Solicitor General assailed over

IAN BAILEY AND JUSTINE HUNTER

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

April 25, 2009 at 8:44 AM EDT

VANCOUVER and VICTORIA — The B.C. Liberal bid for a third term, which has proceeded smoothly through the first third of the current election campaign, ran into serious trouble yesterday with news that the Solicitor-General has had to give up his drivers' licence due to unpaid speeding tickets, and the release of an e-mail in which candidate Marc Dalton basically equates homosexuality to pornography.

John van Dongen, the Solicitor-General, has also given up his responsibilities for the Insurance Corporation of B.C. and the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.

The two men apologized in statements and interviews, but the bombshell developments provided political traction for the New Democrats, who had been having campaign troubles that included the resignation of a candidate who posted saucy photos on Facebook, and blistering attacks on the party from high-profile environmentalists, including David Suzuki, over their opposition to the carbon tax.

The NDP's public safety critic said Mr. van Dongen should quit.

"He is the province's top cop - the minister responsible for road safety and the enforcement of the traffic code. It is unacceptable. He has lost all credibility."

NDP candidate Spencer Herbert, who found the e-mail written by Mr. Dalton, the Liberal candidate in Mission-Maple Ridge, said it was troubling he made it through a vetting process that Liberals, including Leader Gordon Campbell, touted in light of the troubles with Facebook-damaged candidate Ray Lam.

In the 1996 e-mail, Mr. Dalton said he does not support a gay lifestyle. "I believe homosexuality is a moral issue," he writes.

In an interview, he said his views have changed over the years and that, in any event, he would not impose his views on the public should he be elected an MLA.

"Yes. I have changed. Why? I have gotten older. I've become more open minded. That's where I am as life progresses," he said. "I've changed in the sense of tolerance."

"I feel very bad about this. It's very disappointing. I want to be a benefit to the party and community. In no way do I want to cause grief."

Mr. Campbell, in a late afternoon scrum with reporters, said he thought yesterday's revelations would not have a long-lasting impact on the Liberal campaign.

"I think these are legitimate issues for people to raise,and I think it's how you respond to the issues that makes a difference. I think the campaign is still about British Columbians asking themselves the question about who's best to get us through these challenging times, and get us out on the other side in the strongest possible position," he said.

He noted that Mr. Dalton has apologized for his remarks. And Mr. Campbell noted that Mr. van Dongen paid off his parking tickets.

"[Mr. van Dongen has] come forward and says he wants to be open about this. He's carrying on with his responsibilities as Solicitor-General because obviously we've got a major initiative to go after a lot of the gangs in British Columbia," he said.

"I take my hat off to John for bringing this forward and we have taken the actions that are appropriate

Early in the morning of Jan. 18, after an all-night sitting of the legislature, Mr. van Dongen climbed in his pickup truck and raced to catch the 9 a.m. ferry to get home to Abbotsford on the mainland.

He said yesterday he doesn't know just how fast he was going when police spotted him on the Patricia Bay highway, but it would have been over 120 kilometres an hour.

"I was hoping to make the ferry," Mr. van Dongen in an interview after announcing he has been ordered to give up his drivers' licence.

The highway has a posted speed limit of 80 km-h for most of the stretch that connects downtown Victoria with the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. Excessive speeding means more than 41km-h above the posted limit.

Mr. van Dongen, who has a lengthy history of speeding, learned on Thursday that he had lost his licence for four months after collecting two tickets for excessive speeding in a short period of time.

The Liberal candidate for Abbotsford South now must finish the election campaign relying on public transit or having campaign workers chauffeur him around.

He said he cannot recall how many speeding tickets he has collected during his 43 years, but acknowledged he has a "history of speeding."

Sergeant John Price of the Saanich Police, the detachment responsible for the Patricia Bay highway, said anyone who garners an excessive speeding charge on that stretch of road would stand out.

"They are so noticeable they get reported by other motorists as dangerous drivers, everyone can tell they are travelling way too fast," he said.

It's not the first time a cabinet minister responsible for traffic safety in B.C. has landed in hot water for a lead foot.

In 1993, the Liberal opposition called for Moe Sihota to give up responsibility for ICBC when it was revealed the New Democratic Party cabinet minister had collected seven speeding tickets in five years.

Solicitor General assailed over traffic violations

B.C. Liberals hit snag in campaign with two controversies