PREAMBLE
There’s a key or two buried somewhere in every good detective story. Find them and you unlock the meaning of later events. Miss them, and you’re probably that annoying person interrupting the best parts of the second half of the show every few minutes with: “I don’t get it!”
There are two main keys needed to make sense out of the egaming coverup strategy. The goal of that PEI Government strategy is to keep all information not yet public that supports a full and truthful telling of the story “secret” and documentary evidence supporting CMT’s lawsuit claims from becoming public or being considered by Judges.
I’m increasingly reluctant to use the phrase “egaming scandal”. I haven’t actually been investigating “egaming” for quite some time now. The focus of my investigation has been on the coverup of information relevant to telling the full story, and it just so happens that where I’ve come to in my investigation dovetails with information related directly to CMT’s claims of spoliation, misfeasance, and breach of contract: that’s the information the Government has been hiding.
In this episode, we go back to May 11, 2017. PC MLA Darlene Compton rose early during Question Period to demand that the Minister of Finance, Allen Roach resign. Why? Because the PC Caucus had obtained new documents in a FOIPP request that revealed those two keys which were:
(1) how the government had falsely separated CMT/FMT with SIMPLEX to support the lie that the PEI Government had nothing to do with Paul Maines or CMT prior to the MOU in July 2012; and
(2) that the E-gaming Project was to be “married” to the “FMT Project” under Brad Mix with Innovation PEI, a project that neither the PEI Government nor Judge Campbell acknowledged even existed.
Below are three short video clips from Hon. Steven Myers (1 clip) and Hon. Darlene Compton (2 clips). I wasn’t able to locate any information explaining why those keys were themselves locked away after the PC MLAs became Government. However, with the huge empty space created by the self-imposed silence of the PC MLAs and the King Government, I’m hoping these very powerful video clips coupled with some additional explanatory information, will…
Clarify how the two “keys” needed to unlock the coverup strategy perpetuated by the Ghiz, MacLauchlan and King governments keep critical information about spoliation, misfeasance, and breach of contract hidden in a bid to derail CMT’s lawsuit;- Reveal how information in FOIPP documents that were obtained by the PC Caucus in early 2017 revealed: (1) CMT/FMT had a business relationship with the PEI Government that pre-dated the MOU period, and that (2) SIMPLEX and CMT were corporate “partners” in delivering the SIMPLEX Global Financial Transaction Platform and Claimatrix claims-processing service. CMT/FMT (as well as the Auditor General) referred to SIMPLEX as CMT’s “Technology Partner”. They were the two distinct corporate sides of the same Global Financial Transaction Platform coin. Any agreements with the PEI Government on a go-forward basis would need to be with FMT (100% owned by CMT) BECAUSE CMT had exclusive rights to deliver the Global Financial Services Platform in North America, and also owned 100% of Claimatrix; and,
- Show how the King Government did a complete “flip flop” on the core interpretive value of these two keys after PC MLAs argued passionately defending the points outlined in #2 in the Legislative Assembly, even explaining how those insights are what EXPOSE a coverup.
When the King Government filed a Response to CMT’s Appeal in the PEI Appeal Court it completely abandoned the former truthful understanding of the facts with a “no looking back” commitment to finish the coverup job the Liberals had started.
That evil document contains all the same lies, omissions and distortions as the previous Liberal Defense filings. Only now those lies are wrapped in a thick layer of hypocrisy and betrayal, seasoned with just a hint of shame. Quite a feast for the electorate! That Appeal Court filing contains the very same distortions and lies that the PCs publicly exposed and mercilessly vilified the Liberals for orchestrating as Official Opposition MLAs.
That exposure was all recorded in Hansard of course, as well as on Legislative Assembly Debate Videos. They provide incontrovertible evidence that the PC MLAs and King Government know the truth but have chosen to support lies instead. This language sounds harsh I know but it’s not: it’s simply the plain truth as evidenced by the facts that are being ignored, which is really the only other choice other than speaking up and coming clean. What’s harsh is the actual betrayal by the King government and Islanders should be offended by the coverup.
If Hon. Steven Myers and Darlene Compton were to publicly clarify which of these two opposing positions they support, either (1) the same bogus Liberal position filed in the Appeal Court, or (2) the positions expressed in the three video clips – which were positions supported with Government documents which the PC MLAs uncovered themselves through FOIPP requests and know to be true.
I’d totally respect either Myers or Compton for answering my completely valid question: one where card-carrying journalists would be asking in any other universe but PEI. It would take a tremendous amount of courage for them to stand up for the truth they carry within themselves, which they have the power to make known publicly and widely.
