Ex-solicitor general's Chilliwack subdivision under RCMP investigation
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 | 2:33 PM PT
CBC News
A Chilliwack subdivision developed by former solicitor general John Les is part of the RCMP investigation that led to his resignation on Friday, CBC News has learned.
John Les, who resigned as B.C.'s solicitor general Friday, said after Monday's legislature session in Victoria that he has nothing to hide and has not hired a lawyer even though he is the subject of an RCMP investigation.
(CBC)
The RCMP has not formally revealed what Les is being investigated for and the attorney general's criminal justice branch will only say that the investigation has to do with whether Les improperly benefited from commercial transactions involving land developers.
But CBC News has learned from one of the people interviewed by police last year that RCMP officers were asking questions about a Chilliwack development known as Rosebank.
CBC has agreed not to name the source, but the information has been confirmed by other sources.
The 11-acre property just off Camp River Road in Chilliwack was owned by an elderly couple.
They had applied to the city to have their property boundary adjusted so they could hold on to two acres of the land and sell the remaining nine acres.
The city refused to move the boundary line and the couple sold the property to their adult children.
A short time later, the children were approached by Les, the mayor of Chilliwack at that time, who wanted to purchase the property.
Les bought the land, and the city approved a subdivision parcelling the property into two-acre lots ready for development.
No one is alleging there was anything wrong with the deal and Les has denied he has done anything wrong and said he is certain he will be completely exonerated.
No charges have been laid by the RCMP, but the investigation continues.
On Tuesday morning, Abbotsford Liberal MLA John van Dongen was appointed acting solicitor general and minister for public safety. Attorney General Wally Oppal temporarily took over when Les resigned on Friday afternoon.
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