Lawyers who have donated money to an MLA's campaign should be barred from investigating that person, according to a government-commissioned report.
The report was initiated after the special prosecutor in the probe of former solicitor general Kash Heed resigned when it was revealed his law firm had donated to Heed's campaign.
Former Liberal MP Stephen Owen recommended in his report that lawyers on the special prosecutor list and their law firms fully disclose political donations.
"Given the high sensitivity for perceptions of improper interference in political cases, when a MLA is the subject of investigation, no lawyer who has donated, or whose firm has donated, to that MLA's campaign be appointed as special prosecutor," Owen wrote.
He also recommended that special prosecutors submit progress reports every six months to ensure "progress and timeliness."
In a press release Thursday, Attorney General Mike de Jong said that he would implement all of Owen's recommendations.
Vancouver lawyer Terry Robertson resigned from the Heed investigation in April, after producing a report that cleared the politician of criminal charges in the distribution of illegal campaign pamphlets in his riding during the 2009 election.
Robertson's law firm had donated $1,000 to Heed's campaign.