Speaking truth to power (when power pays your salary) is probably the hardest thing a person can do in life – it is not easy and there would be unpleasant consequences for sure. I’m certain they wouldn’t outweigh the positive outcomes. At any rate, it isn’t just a personal moral obligation, it’s a duty the MLAs embraced when they accepted to be Cabinet Ministers in this government. I hope they haven’t forgotten they were elected to BE THE POWER, not to bow to it. Their fear of doing what’s right and expected is actually completely unfounded: when elected MLAs honour promises and exercise their power on behalf of Islanders, they get rewarded at the polls. Islanders can smell political cowardice and deceit a mile away!
To gain insight, it is necessary to see two things “together” so as to reveal relevant and explanatory connections between those two things. Keeping those two things “separate” hides materially-relevant information. That is the “anatomy” of all coverups. It is the strategy employed by the last two successive PEI Liberal Governments, Judge Campbell, and now the PC MLAs and the King Government.
Liberal Governments and Judge Campbell falsely maintained that: (1) CMT/FMT had no business relationship with the PEI Government before signing the MOU on July 6, 2012; and that (2) CMT/FMT was not involved with the PEI Government Loyalty Card Program or anything else other than the MOU. The claim was that the PEI Government only had dealings with the UK company SIMPLEX which was entirely separate from CMT/FMT, and that Simplex was not a party to the CMT/764 lawsuit so none of that relationship with SIMPLEX was relevant.
After you watch the video clips from Hon. Darlene Compton (Now Deputy Premier) and Hon. Steve Myers (Now Cabinet Minister) see if you can figure out how the King Government could abandon its entire moral, intellectual, political and legal stance on the CMT lawsuit claims. Is there a word for ‘shameful,’ ‘cowardly’ and ‘repugnant’ all smushed together?
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I could provide an entire section outlining exactly what Judge Campbell said about how CMT/FMT had no pre-MOU relationship with the PEI Government; how he never recognized that there was an “FMT PEI Government Project”. That isn’t the purpose of this article. That information has already been presented in previous blog articles, especially in the 25-Part “Truth and No Consequences” series.
This article is to explain how the King Government’s “flip flop” on all the particular issues first required throwing away those two “keys” that make sense out of CMT/FMT’s 2-year business relationship with the PEI Government to establish the SIMPLEX Financial Transaction Platform in PEI. In that way, this article should itself become something of a “key” to better interpret and understand the remaining episodes in this series.
What Compton and Myers have to say in these short video clips dismantles the Liberal coverup strategy by putting together what the Liberals had severed. They present hard facts they obtained from official government documents acquired through Access to Information requests. Unfortunately, those two “keys” that unlock the coverup were themselves locked away and forgotten by the PC MLAs after the election.
The PC MLAs who first discovered those keys and made them public knowledge (they now either forget or are simply unwilling to speak out about them) are now Cabinet Ministers in Government with the power to do something about their previous apparently heartfelt concerns. Are they no longer concerned about corruption and coverup in our provincial government? It appears to be the case, otherwise, they wouldn’t be maintaining the same coverup as the Liberals they are bashing in these video clips
1. Exposing the False Separation between CMT/FMT and SIMPLEX
There are dozens of instances in Judge Campbell’s ruling where he goes out of his way to say that neither CMT nor Simplex were parties to the legal action. It seemed of no consequence to Campbell that FMT was 100% owned by CMT. Although separate companies, CMT established FMT to deliver the SIMPLEX platform and planned to transfer all of CMT’s assets to FMT once that corporate transition strategy was complete and the Financial Transaction Platform was established.
CMT also owned 33% of SIMPLEX at the time and held veto voting rights on the SIMPLEX board. CMT also had 100% ownership of the Globally-recognized Claimatrix Claims Processing system on Simplex’s platform. Internally, the Government knew perfectly well what the true relationship between Simplex and CMT was, and knew they had to deal with CMT (through FMT) because only CMT had North American rights to deliver the platform. That’s why the MOU was signed with FMT, not SIMPLEX. Yet, Campbell insists throughout his ruling that Paul Maines and CMT had nothing to do with the PEI Government before July 2012.
Myers has apparently accepted to be silenced by the King Government and has opted to side with his Government and support Judge Campbell’s conclusion he knows to be false. Amazing!
