Kash Heed fined for campaign violations

British Columbia MLA and former solicitor general Kash Heed speaks in support of dissident MLA Bill Bennett as he arrives for a Liberal caucus meeting at a hotel at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Friday November 19, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed must pay at least $8,000 in fines for spending more than he was allowed during the 2009 provincial election campaign.

The case put the high-profile former-police-chief-turned-politician under investigation and led to charges against two of his aides

B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman concluded Heed did not intentionally violate the election finance law, but must pay nonetheless.

"Regardless of Mr. Heed's inexperience in campaigning and his personal good faith in the conduct of his campaign, that campaign has apparently seen a serious breach of a critical provision in the (Elections) Act," Bauman wrote in a decision released Wednesday.

"Responsibility for the conduct of the campaign rests ultimately with the candidate."

Heed was twice forced to step down from his cabinet post last year after allegations surfaced that his campaign distributed flyers that weren't reported to Elections BC.

Elections BC ordered an audit and determined Heed spent about $74,000 after the flyers were taken into account -- exceeding the spending limit of $70,000. Heed later filed a revised finance report that indicated the final amount was about $75,600.

The fine for overspending is double the amount that a candidate exceeded the limit by. Heed's lawyer said he expects Elections BC will use its own lower figure, putting the fine at just more than $8,000, though the agency declined to comment.

Heed first resigned from cabinet in April 2010 after the province appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether his campaign violated campaign finance laws.

The controversial flyers were distributed during the 2009 campaign attacking the Opposition NDP. The pamphlets were in English and Chinese, and they didn't indicate they were paid for by anyone connected to Heed's campaign.

Heed has always maintained he did not know about the flyers and instead cast himself as an inexperienced first-time candidate who simply relied on his staff to run his campaign.

Special prosecutor Terrence Robertson reported Heed had nothing to do with the flyers and instead recommended charges against two of his campaign aides.

Heed was welcomed back to cabinet, but within days Robertson revealed his law firm had donated $1,000 to Heed's campaign.

Another special prosecutor took over the case and, once again, Heed resigned from cabinet.

That second prosecutor, Peter Wilson, agreed that Heed shouldn't be charged. Wilson approved more than a dozen charges against two of Heed's campaign aides, campaign manager Barinder Sall and Dinesh Khanna.

Heed, a former Vancouver police officer and West Vancouver police chief, has remained in the Liberal backbenches ever since.

Heed could not be reached for comment. He released a written statement noting the judge found he and his financial agent, Satpal Johl, did not knowingly violate the law.

"I accept the decision of the chief justice and I will abide by his ruling," wrote Heed.

"Throughout the process, I have co-operated with officials in good faith to resolve this matter and I am gratified the court has re-affirmed my integrity. I am pleased the matter is over I look forward to representing the residents of Vancouver-Fraserview."

Heed's lawyer, George Macintosh, said he doesn't plan to file an appeal.