Opposition ready to pounce on Les scandal
VANCOUVER — Questions of ethics and integrity arising from the criminal investigation of former solicitor-general John Les are expected to dominate debate in the British Columbia legislature today as the politicians return from a two-week Easter break.
“This is about ethics and integrity, and about a huge cloud over this government, and I think that is very disturbing,” New Democratic Party Leader Carole James said yesterday in an interview.
The B.C. government announced on Friday that a special prosecutor had been appointed in June, 2007, to assist a police investigation into whether Mr. Les “improperly benefited” from business with land developers while he was mayor in Chilliwack from 1987 to 1999.
Mr. Les was elected to the legislature in 2001 and appointed solicitor-general in 2005. The announcement was made following a media inquiry.
Mr. Les told reporters late Friday that he learned about the appointment of the special prosecutor through media reports and immediately tendered his resignation. Premier Gordon Campbell appointed Attorney-General Wally Oppal to serve as acting solicitor-general until the investigation was concluded.
Ms. James said yesterday Mr. Les should have been asked to step aside eight months ago, as soon as a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate his activities.
The NDP will press for answers during Question Period on whether Mr. Oppal was told when a special prosecutor was appointed and whether Mr. Oppal had notified Mr. Campbell that Mr. Les, the minister responsible for law enforcement, was under investigation by police.
Ms. James said the province’s entire law-enforcement system is under a cloud. “This is the minister of public safety in charge of law enforcement and the public has a right to know if that individual is being investigated,” Ms. James said. “They have a right to know that their rights will be protected by having that individual step aside until an investigation is completed.”
Ms. James also said she assumed Mr. Oppal would have been informed of the appointment of a special prosecutor last June, as part of his routine briefings on activities in his ministry.
“If he knew, he should have informed the Premier and asked the minister to step aside,” she said. “And if he did not know, that’s troubling to me.”
She questioned why the appointment of a special prosecutor was announced only after a media inquiry. “If that is the only way we can find out … perhaps we have to ask as a routine question every single week to the attorney-general, can you ask in your ministry if a special prosecutor was appointed this week? That seems ridiculous to have to do,” Ms. James said.
“This is one more symbol of the lack of openness of this government, the lack of public accountability and frankly, the lack of ethics,” she said.
Details about the allegations of wrongdoing and the criminal investigation were not available yesterday.
RCMP Constable Annie Linteau confirmed yesterday that Mr. Les was under investigation but would not elaborate.
The investigation involves “a number of persons” including Mr. Les, as a result of a complaint received from one person, she stated in a news release. The complaint concerned land dealings in the Chilliwack area several years ago, she said. No further details were available, she said later.
Mr. Les told reporters he was not sure what was being investigated. He said he had never been questioned by the investigators, had nothing to hide and had no doubt he would be completely cleared.
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