Quixotic Quest Querying Government completed !

On Friday Feb. 29 I received the last piece of the puzzle on my FOI (Freedom of Information) that started Jan 3 2007. A history of this Quixotic Quest for the truth can be found at:FOI REQUEST UPDATE. AND THE SEARCH GOES ON ! AND FOI Request (Freedom of information ) NEW UPDATE May 31

The Document I was after was:
The Revenue Agreement signed by the City of Penticton, Lake City Casinos, the BC Lottery Corp (BCLC) and the provincial Government in the summer of 2006 re the South Okanagan Centre.

I finally received my FOI request from the Ministry of the Attorney General on Aug 16. It had had 2 schedules with severed information (missing figures etc). This was done under section 21 of the Act (harm to business interests of a third party) and I have 30 business days to appeal the decision to the Information and privacy Commissioner.

I appealed this to the Information and privacy Commissioner and requested the release of Schedule B (which was important to have) and Schedule C (which had no significance). My file was opened Sept. 11/07 and finally on Feb.25/08 after several self extensions granted I received the full Schedule B that I was seeking. (I can now appeal for Schedule C within 30 days but I really don't need that information.

The Quest has ended. Along the way I put in a separate FOI with the City of Penticton for a side agreement that was referred to in the original 22 page report (with Schedule B & C redacted) and received the details of an unconsummated agreement between Lake City Casino and the City of Penticton.

The full file explains the financing details and who put up what for the South Okanagan Centre. It was essentially as I posted originally and the The City of Penticton made a great deal to redirect DAC funds from the Casino Property to pay for part of this new complex. The Provincial Government took most of the credit but essentially put up just a small portion of the money.

The value of a local Casino being a destination Casino is illustrated with this deal. My local City is welcome to a copy of this information if they want it. (They know how to reach me !)