John Les: A Timeline
Published Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Two Chilliwack properties, two numbered companies, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and one former solicitor-general.
John Les, former mayor of Chilliwack, resigned on Friday after it was revealed he was under investigation in connection to land deals in Chilliwack.
Here's a timeline of some of those land deals so you can see how it all ties together.
- 1984: John Les is elected city councillor in Chilliwack.
- 1985: Wilmer and Karen Rasmussen apply to the Agricultural Land Commission to put a larger home on their property on 10710 Kitchen Road, Chilliwack. Their request is denied because the development would remove land from farming.
- 1987: John Les is elected mayor of Chilliwack.
- 1992: The Rasmussens apply again, this time to build a retirement home on 10710 Kitchen Road. Their request is again denied by the Agricultural Land Commission for the same reasons.
- October 22, 1996: John Les incorporates numbered company 529495 B.C. Ltd.
- May 12, 1997: Jehovah’s Witness couple apply to Chilliwack to subdivide 10542 Bell Road. Due to public opposition, the plan is shelved.
- December 24, 1997: John Les's company 529495 Ltd. registers title of 47835 Camp River Road, adjacent to the Rasmussens' property and also adjacent to a new housing development, Rosebank Place. Les's company alters the borders of the properties without applying to the Agricultural Land Commission.
- March 31, 1998: Les sells part of 47835 Camp River Road for is $227,000.
- June 30, 1999: Les sells 10737 Rosebank Place for $180,000.
- Late 1999: Les steps down as Mayor of Chilliwack.
- Feb 21, 2000: Les incorporates numbered company 601721 B.C. Ltd.
- May 2, 2000: Les applies to change the zoning of the Jehovah’s Witness couple property on 10542 Bell Road from agricultural to residential.
- May 29, 2000: Chilliwack city council minutes show 11 people voiced their opposition to rezoning 10542 Bell Road, and a petition of opposition was also presented. The only people to support the rezoning were John Les and his brother, Larry Les, who is listed as the developer.
- June 12, 2000: Les's application on 10542 Bell Road is passed by Chilliwack City Council, meaning that it is rezoned as residential housing. As the property is smaller than two acres, it can be developed despite being within the Agricultural Land Reserve.
- October 5, 2000: Jehovah’s Witness couple transfer their ownership of 10542 Bell Road to John Les's numbered company, 601721 B.C. Ltd.
- May 16, 2001: John Les elected as a Liberal MLA to represent the riding of Chilliwack-Sumas.
- December 13, 2001: Les sells one subdivision of 10542 Bell Road for $85,000.
- November 21, 2002: Les sells one subdivision of 10542 Bell Road for $84,000.
- June 16, 2005: John Les is appointed minister of public safety and solicitor-general.
- June 2007: A special prosecutor is appointed because an investigation onto some Chilliwack land deals appears to have a connection to John Les. The RCMP speaks with the Jehovah’s Witness couple and many residents at Rosebank Place -- but according to Les, did not speak to him.
- March 28, 2008: A special prosecutor announces that John Les and others are under investigation in connection to land deals in Chilliwack. Les resigns from his cabinet post.
Jon Woodward, ctvbc.ca
Published Wednesday, April 2, 2008
B.C.'s former solicitor-general says he had no idea he was under investigation -- but almost everyone who did business with John Les in two Chilliwack land developments say they've spoken with the police.
Business partners and current residents at developments on Bell Road and Rosebank Place in Chilliwack -- one completed while Les was still Chilliwack Mayor -- say they were contacted by the RCMP months ago.
"You know what, we've talked to the RCMP already last fall, and we want to make no comment," said Jehovah’s Witness wife, who partnered with John Les when subdividing her and her husband's Bell Road property in 2000.
"I don't want to get involved, my husband is not a well man, and we don't want any stress. And this would be a stress for us," she told CTV News in a phone interview.
For his part, Les continues to deny any wrongdoing, and says the first he heard of any investigation was last Friday. That was when a special prosecutor revealed Les was one of several people who had been the subject of an investigation that had been going on for nine months.
On Tuesday, former fisheries minister John van Dongen was appointed to the post of solicitor-general to fill the void left by Les when he resigned.
Les was mayor in Chilliwack when in 1997, the Jehovah’s Witness couple applied to Chilliwack city council to rezone their land at 10542 Bell Road from agricultural to residential. The Jehovah’s Witness couple were denied at the time.
Les stepped down as mayor in 1999.
