Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 5

IK OPY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2003 EDMONTON JOURNAL A5 II A BUSBY AND BEES THAT BUZZ Killer jailed, court booed 11 Canadians arrested in massive drugbust i 7 1 o. i It's the largest that we have ever been involved with and it's one of the largest that the DEA was ever involved in." RCMP Insp. Larry Tremblay One RCMP investigator said the six could be more accurately described as salespeople. RCMP Insp. Daniel Gauthier said the employees have yet to be charged in Canada.

"Irsunder investigation and the RCMP will not reveal the names while no charges have been laid," Gauthier said. The RCMP is investigating whether or not the companies sold the pseu-doephedrine to people with proper permits. Two Ottawa men, alleged to have been middlemen, have been charged. One of the companies, Formulex, is based in Montreal. No one from the company could be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The ring allegedly shipped large quantities of pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in methamphetamine, or more commonly known as speed, from manufacturers in Canada to producers in the US. Pseudoephedrine is legally produced for use in common cold medicines, but it is also used in the production of speed and other illicit drugs. It is illegal to sell it to anyone for the production of illegal substances. The pharmaceutical was allegedly taken from Montreal in pill form and shipped to Ottawa, where it was housed in preparation for export to the U.S. Four tonnes of pseu doephedrine from Ottawa was found in Las Vegas in early February before it could be converted to speed or other illicit drugs in "superiabs" in California.

RCMP raided two warehouse? in late February in Ottawa and found another eight tonnes of the drug. "It'stheNo. 1 drug threat in rural America," said the DEA's McGilL Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Province Queen Elizabeth giggles as she and Prince Phillip watch bees swarm around guests on the lawn of Windsor Castle, west of London, on Tuesday, just before the Queen's Company Grenadier Guards ceremonial review. A beekeeper removed the swarm before the ceremony started. Dutch politician supporters storm but of public gallery TOBY STERLING The Associated Press AMSTERDAM The killer of Dutch politician Pjm Fortuyn was sentenced lues-day to 18 years in prison a punishment that elicited courtroom boos, crying and derision from Fortuyn supporters who said it was not nearly severe enough.

Volkert van der Graaf, 33, confessed to shooting Fortuyn outside a radio station on May 6, 2002, just nine days before elections in which Fortuyn was contending forprime minister, to prevent him from gaining power and canning out his anti-immigration agenda. The crime shattered the country's tradition of peaceful democracy, and Fortuyn's supporters said Van derGraaf should be sentenced to life in prison. The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870. When the judge read the verdict, outraged Fortuyn support-es booed and stormed out of the public gallery. They later threw garbage at a car taking Van der Graaf back to prison and shouted profanities at the judges.

Fortuyn supporter Patricia Houdkamp, 31, wept in the public gallery after the sentence was readout She said Fortuyn "stood up" for people like her. "And then he's called a 'danger to the country' and killed. What do you have to do to get a Life sentence? The Netherlands is way too tolerant," Houdkamp said. Presiding Judge Frans Bauduin said the sentence was severe enough and reflected "the brutal manner in which the victim was killed, the damage to the democratic process, and the general deterrence effect the punishment should have." Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Van der Graaf, but prosecution spokeswoman Sask-ia de Klerk said they were "not dissatisfied with the verdict," which is longer than the 12-16 years usually given to defendants convicted of a single murder. Life sentences are extremely rare: only 21 have been handed down in the past 50 years, generally for serial murders.

The judges said Van der Graaf likely would not kill again and deserved a chance to rejoin society. Van der Graaf, looking relieved after the sentence was read, glanced briefly at his lawyers and Was led away. With good behaviour and the time served taken into account, he likely will be released as eariy as 2014. Fortuyn was shot five times from behind at point-blank range, and died shortly later of wounds to the head and chest Van der Graaf fled on foot but was arrested minutes later with the murder weapon in his pocket, gunpowder on his hands and Fortuyn's DNA on his trousers. The killing shocked the Netherlands, where politicians rarely keep bodyguards and many government leaders ride their bicycles to work.

Oops! Files miss shredder Suspects among 65 people nabbed in operation that could be worth $6B CanW'est News Service MONTREAL Eleven Canadians, including executives of three chemical companies, were among 65 people arrested Tuesday in connection with a major drug bust police say ends a massive smuggling ring. The arrests were made in Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and Vancouver. Arrests were also made in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Cincinnati. Authorities say the investigation, dubbed Operation Northern Star, targeted all levels of the speed trafficking business, from suppliers of chemicals needed to make the drug to distributors, to others who helped launder the proceeds of crime. In this type of seizure, dealing with a precursor or a chemical, if the largest that we have ever been involved with and ifs one of the largest that the DEA was ever involved in," said RCMP Insp.

Larry Tremblay, speaking at a news conference in Montreal. The chemicals seized could pro duce as many as 300 million hits of speed, which RCMP said sell for about $20 each on the street, potentially making the bust worth as much as $6 billion. In addition to the arrests, police also seized $1.6 million in cash and one luxury vehicle as pro ceeds of crime. TheU.S. Department of Justice said in a statement "six executives from three Canadian chemical companies: G.C.

Medical Products, Formulex, and Frega Inc." were targeted during the 18-month investigation and arrested Tuesday. All were fully aware that the bulk quantities of pseudoephedrine being sold were intended for the illegal production of methamphetamine," said James McGill, a DEArepresenta-tive, who referred to the six as employees rather than executives. RCMP Const. France Pouliot displays that are a precusor to manufacturing conference in Montreal on Tuesday. ment representatives about the controversy.

