Thursday, May 15, 2008

Corrigan asks questions:

Why did police meet with solicitor general?
By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 7, 2004


Has the provincial government already dropped the ball with its response and handling of the Dec. 28 police raid on the offices of two ministerial assistants in the B.C. legislature?

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan thinks so, and he believes the mainstream media is failing to ask at least one of the more puzzling questions surrounding the debacle.

"It just seems peculiar to me that this was all handled by the solicitor general instead of the attorney general," Corrigan told the Burnaby NOW on Tuesday morning. "We all remember when the charges were laid against former premier Glen Clark, it was attorney general Ujjal Dosanjh who was dealing with the special prosecutor in that case."

"I find it very curious," Corrigan said. "I don't know why in this situation it came out that way. Why was it the solicitor general instead of the attorney general?"

Corrigan noted that solicitors general typically handle the administrative side of the justice system while attorneys general handle the prosecution side.

"In fact, if this matter had proceeded that way, the way it would normally, there would have been information provided to someone in the attorney general's office about the police investigation. In this situation, it appears what may have happened is the police did the investigation, obtained the search warrants from the judiciary and then went to the solicitor general."

Corrigan, a lawyer by trade, is also concerned about a potential conflict of interest first raised by B.C. Unity Party leader Chris Delaney, who questioned the appointment of special prosecutor William Bernardino.

On New Year's Eve, Delaney issued a press release that said Bernardino and Plant once worked in the same law office together, a claim that has not been denied by the B.C. Liberals.

Corrigan said the allegation leaves a cloud over the special prosecutor's head, which could become unbearable as the case winds its way through the process.

"The suggestion from at least one opposition party is that there is a conflict, and that's not a good place to start when you're a special prosecutor," Corrigan said. "I think it would be very difficult for whoever is put into that role."

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