SORRY, WALLY OPPAL

Okay, scratch what I said about Wally Oppal being the Attorney General in BC when Robert Pickton was doing his murderous worse.  Of course he wasn’t.  Wally Oppal didn’t become Attorney General under the BC Liberals until 2005 and Robert Pickton wasn’t arrested until 2002.  So I apologize for this with no excuses.  Except that I have seen Mr. Oppal so many times in my own court room experience that it seems like he was Attorney General for an awfully long time. In fact it seemed like a million years, and Shirley Bond, his replacement, offers no comfort, either. The BC Liberals first made a comeback in BC politics in 2001 so the NDP government must also wear the burden of not knowing, or caring, what was happening to the women of Downtown Eastside.

Still, it is very suspicious to have a former Attorney General head an inquiry into such an emotional, horrific case, one so affiliated with a party that still bears investigation into possible other ties to criminal gangs (BC Rail).  So just what is the duty of the provincial Attorney General?

From Wikipedia:

“The Attorney General is responsible for ensuring that public administration is conducted according to the law and as such, he is the advisor of law to the government, in addition to overseeing the court system and Sheriff Services.  Under the Queen’s Counsel Act, the Attorney General is automatically appointed a Queen’s Counsel…”

The Attorney General is supposed to be advisor to the government. I think it is the other way around.  I think the BC Government advised Wally Oppal what they wanted him to do about the Pickton inquiry and he did it.  But I have a feeling that this is not over yet.