Steven Point steps aside as chair of advisory committee

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Former lieutenant governor Steven Point is stepping down as chair of the advisory committee on the safety and security of vulnerable women.

This comes after families of missing women in the Robert Pickton case took civil action against the province. Lawyers for the families told Point any comments he made as committee chair could have been used as evidence in their case.

Leonard Krog, long-time Opposition Critic for the Attorney General, tells us he’s surprised and disappointed to hear of Point’s resignation. “It puts off further into the future what needs to be done, what desperately needs to be done, and what people in the community have been calling for.”

Point has written to the BC’s Attorney General, saying he cannot continue as chair of the advisory committee while a lawsuit is before the courts.

Justice Minister Shirley Bond says the concern is that any comments Point makes in his position could become evidence in the civil case. She says the lawsuit will also affect the government’s ability to implement the recommendations from the public inquiry, released last December.

“I’m sure many will be extremely frustrated by this. Mr Point may have perfectly legitimate reasons for doing this and I suspect this decision was not taken lightly at all,” says Krog.