John Les is a Canadian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for British Columbia. He was previously Minister of Small Business and Economic Development and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General for the Provincial Government.
Les served as mayor of Chilliwack from 1987 to 1999. Before entering politics, he was a partner in a Chilliwack dairy, a real estate agent and the owner of a land development company. He was unsuccessful in the 1997 federal election in riding of Fraser Valley where he ran for the Liberal Party of Canada coming in second in a field of eight. He was elected in the 2001 B.C. election representing the British Columbia Liberal Party in the Chilliwack-Sumas riding. He won re-election in the 2005 B.C. election. He was re-elected in the newly created Chilliwack riding in the 2009 election.[1]
On March 28, 2008, John Les resigned from his position as Solicitor General pending the outcome of an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) over allegations of misconduct during his tenure as Mayor of Chilliwack. The RCMP requested that a special prosecutor look into a land deal that Les may have improperly benefited from.[2]
In 2008, Les said that he hadn't been questioned by anyone and has no doubt he will be cleared of any allegations of wrong-doing. "He's a great colleague, a principled man, and I have always known him to be that way," B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal. [3] As of November 2009, the case was still open.[4]
Notes
- ^ "MLA: John Les". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/39thParl/lesJ.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
- ^ Hainsworth, Jeremy (March 29, 2008). Solicitor-general right to step down, B.C. Premier says. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on: April 4, 2008.
- ^ "B.C. politician's resignation triggers questions". CTV News. March 29, 2008. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080329/les_allegations_080329/20080329/. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
- ^ Smyth, Michael (November 27, 2009). "Legal case has dragged on too long for Les". The Province. http://www.theprovince.com/opinion/Legal+case+dragged+long/2274430/story.html. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
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