VICTORIA - British Columbia has a new acting solicitor general.
Premier Gordon Campbell has appointed John van Dongen to the post in the wake of former solicitor general John Les' sudden resignation last Friday.
Les stepped down after it was revealed he's the subject of a criminal investigation.
Attorney General Wally Oppal briefly filled the solicitor general role but Campbell says he felt it better to keep the two ministries separate and distinct.
Van Dongen will serve as acting solicitor general and minister of public safety pending the resolution of the investigation, while maintaining his role as minister of state for intergovernmental relations.
Van Dongen himself resigned as fisheries minister in 2003 over allegations he improperly disclosed an investigative report to a fish farming company, but a special prosecutor concluded there was no evidence of criminal intent and van Dongen was reinstated to cabinet.