2. Exposing The False Separation Between Egaming & the Transaction Platform
Let’s start with a video clip from Compton:
Those new documents revealed the explicit “connection” between the regulated gaming ambitions of (1) the secret egaming committee (Wes Sheridan, Chris LeClair, Kevin Kiley, Gary Scales, Don MacKenzie, and Mike O’Brien) and (2) the Recruitment Division of Innovation PEI (Brad Mix) FMT Project. Listen to Roach’s response to Compton as he vigorously defends the complete “disconnection” between egaming and CMT/FMT:
Like Judge Campbell, the only relevant CMT/FMT issue for Roach was the MOU, which happened several months after the formal egaming committee project apparently ended.
Roach’s response was followed with some further clarification by Compton: until the egaming committee lost the PEI Government’s support in February 2012 – and from as early as May 2011, the e-gaming committee was looking to CMT/FMT/SIMPLEX to provide the platform needed for egaming.
When the PEI Department of Justice Deputy Minister, Shawna Sullivan-Curley obtained an outside legal opinion and deemed that Sheridan’s scheme to “regulate” online gaming using the Mi’kmaq Confederacy would be criminal, the PEI Government indicated it was formally withdrawing support for the secret gaming committee project.
The Committee did not, however, disband, nor did the interest in egaming wane (just “regulating” egaming). The Committee was looking to new gaming opportunities as a result of the plan to have FMT (1) recruit gaming companies, and (2) establish the SIMPLEX Platform in PEI, which was very much still on track.
It’s both ironic and a little sad that when Roach is making his argument that the egaming project ended in February he was obviously aware that Neil Stewart and Cheryl Paynter (under his supervision) had given a $100,000 grant to pay for work undertaken by the secret gaming committee until at least the end of June 2012.
That $100k was a fraudulent grant issued in January 2013 to cover invoices from McInnes Cooper law firm. That grant application (which I obtained through a FOIP request) indicated the money was for “future work” [hence my use of the term “fraud”]. It’s clear from the correspondence obtained through various FOIPs that Wes Sheridan also remained involved in that committee and liaised with other government officials, especially staff at Innovation PEI, although the AG doesn’t mention that:
Summary
Two things were always needed with the egaming plan: “gaming companies” and a “financial transaction platform”.
The Secret Egaming Committee members were interested in FMT because of the company’s ability to deliver a financial transaction platform for the planned regulated online gaming. Campbell says CMT/FMT had absolutely nothing to do with egaming but that’s just not true. CMT and Simplex attended a meeting and a study was undertaken to determine the feasibility of establishing the Platform through FMT, resulting in the recruitment package to FMT from Innovation PEI.
Innovation PEI had an active business relationship with CMT/FMT [mostly dealing with Paul Jenkins, the sole Director of FMT at the time and the ‘face’ of the company with the PEI Government] to do two things: (1) recruit gaming companies to PEI that would be clients on a financial services platform; and (2) establish a near-shore financial services centre in PEI delivering the SIMPLEX Swift-accredited Global Transaction Platform.
FMT was incorporated as a local company to accommodate the wishes expressed in the Recruitment package presented to FMT in early 2011 by Innovation PEI. Paul Jenkins was the initial director, but FMT’s “management team” was made up of Gary Jessop (lawyer and Board Member of CMT) Paul Maines, Philip Walsh (CEO of SIMPLEX) and others.
Truth is like cream – given enough time after things settle, it rises to the top.
Paul Maines shared a document with me he received in conjunction with a FOIP request currently under review with the Information Commissioner. It was a letter the public body (Deputy Minister Erin McGrath Gaudet) sent to Ms. Rose dated February 11, 2020, providing responses to precise questions she had asked. Some documents had been sent to 3rd parties, and Maines knew they were CMT/FMT-related documents, but despite being the President of CMT, he had not been contacted. Here is the response from the King Government on who they contacted about FMT-related documents:
There you have it: “SIMPLEX and FMT” were used interchangeably by the PEI Government!” Someone in Government really should have told Judge Campbell!
The scale of this “two-key” flip flop represents a conscienceless betrayal of (1) Paul Maines and CMT; (2) everything the PC MLAs previously stated publicly on the matter; (3) a commitment to see that justice prevails, with real consequences for those breaking laws as well as compensation for damages suffered by CMT… all of which is what the PC MLAs repeatedly promised Islanders a PC Government would do if elected; and, of course (3) the TRUTH.
Everything hangs on exposing and understanding these two falsehoods used to “misinterpret” everything else…all those particular issues and claims relating to specific people, events and dates.
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