Appointing former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Wally Oppal as head of the inquiry into the investigation of serial killer Robert Pickton was “the worst possible choice”, says Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
“I am quite astonished the provincial government consider him an appropriate appointment,” Mr. Phillip said moments after B.C. attorney-general Mike de Jong announced Mr. Oppal’s appointment. “Can you think of someone with more baggage and more centrally involved?”
Mr. Phillip, who speaks on behalf of 99 First Nations in B.C., said he was concerned over Mr. Oppal’s involvement in discussions around the Pickton issue while he was a member of the provincial cabinet. Also, Mr. Oppal has previously made numerous statements on staying criminal charges, which is now one of the areas that he has been asked to consider, Mr. Phillip said.
As well, Mr. Oppal has a track record on handling commissions of inquiry.
“In the Frank Paul inquiry, he met with the senior [aboriginal] leadership and made a commitment that no stone would be unturned but we ended up going to the Supreme Court of Canada on whether Crown prosecutors should answer questions on why charges were not laid,” Mr. Phillip said.
(The Frank Paul inquiry examined circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Paul, a Mi'kmaq from New Brunswick, in December, 1998. Mr. Oppal was attorney-general when the inquiry was appointed in August, 2007.)
“So I do not take any great comfort from his statement, that his door will always be open,” Mr. Phillip said.
Mr. De Jong announced Mr. Oppal’s appointment at a news conference Tuesday morning. The inquiry will review the missing women investigations from Jan. 23, 1997 to Feb. 5, 2002, when Mr. Pickton was arrested. Mr. Oppal has also been asked to look into the decision of Crown prosecutors on Jan. 27, 1998 to stay charges of attempted murder against Mr. Pickton and into how police in B.C. have conducted investigations into serial killings.
Mr. de Jong dismissed the suggestion that Mr. Oppal was too close to the government or that a perception of a conflict of interest should disqualify him from heading the inquiry.
The inquiry will consider a period when Mr. Oppal was not in government, he said. By the time he became attorney-general, the charges had been laid and the prosecution was underway, Mr. de Jong said. Mr. Oppal was attorney-general from 2005 to 2009, when he was defeated in the provincial election. Prior to politics, he served for 23 years as a judge.
Mr. de Jong said he was not concerned about whether Mr. Oppal may have a personal relationship with Crown prosecutors or police who may be called as witnesses in the inquiry.
“I am not aware of any circumstances that would preclude Mr. Oppal from performing this task in every bit a professional way as he has performed every other task he has,” he said.
Mr. Oppal said he saw no conflict or perception of conflict arising from his appointment.
“I was a judge for 23 years. I understand what conflicts are about. I understand what a reasonable perception [of conflict] and bias is,” Mr. Oppal said.
“I won’t hesitate to criticize people that need to be criticized. I did that in the past and will continue to do it,” he said.
Earlier, B.C. NDP leader Carole James called on the provincial government to reconsider the appointment of Mr. Oppal as head of the Pickton inquiry.
The appointment should be put off until aboriginal groups, women and the families of the victims have been consulted, she said.
“Wally Oppal certainly has a lot of skills and abilities but I do worry once again that the government is not talking to the people who are going to be directly impacted,” Ms. James said Tuesday in an interview.