Later that summer, Trudeau summoned Hockey Canada officials to his office to discuss the matter and see if anything could be done to reverse Hull's exclusion. "Trudeau gestured to stacks of messages. Most demanded he insist Hull play. If Hull could not, some people wanted him to block the Soviets from coming. The prime minister thought we should go ahead and play Hull," recently wrote journalist Douglas Fisher, a Hockey Canada official at the time.

But after warning the prime minister that playing Hull would jeopardize the series, Fisher told the press the series was going ahead without thedynamicplay-er. Although the September games I "I just don't know how something like that would have happened It's flabbergasting. And then to be told that it was sitting there in full view of anybody no I wasn't happy." Patient upset over discovery that her medical files were found in a recycling bin rather than being shredded "I deeply regret any breach of confidentiality that may have resulted." The files, most of which had Bastian's name stamp, are dated between 1990 and 1998. They include patient's names, hospitalization numbers and detailed medical information. "I feel very violated.

It's an open file. Anybody could look through it. All your privacy is gone," the former patient said. Bastian's lawyer Brad Hunter said the doctor intends to contact each patient and personally apologize. The incident came to light Saturday when a man opened a recycling bin in the city and found dozens of the medical files.

The man anonymously contacted Global television, and a reporter retrieved about 150 files from the THE ASSOCIATED PRESS bin, and left an equal number inside. By Monday, the bin was emptied. Wascana Recycling, which purchases the bins' contents from the City of Regina, recovered some files Tuesday and returned them to the doctor. 'It was a fluke that we actually found some of these records," president John Barker said. The company received a request Monday to look for the files.

Barker was uncertain if all the records were found, but added any that got past the sorters have been chopped and baled. "It would be unrecognizable at that point anyway," he said. In his statement, Bastian said: "this error occurred as a result of miscommunication and human error on my part" Hunter said the doctor usually sends old files to a shredding company. A family member helped him pack some "non-active" files for that purpose. The doctor asked him to put them in the recycling bin.

"He just made a mistake. He should have said get somebody to pick these up a professional shredding company," Hunter said. "He wants to get his records back so he can make sure they are properly destroyed." Regina Leader Post dicate the cabinet speculated the NHL might back down from its strong initial refusal to allow the superstar to play. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who was minister of Indian affairs at the time, was in attendance, but the summary does not indicate ifhe spoke on the topic "It was noted that, while the NHL was in a position to create difficulties for Hockey Canada by refusing permission to NHL players to play on the Canadian team, the NHL had been prepared to withdraw some of its earlier demands," said the minutes. John Munro, men-minister of national health and welfare, advised agitated cabinet colleagues tosaylitde about the issue if questioned by the press.

Munro had told the media he was waiting to speak with Hockey Canada officials and govern Medical records end up in dumpster for all to see BARB PACHOLIK CanW'est News Service REG1NA A Regina gynecologist has issued an apology to his patients after about 300 medical files from his office were recently found in a recycling bin. However, one of Dr. James Bas-tian's former patients, whose file was among those discovered, is "shocked" such a breach of con-fidentiality occurred and finds little comfort in the doctor's explanation. "I just don't know how something like that would have happened It's flabbergasting," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "And then to be told that it was sitting there in full view of anybody no I wasn't happy." In a written statement issued Tuesday, Bastian, who practices obstetrics and gynecology, said he intended to shred the inactive files but they were instead "inadvertendy disposed in a recycling bin.

"I apologize to my patients who have given me their trust and responsibility for their charts over the years," Bastian stated. JACK AUBRY and JIM BRONSKILL CanW'est News Service OTTAWA The Trudeau cabinet was willing to drop the gloves over hockey superstar Bobby Hull's exclusion from the legendary 1972 series, newly released cabinet documents show. A public furor had broken out over the controversial benching of the Golden Jet, as Hull was famously known, from the keenly anticipated games, prompting a closed-door cabinet discussion. Although named to the Team Canada roster by coach Harry Sinden, Hull was considered ineligible to play by Hockey Canada, the sport's national governing body, because he had jumped from the National Hockey League to the upstart Worid Hockey As Cabinet tried to stickhandle 72 hockey series CANWEST NEWS SERVICE. MONTREAE GAZETTE a bag containing 17,000 tablets methampetatnines during a news galvanized the attention ofhock-ey-obsessed Canada that year, the cabinet minutes indicate this was the only occasion in 1972 on which the nation's pastime came up at cabinet.

Despite Hull's absence, Canada won four games to Russia's three, with one contest tied. Millions of Canadians vividly remember the moment Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the dying seconds of the final game ki Moscow to secure a 6-5 victory for Canada. Hull got his chance to face the Soviets in the forgettable 1974 Summit Series, during which a Team Canada made up exclu sively of WHA players won just one game in eight against the powerful Russians. Digitized versions of selected 1972 cabinet records can be viewed at www.archives.ca 1 a Si ,4 i sociation. The NHL was adamant the series would be scrapped if the game's first millionaire was allowed to pull on the red-and-white Team Canada sweater.

But the cabinet minutes indicate Pierre Trudeau and his ministers, who were obviously feeling public pressure over the matter, wanted something done. "The suggestion was put forward that the government might make known, to Hockey Canada, its view that Hull should be permitted to play on the Canadian team," say minutes of the July 1972 meeting. The document was among dozens of pages of 30-year-old cabinet conclusions declassified Tuesday by the National Archives of Canada. Additional material will be made available today. Stamped secret, the minutes in Bobby Hull.