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Stephen Owen to review special prosecutor appointments

The British Columbia government has appointed former Liberal member of parliament Stephen Owen to review the province's special prosecutor process.

Owen headed a commission in 1990 that designed the current system which recently came under public scrutiny when Terrence Robertson, the special prosecutor who examined allegations regarding former Solicitor General Kash Heed's election campaign, withdrew from the case citing a conflict of interest after he had exonerated Heed.

“In my view the system has generally worked very well over the years,” wrote Attorney General Michael de Jong in a letter to Owen.

He asked him to look at the process for selecting lawyers as special prosecutors and consider whether there should be a different method or criteria applied when the person under investigation is a member of the legislative assembly.

Owen is to submit a written report to de Jong by July 15, 2010.

The New Democratic Party's house leader and critic for the solicitor general, Mike Farnworth, welcomed Owen's appointment saying he is a good choice to do the review.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.

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