John Les
John Les (born 1951 or 1952) is a Canadian politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for British Columbia. He has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) information, Minister of Small Business and Economic Development and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General for the Provincial Government.
John Les | |
|---|---|
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Chilliwack Chilliwack-Sumas (2001-2009) | |
| In office May 16, 2001 – May 14, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Riding Established |
| Succeeded by | John Martin |
| Minister of Small Business and Economic Development of British Columbia | |
| In office January 26, 2004 – June 16, 2005 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Colin Hansen (Economic Development) Rick Thorpe (Small Business) |
| Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia | |
| In office June 16, 2005 – April 1, 2008 | |
| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Rich Coleman |
| Succeeded by | John van Dongen |
| Mayor of Chilliwack, British Columbia | |
| In office 1987–1999 | |
| Preceded by | John Jansen |
| Succeeded by | Clint Hames |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1951/1952 (age 68–69)[1] |
| Political party | Liberal |
Les was a member of the Treasury Board and the Priorities and Planning Committee. He has chaired the Government Caucus, the Legislative Special Committee on the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform and the Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. He was a member of the Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Government Operations, the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations and the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills.
Les served as councillor from 1983-1987 and subsequently as mayor of Chilliwack from 1987 to 1999. Before entering politics, he was a partner in a Chilliwack dairy, a real estate agent and the owner of a land development company. He was elected in the 2001 B.C. election representing the British Columbia Liberal Party in the Chilliwack-Sumas riding. He won re-election in the 2005 B.C. election. He was re-elected in the newly created Chilliwack riding in the 2009 election.[2]
On March 28, 2008, John Les resigned from his position as Solicitor General pending the outcome of an investigation over allegations arising from his tenure as Mayor of Chilliwack. A special prosecutor was appointed to look into a land deal that he was alleged to have benefited from.
In June 2010, the investigation was concluded with the special prosecutor stating there was no evidence to suggest that he used his public office to advance his personal interest.[3]
On August 30, 2012, Les announced that he would not seek re-election as MLA for Chilliwack in the 2013 general election.[4]
Election results (partial)
Federal
| 1997 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||||
| Reform | Chuck Strahl | 33,101 | 62.85 | $57,306 | ||||
| Liberal | John Les | 11,569 | 21.96 | $63,061 | ||||
| New Democratic | Rob Lees | 4,680 | 8.88 | $21,339 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Harry Wiens | 1,714 | 3.25 | $6,999 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Rodger N. Brown | 1,047 | 1.98 | $23,870 | ||||
| Green | Carol Battaglio | 342 | 0.64 | |||||
| Natural Law | Patrick Boylan | 118 | 0.22 | $5 | ||||
| Independent | Sa Tan | 95 | 0.18 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 52,666 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 182 | 0.34 | ||||||
| Turnout | 52,848 | 67.02 | ||||||
| This riding was re-created from Fraser Valley East and Fraser Valley West, both of which elected a Reform Party candidate. Chuck Strahl was the incumbent from Fraser Valley East. | ||||||||
Provincial
| 2005 British Columbia general election: Chilliwack-Sumas | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | John Les | 11,995 | 57.36 | |||||
| New Democratic | John-Henry Harter | 6,477 | 30.97 | |||||
| Green | Norm Siefken | 1,731 | 8.28 | |||||
| Democratic Reform | Brian Downey | 315 | 1.51 | |||||
| Youth Coalition | Augustine Lee | 266 | 1.27 | |||||
| Moderates | Adam James Solheim | 127 | 0.61 | |||||
| Total | 20,911 | 100.00 | ||||||
Notes
- Sunday shopping Chilliwack's issue: [5* Edition] Barrett, TomView Profile. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 13 Feb 1987: B7.
- "MLA: John Les". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
- "Ex-BC solicitor general cleared in land deal probe". CBC News. June 25, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- "Chilliwack MLA John Les won't run for re-election". Chilliwack Progress. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2015-05-14.
External links
