Special prosecutor chooses not to charge Vancouver-Fraserview MLA Kash Heed

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      The Ministry of Attorney General's criminal justice branch has announced that Liberal MLA Kash Heed has been cleared of committing any offences under the Election Act.

      Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief, was investigated in connection with alleged election irregularities in Vancouver-Fraserview prior in the 2009 election campaign.

      However, special prosecutor Peter Wilson has approved charges against Heed's campaign manager, Barinder Sall, and Dinesh Khanna, who owned a company that printed pamphlets with false statements about the NDP.

      "Based upon the evidence reviewed by the Special Prosecutor, there is insufficient proof that Mr. Heed was involved in the production of pamphlets, that he knew of or was involved in filing a false election report, or that Mr. Heed knowingly made payments to campaign staff for election-related purposes following the 2009 General Election," the branch said in a statement issued today.

      In most instances, Wilson approved the same charges as Terrence Robertson, who stepped down as special prosecutor after it was disclosed that his law firm contributed to Heed's campaign.

      Wilson has approved seven Election Act charges and three Criminal Code charges (two for forgery and one for obstructing the RCMP) against Sall.

      Three Election Act charges and one Criminal Code charge (obstructing the RCMP) have been laid against Khanna.

      The Crown has stayed an Election Act charge against Satpal Johl, who was Heed's financial agent.

      Comments

      12 Comments

      RonS

      Apr 8, 2011 at 10:29pm

      Wow I guess it pays to be a LIbERal! Perhaps crime does pay?

      11 8Rating: +3

      glen p robbins

      Apr 8, 2011 at 10:32pm

      Does anyone expect any elected official to ever be charged with anything in this province. Lie, cheat or steal - the Special K crowd will never bring charges to anyone who is elected--only their servants.

      This has been all about the elite class for a long time.

      Do you remember the promises Stephen Harper made on the way in and Martin on the way out? Is anything he does now look remotely like any of the promises he made just 5 years ago? Was Gordon Campbell really good for BC? Honestly.

      Yes - a vote is a good thing - but it really isn't worth much--once you strip away the drama - and the sanctimonious drivel of the media.

      8 11Rating: -3

      Bruno15

      Apr 8, 2011 at 11:40pm

      Off with his head! But wait, that means same for Glen Clark, Adrian Dix, Mike Harcourt, Dave Stupich ... We are gonna need a lot more lopped off head bags around here ...

      12 6Rating: +6

      RonS

      Apr 9, 2011 at 7:27am

      Ahh Bruno15, your true colours show when the LIbERalS are criticized. You are a PAB aren't you!

      9 11Rating: -2

      monty/that's me

      Apr 9, 2011 at 8:54am

      Just what will be the next job for this "Special Prosecutor"? Licking the boots of the new AG or Solicitor General, whoever these folks are. Since they are so busy changing chairs on this Titanic led by girly-girl perhaps they have not noticed. We no longer believe anything they say. BTW since smiley face is NOT an MLA, are her pronoucements at photo-ops legal? The house has been in session 4 days since June. Anyone in the bloated bureaucracy able to CANCEL ALL PAYCHEQUES? Time for some WikiLeaks about BC's real debt: $70 billion for run-of-river projects????

      9 7Rating: +2

      Clayton Lloyd-Jones

      Apr 9, 2011 at 9:32am

      Bruno You missed the most obvious. The now lame duck Gordon Campbell. Insufficient proof means there was some but not enough for the judge to make a decision even though the guys who worked for him get charged. Throw the peons in front of the bus while the man in charge gets a free ride. The court system in BC is so bad it's embarassing.

      12 6Rating: +6

      Strong New Democrat

      Apr 9, 2011 at 10:16am

      Glen Clark wasn't guilty, Mike Harcourt wasn't guilty. Dix & Stupich were guilty.Now lets add the BCLiberals and Socreds seeing we are going back some 30 years anyway. What is a few more decades? The first arrest to my knowledge was Socred Minister Frank Summers Minister of Forest for giving away forest tenure to his friends (suggestion that $ changed hands are unknown to me) but Frank baby went to JAIL!

      10 8Rating: +2

      Stephen

      Apr 9, 2011 at 10:18am

      @Bruno15
      You haven't been paying attention, have you? Glen Clark was charged, then tried and acquitted. He took the fall, not his underling, Adrian Dix. Mike Harcourt was hounded out of office on a matter (the NCHS scandal) for which no reasonable person has ever suggested he was responsible. The person who was responsible, Dave Stupich, was tried and convicted.

      In stark contrast, Heed is absolved of any obligation to answer for clear violations of the Election Act that were committed by senior officials on his campaign--officials who acted on his behalf. As a result, Heed was able to profit from the consequences of said violations--namely, a tainted election result--while the people of Vancouver Fraserview are stuck with a representative who might well have lost the election had he played by the rules. As for the Basi-Virk case, we have the Crown showing a blatant disregard for the public interest by shutting down the BC Rail trial and handing over $6 million in public money to buy the silence of the accused.

      There does seem to be a pattern here: one law for the BC Liberals and their cronies and another for the rest of us!

      11 9Rating: +2

      Stephen

      Apr 9, 2011 at 10:52am

      And let's not forget that former special prosecutor Terrance Robertson was removed from the Heed case after it was disclosed his law firm had donated funds to Heed's campaign! Robertson was later cleared by a Law Society review panel whose members included Claude Richmond, former Socred-Liberal cabinet minister. Richmond was ostensibly serving on the panel as a representative of the general public!

      In short, the democratic process was perverted in Vancouver Fraserview and the beneficiary is getting off scott-free.

      10 8Rating: +2

      beelzebub

      Apr 9, 2011 at 2:46pm

      Some have criticized Heed for treating women as second class citizens. Female in the Premiers chair, wonder how he will fare....

      10 8Rating: +2