case.
He not only supervised the in-
vestigation, he was assured that he

.would be able to draft the terms

of reference for any prosecution
and that he would be captain of
the ship when it set.sail.

And so it evolved.

During one of the preliminary
rounds in court, a former deputy
minister in the provincial justice
system told me he popped in fer a
few moments. He saw Freeman
supported by three Queen’s
Counsels, junior lawyers and a_
contingent of RCMP.

It was not so much a prosecu-
tion as it was a law convention,
with everybody paid by the tax-
payer.

Finally, when it went to trial,
we learned absolutely nothing we
didn’t know a year ago.

It would be fascinating to know
how much this entire affair cost.

How much was Peter Freeman
paid? How many other lawyers
worked on the case, and how .
much were they paid? What was

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the RCMP investment? It should
not be difficult to add up all the
cost, including hotels, meals,
travel (the police went to Taiwan)
and business service.

Did this orgy of public spending
uncover even one fresh fact?

The matter was not brought to
trial purely on Freeman’s direc-
tion. He presented his case to a
lower court at a preliminary hear-
ing. The judge at that level felt
the matter should be decided at
the Supreme Court.

f suspect a more courageous
provincial court judge might have
tossed it out at that level, but I
can sympathize with the pressure
the judge must have felt. The eyes
of the entire country was on his
court. He likely felt that a proper
trial should at least hear the evi-
dence.

In the weeks leading to the
courthouse, | was able to find no
senior counsel who thought there
was even a hint of a case.

The closest was a chap who said
he hoped Peter Freeman had
something up his sleeve, ‘‘or he
stands the risk of making a com-
plete fool of himself.”’

Peter Butler, one of the profes-
sion’s top guns, mocked Peter
Freeman in this case.

“There is no case,'’ Butler said
repeatedly.

He implied that to call evidence.
would only dignify a professional
absurdity.

eee

My guess is that Bill Vander
Zalm has spent somewhere be-
tween $500,000 and $i million
through the various rounds of this
ordeal. He has admitted that there
have been humiliating moments
for him and his family.

On the afternoon of the court
victory, daughter Juanita and the
grandchildren were at the new
home and acreage in Ladner,

Sunday, July 5, 1992 — North Shore News — 9

savoring victory

fielding the many phone calls, in-
cluding one from Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney. There was a
family barbecue that night.

The next day, Bill and Lillian
Vander Zalm were off to Califor-
nia to celebrate their 36th wedding
anniversary. It was the first family
event in two years that could ig-
nore an external threat and the
emotional upheaval it had
fostered.

Reporters were quick to ask the
former premier if he would return
to politics. He loved the question,
but seemed happy just to savor
the victory,

I suggested to him that if he

went on a simple speaking tour of
the province this fall — without
any stated political objective — he
would substantially outdraw
Premier Harcourt and the other
political leaders.

No one seems more nervous
about that than Jack Weisgerber,
the house leader of the Socreds in
the provincial legislature.

Vander Zalm’s reply: ‘‘There
will be a lot of things to talk
about. I do intend to be out there
and to have a lot more profile,
because I love people and I like to
help the province in whatever way
Tcan.””

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