(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
May 9, 2001)
Past injustice provides candidate's focus
By Leo Knight
NEVER
having been one to kick someone when they're down, I should
avoid much in the way of discussion about Ujjal Dosanjh and the
incredibly incompetent bunch he calls caucus colleagues.
Albeit,
to be fair, most of his caucus colleagues have deserted the
sinking ship in the hope of fleeing unscathed from the damage
they have done to this once vibrant and beautiful province.
Nor
will I give advice to Gordon Campbell, who certainly seems
headed for a landslide victory. About five years too late by my
reckoning, but, all things come to he who waits, or at least so
I have been told.
No,
at this point in the provincial election campaign, I would like
to have a word with you about a principled man, a rare bird
indeed in this day and age.
On
the weekend, I received a press release announcing the candidacy
of a man who did not want to win the election. The release said
at the outset, "As far as I know, I am the only candidate,
who neither wants your vote nor wishes to be elected."
Did
you get that? He's running, but he doesn't want your vote. He
doesn't want to get elected. Got it?
In
fact, perish the thought Doug Stead should actually get elected
in the riding of Coquitlam/Maillardville where he is running as
an independent. You see, Stead is an entrepreneur, a successful
businessman in the high-tech sector. Amazingly, his business has
survived the 10 years of blatant stupidity, corruption and
incompetence marking the NDP years.
Readers
of this space were first introduced to Doug Stead two years ago
when he formed a group called Entrepreneurs Against Pedophiles
and, putting his money where his mouth is, offered up a $10,000
reward to anyone who could provide evidence against a person in
a position of trust abusing children.
Stead's
group has since blossomed and aligned itself with several other
entities with similar interests. He also runs a successful
business in Coquitlam called Tri-M Systems Ltd.
So,
this man is running as an independent and is actually saying,
"Don't vote for me."
You
see, Stead's niece, a vibrant, ebullient six-year-old, was
victimized by her own doctor, the since deceased Dr. John
Gossage.
I
have written of the sins (and they are many) of John Gossage in
these pages in years past.
Suffice
to say, he was a man who preyed on the most vulnerable, using
his position as a pediatrician/therapist to stimulate his own
perverse sexual gratification. He left dozens of victims in his
wake. Not the least of whom was a part of Stead's family.
Gossage
was protected by the system. The same system which spawned his
own hideous self. The police in Coquitlam wanted desperately to
charge Gossage with a criminal offence. But the matter was
usurped by someone in the Attorney General's ministry, the same
AG who was intricately involved in the sweetheart deal given to
former Burnaby school principal, William Bennest.
Gossage
had also been protected by the Ontario College of Physicians
after he had been stripped of his privileges at the Toronto
Hospital for Sick Children. He was able to come to B.C.,
reputation intact, and get into a position to abuse Stead's
niece, among many others. While here, he had his privileges
revoked at Royal Columbian Hospital. I'll leave it to you to
guess why.
The
AG hired Peter Leaske, QC, to review the matter and determine
whether charges should be laid. The investigation went on
forever and the delay interminable, especially with Coquitlam
RCMP demanding charges be laid against Gossage for an incident
relating to Stead's sister, the mother of the little girl
Gossage abused.
Leaske
ultimately determined no charges should be laid against Gossage.
An opinion, I might add, I wholly, totally and wholeheartedly
disagree with. And trust me, I am not alone in that. I suspect
anyone reading the file will arrive at the same conclusion as I
have.
Gossage
was ultimately convicted by the B.C. College of Physicians and
Surgeons. They sentenced him to a suspension and a fine
amounting to, as I recall, about $30,000. The suspension was for
six months.
But
none of this was for what Gossage did to the little girl. It was
for what he did to Mum. Frankly, the whole case still stuns me.
It
also explains why Stead is running in this election. He wants
the Crown Counsel Review Act repealed.
The
act takes away from police the power to physically lay charges
requiring someone to appear before a court of law. This is the
only province in this country to have such a law, such a
restriction on the powers of police and a door opener to
political interference.
Stead
would like to see this changed. And so should we all.
He is only running to try and get some attention on this situation. I hope he succeeds.
In
fact, if I lived in Coquitlam/Maillardville, I would vote for
Doug Stead.
He
may not want to be elected, but I could think of a whole lot of
people who have far fewer principles and have actually been
running things -- well, what passes for running things in this
land of mediocrity.
Speaking
of mediocrity, I have to vote for Dan Jarvis next week. I'm
pretty sure he is actually alive. He was an accidental MLA in
1991 and he has done little to enthrall the electorate since.
I'm
sure he's done something in 10 years, but no one outside his
immediate family and staff and constituency executive knows what
that is.
Evidently, that's the best we can do. Be still, my beating heart.
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