Sent: March-10-11 9:23 PM
To: professionalconduct@lsbc.org
Subject: Davis & Company & Gateway Project: Conflict of Interest
Dear Sir or Madam:
I write on behalf of the Gateway 40 Citizens Network to make a complaint against Davis & Company for conflict of interest with respect to a legal opinion it provided to the Corporation of Delta on September 8, 2009 with respect to the dispute resolution
In 2009 the Boundary Bay Conservation Committee, one of Gateway 40s member groups, asked the Corporation of Delta to invoke the dispute resolution provisions provided for in the Conservation Covenants governing Burns Bog. The particular dispute was over the harmful impact the BC Government’s South Fraser Perimeter Road would have on the ecologically sensitive and vulnerable Burns Bog and its numerous resident at risk species.
The opinion provided by Davis & Company indicated that the dispute resolution criteria could not be invoked, an opinion strongly contradicted by environmental lawyer Andrew Gage, of West Coast Environmental Law. http://www.burnsbog.org/PDF/WCEL_Response_Sept252009.pdf
The Gateway 40 Citizens Network believe Davis & Company were in a rather serious conflict of interest in providing this opinion. The dispute in question involves strongly differing opinions about the impact of the BC government’s South Fraser Perimeter Road on Burns Bog.
Given its close relationship to the BC Liberal government, Davis & Company should not have accepted the job. As you can see by following this link (http://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/SA1ASearchResults.aspx?Contributor=Davis%20|~|%20Co&PartySK=0&Party=(ALL)&DateTo=&DateFrom=&DFYear=&DFMonth=&DFDay=&DTYear=&DTMonth=&DTDay=) or seeing the attached, Davis & Company have been generous donors to the BC Liberal Party, donating more than $17,000 over the past few years.
Furthermore, BC Government – and specifically the Ministry of Transportation and Partnerships BC, an organization owned wholly by the BC Government – is a major client of Davis & Company. Davis & Company were very involved in the Golden Ears Bridge project, which is part of the Asia Pacific Gateway Program which includes the Gateway Project (including the South Fraser Perimeter Road). See below some links to online documents that affirm this relationship.
Given Davis & Company’s cozy relationship with the BC Liberal government and its Ministry of Transportation, the independence of the legal opinion provided to the Corporation of Delta is suspect.
We ask the Law Society to review our concerns against your rules for professional conduct and ethics.
With thanks and kind regards,
Donna Passmore
Coordinator,
Gateway 40 Citizens Network
13821 Blackburn Avenue
White Rock, BC V4B 2Z1
http://www.davis.ca/en/practice-area/Project-Finance-Infrastructure-and-P3
http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/files/about.html – Partnerships BC is wholly owned by the Province of British Columbia
Stop Gateway 
Sonia Nazar said,
March 11, 2011 @ 1:52 pm
It is funny how Mayor Jackson can use the dispute resolution provisions provided for in the Conservation Covenants governing Burns Bog when it suits her. Last Spring Metro Vancouver Parks was putting forward an application to have Burns Bog receive Ramsar status. Mayor Jackson said they couldn’t without all four parties agreeing.
June 2010 Corp of Delta puts a full page ad out saying George Harvie went to Metro Vancouver in February 2010 to start the process to get Ramsar status. Also in the ad they claim they wanted to add more property to the application. This misleads you into thinking that they are going to purchase bog property (with the funds they received for allowing three properties that were designated Ecologically Sensitive be paved over of Gateway) connected to the covenant protected bog. NO, the what Delta did was ask Richmond and Surrey to add some of their wetland properties to the application.
Very good manipulative government in Delta. Vote them out this this November. Right now they are making it look like they care about Southlands. This is just a political campaign. We all know about empty promises during campaign season.