In early May, someone in the B.C. Liberal government ordered the destruction of backup tapes of government e-mails prior to May 2004.

This decision, made during a provincial election campaign, prevents the disclosure of e-mails from the premier and cabinet ministers in the B.C. Rail corruption trial of former ministerial aides David Basi and Bob Virk, and former communications staffer Aneal Basi.

The information surfaced in a column by the Globe and Mail's Gary Mason who, unfortunately, relied on unnamed sources.

The revelation prompted NDP attorney general critic Leonard Krog to ask B.C.'s assistant deputy attorney general in charge of criminal justice to appoint a special prosecutor.

“Documents tabled in the B.C. Supreme Court this week suggest sensitive government e-mails relevant to the B.C. Rail corruption trial were destroyed during the spring election campaign,” Krog said in a news release today (July 16). “If this information is true, it amounts to not only a violation of government policy, but also a serious breach of trust and potential obstruction of justice. The premier said the rules were followed. These reports show the premier is not telling the truth."

Several years ago, the publisher of the Georgia Straight, Dan McLeod, wrote a front-page editorial comparing Campbell to former U.S. president Richard Nixon.

Nixon resigned in 1974 after his secretary Rosemary Woods erased 18 minutes of taped conversations. That came after the Watergate break-in triggered a criminal case and various Congressional and Senate actions.

The sale of B.C. Rail assets to CN Rail occurred after the premier promised not to privatize the government-owned railway. Now, the government has erased any possible e-mail trail that might account for this abrupt policy reversal.

But that might be where the similarity with Nixon ends. In B.C., unlike in the United States, there's no real separation in the legislative and executive branches of government. The premier calls the shots.

Campbell can also block probes by legislative committees, which decreases the likelihood that his government's act of erasure will force him out of office.