'I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT,' SAYS HEED

Former B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed says he didn't know during
last year's election about a controversial pamphlet attacking the NDP
that's now the subject of an RCMP investigation.

Heed -- who was West Vancouver's top cop before quitting last year to
enter politics -- resigned Friday after revealing he is part of an
RCMP investigation prompted by an Elections Act complaint about the pamphlet.

The pamphlet was sent to Chinese-Canadian voters in Heed's
Vancouver-Fraserview riding during the final days of last May's
provincial election and said the NDP planned to legalize drugs
including heroin and cocaine.

Heed went on to win the election with a narrow margin of 750 votes
over NDP candidate Gabriel Yui.

On Monday, Heed said he wasn't aware of the pamphlet until after the
election. "I did not pay attention to it because it was not part of
my campaign whatsoever," he told reporters. "I had nothing to do with
it." Heed added his campaign "would never endorse anything of that nature."

Heed said he stepped down to preserve the "integrity of the office."

Insp. Tim Shields, spokesman for the RCMP's commercial crime section,
confirmed police are investigating allegations of Elections Act
offences that centre around Heed's campaign.

Shields said the allegations, first brought forward in a complaint to
Elections BC last May and forwarded to police in June, "relate
specifically to the campaign office of Mr. Heed" and "surrounds
people who were working within the campaign office."

Shields added, "There is more than one person potentially involved."

Shields said investigators have been speaking with a special
prosecutor, and expect to forward a report to Crown counsel soon.

Nola Western, executive director of election campaign finance for
Elections BC, said her office began looking into the complaint when
it was discovered the pamphlets being distributed through Canada Post
did not contain a statement identifying the sponsor as required under
the Elections Act.

Western said she contacted Canada Post and told them the pamphlets
"didn't meet the requirements of the Elections Act."

Mike Farnworth, opposition critic for the Solicitor General, said the
issues concerning the pamphlet are serious because "there was a
deliberate attempt to do a smear campaign."

Farnworth said it's important to find out "Who authorized it and who
paid for it."

Heed said Monday police have told him he may be a possible witness in
the case. But he added, "I've done absolutely nothing wrong. I'm very
confident in that."

Heed is no stranger to controversy. Before he quit the West Vancouver
Police Department, he faced allegations that he may have improperly
discussed an investigation with a member of the police board who was
also a colleague of the suspect. In October of 2009, he was named in
a lawsuit filed by a former West Vancouver police officer who said
his old boss had made false statements about the officer's handling
of a drunk driving case involving another West Vancouver officer.