Ladner says he was "set up"

NPA mayoral candidate Peter Ladner says he was “set up.”

A sensitive document given to Peter Ladner went missing for two days after an in-camera Oct. 14 meeting, only to turn up on the desk of of fellow NPA Coun. B.C. Lee, it was revealed today.

It’s that document that’s believed to be a source of a Globe and Mail story that alleged city council had secretly authorized a $100-million loan to the developers of the Olympic Village.

“B.C. Lee and I have been set up,” Ladner told reporters today. “… Somebody picked it up, took it away and dumped it on B.C. Lee’s desk.”

It's another odd twist in a story that has overshadowed the campaign and, with just days to go before election day, threatens to become a decisive voting issue. And that in itself is all the more bizarre given the city has yet to even confirm the loan to Millennium Development Corp.

“We had a closed meeting,” Ladner told reporters. “Every councillor was given a numbered document. At the end of the meeting, I put my document on the table and left the meeting and was seen leaving the meeting with nothing in my hands. As was B.C. Lee.

“Two days later, the document with my number on it appeared on his desk after he left his office unlocked.”

For his part, Lee says he has no idea how the document ended up on his desk.

“I think this whole thing is part of the dark side, the worst part of politics,” said Lee, who not running for re-election.

City councillors from all three governing parties have refused to publicly discuss the Oct. 14 meeting; in-camera meetings are common in civic government and politicians are obligated to keep silent on meeting discussions.

The opposition Vision Vancouver party has used the controversy to attack Ladner repeatedly, even though the apparent loan was voted on unanimously, as was the original decision to award the Olympic Village development deal to Millennium.