When the Jehovah’s Witness couple enlisted John Les' help in 2000, he wrote an application to city council, and the rezoning passed within two months.
Les took control of the property through a numbered company. He then sold several lots for $85,000 each.
But CTV News has uncovered another property involved in a similar transaction -- this time, while Les was mayor.
Wilmer and Karen Rasmussen had applied several times to have their property near Rosebank Place -- a quaint collection of homes just minutes from downtown Chilliwack -- removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve in order to build a retirement home.
In 1985 and in 1992, they were denied by the Agricultural Land Commission, on the grounds that land in the ALR must be preserved for agriculture.
Again, the Rasmussens' property and some of the other properties were acquired by Les through a different numbered company in 1997.
That year, Les had applied to the city to change the boundaries of the properties.
Because many of the properties were less than 2 acres, Les did not have to get approval from the Agricultural Land Commission. He only needed the approval of the city -- his city.
On March 31, 1998, Les had sold at least one of these properties for $227,000, and on June 30, 1999, he sold another of these properties for $180,000.
Those living on Rosebank Place have told CTV News they've already been interviewed by the RCMP.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart and Jim Beatty
BC0331_les
Jon Woodward, ctvbc.ca
Published Monday, March 31, 2008 6:41PM PDT
When John Les was mayor of Chilliwack, his city council denied the request by one property owner to turn his farm into a profitable real estate development.
But only months after Les had stepped down as mayor in 1999, Les himself made a similar application -- and succeeded, taking ownership of the property and then selling some of the 11 new properties for some $85,000 each.
Could the houses at 10542 Bell Road be the centre of B.C.'s latest political scandal?
It's only one of the real estate transactions in Chilliwack that are under a cloud of controversy after the RCMP revealed last week that then-Solicitor-General John Les was under investigation for any connection to land dealings in the Fraser Valley city.
The specifics of the investigation remain secret -- but the Les family has been involved in real estate and development in the Chilliwack area for a long time.
In 1997, a staff report went to Chilliwack City Council, recommending a zoning change applied for by Jehovah’s Witness couple, a property owner in the area.
Jehovah’s Witness husband wanted to take his small farm on 10542 Bell Road in the Agricultural Land Reserve and create and sell a number of houses on the property.
After public opposition, the plan was shelved. But three years later, on May 2, 2000, John Les himself applied as a private citizen under a numbered B.C. company to develop the subdivisions.
Unlike the Jehovah’s Witness couple , Les was successful -- and on October 5, 2000, Les took ownership over the property from the Jehovah’s Witness couple, and subdivided it into 11 different lots.
The first two subdivisions alone sold for nearly $170,000.
John Les isn't the only member of his family into Chilliwack developments. His brother, Corney Les is a Chillwack-based Re/Max agent.
"I have no idea what's going on here," Corney Les told CTV News. "It's a mystery to me."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart
ctvbc.ca
Published Saturday, March 29, 2008 11:40AM PDT
John Les, B.C.'s Solicitor General, has resigned from cabinet after a special prosecutor was appointed to oversee an RCMP investigation into allegations of improper conduct on the part of former municipal officials in Chilliwack.
Late Friday afternoon, Les stepped down from his position as British Columbia's top cop after learning he has been part of a police investigation since last June.
A source close to Les, who has held his post since 2005, told CTV's Jim Beatty he expects to be cleared of all allegations that he benefited from land transactions during his 13 years as Mayor of Chilliwack from 1987 to 1999.
In a press release sent out late Friday evening, the provincial Criminal Justice Branch said Les was among an unspecified number of former Chilliwack officials who are facing allegations of "potential improper conduct".
The independent special prosecutor, Robin McFee, was appointed last June to aid police in their investigations because it involves a B.C. cabinet minister. McFee will recommend if charges should be laid.
John Les was not immediately available for comment. No one from Premier Campbell's government has spoken yet but the Premier is expected to comment tomorrow.
Les was elected to the legislature in 2001.
He was appointed Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General on June 16, 2005.
He previously served as Minister of Small Business and Economic Development.
Les has served on several government caucuses, including the standing committee on parliamentary reform, ethical conduct, standing orders and private bills.
NDP Leader Carole James called it "very disturbing news.''
"John Les didn't have a choice but to step down,'' James told reporters in Victoria. "It's a very big blow for this government and there'll be lots of questions for Gordon Campbell about did he know, did anyone in government know, and why wasn't the public told, most importantly.'