Former B.C. Supreme Court justice and current commissioner Victoria Gray, KC, was appointed as the acting conflict of interest commissioner for British Columbia’s legislative assembly, starting Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.

Gray was first appointed as the conflict of interest commissioner by the legislative assembly in 2020. Appointing an acting commissioner is necessary because the process of establishing a special committee of the legislative assembly to select a commissioner was affected by the provincial general election. It is fortunate that commissioner Gray is willing to continue in an acting capacity.

The commissioner is an independent officer of the legislative assembly of British Columbia, providing advice to members of the legislative assembly concerning their obligations under the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act.

The commissioner has three primary roles:

• to provide confidential advice to members about their obligations under the act;
• to oversee the disclosure process, including meeting with each member at least annually to review the disclosure of the member’s financial interests; and
• to respond to allegations that a member has contravened the act and conduct an inquiry if needed.

After receiving her bachelor of laws degree from the University of Toronto, Gray practised law as a commercial litigator in Vancouver for 19 years and taught civil litigation at the Peter A. Allard school of law at the University of British Columbia. The commissioner sat on the B.C. Supreme Court from 2001 until 2017. She has chaired several boards, including the Law Foundation of B.C., YWCA Metro Vancouver and West Coast LEAF Society.

An acting position under the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act is subject to time limitations. Government is exploring options to extend the acting term to allow sufficient time for the legislative assembly to establish the special committee and complete the work of appointing a commissioner to a five-year term.

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For information about the conflict of interest commissioner, visit: https://coibc.ca/