VICTORIA — The New Democrats fired off their latest fundraising pitch on the weekend, keyed to what is likely to be one of their first actions if they form government next year — launching a public inquiry into the never-ending BC Rail case.

“A full public inquiry is the only way we will get at the truth,” declared the missive sent over the signature of Leonard Krog, the MLA for Nanaimo and the party’s justice critic.

“We’ve consistently called for a full public inquiry into the sale of BC Rail. But an inquiry can only happen if we win the election. And to win the election we need to close the campaign funding gap — closing that gap requires your help.”

Krog and his colleagues have been promising the inquiry since campaign 2005, the first election after the B.C. Liberals reneged on their own promise not to sell the government-owned railway.

But in keeping alive the almost eight-year-old promise, Krog has been guarded and cautious, avoiding the wilder personal attacks and speculations.

Call him for a comment on the latest supposed “bombshell” in the case and he’ll likely fall back on the well-worn line about it being “yet another reason “ for holding a public inquiry.

Not for the likely attorney-general in an NDP government the view that just because information is posted on the Internet, it must therefore be 1) true and 2) not pose any risk of a defamation suit.

All the more significant then that Krog did resort to strong language in the fundraising letter.

“This week’s shocker from the B.C. Liberals,” as he put it Saturday. “An admission by the government’s legal team that they did in fact possess documents related to the decision to pay $6 million in legal bills for Dave Basi and Bobby Virk.

“These are the same documents the government’s lawyers claimed simply did not exist. Now, surprise: they do. “

The admission in question came by way of an affidavit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver earlier in the week.

The case is part of the legal proceedings arising out of the government’s decision to waive repayment of some $6 million in legal bills incurred by the aforementioned Basi and Virk — the two Liberal aides who pleaded guilty to corruption in the BC Rail case.

Auditor General John Doyle has been striving for two years to audit that payout in particular, along with the long-standing government practice of covering legal costs of accused public servants, staffers and politicians.

He’s already gained access through government to some of the documentation he needs. But he’s seeking more details on the itemized payouts to the lawyers, raising concerns about a possible breach of the solicitor-client relationship.

Hence the court case where B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman is asked to strike the balance between what the auditor general needs to do his job and the recognized confidentiality between accused persons and their legal representatives.

Enter Richard Butler, the staff lawyer in the government legal services branch who has been coordinating the release of documents to the auditor general and to the court.