Go Public gets results
Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 | 11:41 AM PT
Two of our recent stories brought great results for people who asked us to get involved.
The owners of float plane company Saltspring Air - who came to us with concerns over the Olympic security plan - got what they wanted from Ottawa, after we questioned Transport Minister John Baird and the story was featured on the National.
Plus - an accused break and enter artist is now facing several charges - after a national Go Public story spurred the RCMP to take action, in a case they initially said they weren't able to solve.
Saltspring Air came to Go Public after the small airline was told there would be no security screening facility on their island during the Olympics. That meant they would have had to divert flights up the coast to Nanaimo, so their passengers could be screened.
All passengers coming by air to Vancouver during the Olympics must go through security first. Transport Minister John Baird is ultimately responsible for deciding where those screening facilities will be located.
Saltspring Air owner and pilot St Clair McColl came to us because he was very concerned the flight diversions could pose a safety risk. Flights to Vancouver would be twice as long - in small de Havilland Beaver aircraft - during potentially stormy winter weather. He told us the localized weather conditions around Nanaimo can make landing and taking off there hazardous.
We brought those concerns to John Baird in Ottawa - and he changed his mind about having a facility on Salt Spring. The announcement came last week.
Then, there's Nadia and Sergei Oujvenko. Their apartment in Maple Ridge was broken into in July - and they were glad to discover a suspect was caught on surveillance tape in their building. They gave the tape to the RCMP in Maple Ridge, but were told there wasn't a lot police could do with it, because they didn't recognize the suspect.
A couple of weeks later, Nadia and Sergei got a call from the RCMP, telling them a suspect had been discovered with their property, including a passport, in a Maple Ridge motel. The cleaning staff had called police after discovering the items.
At first the couple thought it was great news, but that turned to disbelief and frustration when no charges were laid against the man from the motel room. The RCMP told them he wasn't the same man they had on their surveillance tape - and there wasn't enough evidence to recommend charges.
Nadia came to us and we took their questions to RCMP Inspector Darren Lench, who told us he couldn't understand why the man from the motel was not charged with possession of stolen property. Lench then took it much further - meeting with Nadia and Sergei and pushing for more investigation, which led to an undercover operation.
Last week, Lench told us Chistopher Legault - the man allegedly on the surveillance tape - is now facing several charges, related to several break ins. He sent us this release:
“This is a significant arrest. This man is a prolific offender, who is well known to police in other jurisdictions, as well as other Provinces” said Superintendent Dave Walsh. “A successful element of the RCMP’s Crime Reduction Model is to target prolific offenders, and this illustrates how it can work.”
“The accused in this matter is our main suspect in committing apartment break-ins in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows area. He is also a suspect in other municipalities in the lower mainland. Our investigators will be making contact with other RCMP detachments, and police agencies, to see if they have similar incidents that this suspect
may be responsible for. We’re hoping to have the man remanded in custody, and bring all charges to a quick trial, which will hopefully end his cycle of crime.”
Nada and Sergei say none of this would have happened if Go Public hadn't taken on their story. Good on Inspector Lench, I say. It's great to see people like him doing the right thing for the public.
Comments: (5)
Posted January 8, 2010 04:08 PM
G Leitch (West_Vancouver) wrote:After having my house broken into twice in four years, with the West Vancouver Police Department stating, flat-out, that they couldn't do anything (more like wouldn't do anything), I'm impressed. I was told by the West Vancouver Police Department that I should contact my insurance company. I told them that they should investigate the thieves of the first break-in. I had to tell them that, otherwise they would not have done it. As a result of my request, they did contact the thieves but the police told me that one was in jail and the other had an alibi. Did they check his alibi? Why is it that the West Vancouver Police Department wasn't more with it? I had to request a fingerprint investigation and it took them about two weeks to get to it. I had to request that they search the yard for clues. Later I found a discarded medical rubber glove at the front of my property which they didn't find. It obviously belonged to the thief or thieves. They didn't even bother to look. When I told them how disgruntled I was with their lack of investigation, one officer told me that, although he had the power to contact the media regarding the break-in, he wasn't going to do anything because I didn't have "the right attitude". I wasn't submissive. I was upset and he didn't like that so he refused me services for which I was paying via my property taxes. The police don't want to do anything. They forget who is paying their salaries. Citizen's rights are just an illusion.
Posted January 6, 2010 10:08 AM
Annette (Montreal) wrote:This is great.We need this type of reporting and someone who can ask the questions and get the wrong decision made right.I hope this is just a warm up to what you can accomplished.I was led here from the story about the brain injury patient in Alberta,a subject dear to my heart.I have a story I would love to share with you.Maybe somewhere down the road you can take on that monster we know as healthcare.I will watch your segment and encourage others to do so.CBC may be on to something here for the people who feel helpless in their situation. KATHY, congratulations,you go girl!
Posted January 5, 2010 12:59 PM
JASON MACLENNAN (BC) wrote:something must be dun, we pay we pay but they'll still to screw you . go public is what we need, thank you.
Posted December 13, 2009 12:58 AM
Bill Russell (Galiano_Island_BC) wrote:Well done Kathy and the team at CBC! What a buzz to be able to get a positive result from just a few nudges, and maybe the occasional shove.
The pity is the idiocy of the need for action. Why wouldn't the minister responsible for aviation safety be accessible to ordinary citizens so that he/she might deal effectively with their concerns? Because they have deliberately distanced themselves from us.
Why are our federal police so remote from us that they cannot be persuaded to investigate a glaring case of ready to arrest house burglars? And then take the credit for the successful conclusion of their investigations. All the above actions forced on them by a little well directed publicity from Kathy Tomlinson. It is all a sad indictment of our government at so many levels.
These cases are examples of the disconnect I referred to earlier. It is an issue not easily addressed by any means. I suspect it will only begin to be solved with a steady barrage from people like Kathy. Once the average citizen realizes this unsatisfactory situation has solutions then they will demand a higher standard of behaviour. But it is all down to us. We created this situation through our own disinterest. We can fix it through a concerted campaign of involvement. Help Kathy out.
Posted December 10, 2009 04:21 PM
John Wood (Hixon_BC) wrote:Hi,
I couldn't help but notice the difference made by CBC Go Public getting involved.
It certainly seems as if the RCMP just cannot be bothered to d otheir jobs right the first time around. When pulled up about it initially they say nothing we can do. I have never heard so much BS from a federal police force such as from our esteemed RCMP.
Not only are they unable to get their stories right/correct when under the spotlight, they seem to beof late, unable to apprehend suspects without killing quite a number of them unnecessarily so. A couple of cases that come to mind are the fiasco at Vancouver airport, where a newly arrived immigrant was tasered and killed without the man even getting the chance of help - no one on duty who spoke Polish at the international airport !!! The senior officer in that fiasco has also killed a motor cyclist in a driving accident where he was found to be legally over the limit.
The RCMP won't prosecute one of their own over a vehicular homicide when over the legal drinking limit (technically and legally drunk).
The RCMP are doing a great PR job at shooting themselves in the feet and making themselves a laughing stock for the world to see and watch. And it just gets worse instead of better.
What a shame the country's federal police force is unable to do their jobs properly - something is seriously wrong from the head of the force and down through the ranks. Whatever happened to responsibility, integrity, honesty and yes, compassion - all of which are sadly lacking these days, within the RCMP.
Thanks for the chance of sounding off. Your program is doing a great job - keep up the good work.
John Wood