Wally Oppal : Ask Biography

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Wallace Oppal, Q.C. (born 1940 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian lawyer, former judge and provincial politician, who is currently serving as the Chancellor of the Thompson Rivers University. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2005 as a BC Liberal MLA for the seat of Vancouver-Fraserview.

Born in the Fraserview precinct of south Vancouver, Oppal is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Law School and operated his own law practice before going to the Bench. He was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver in 1981 and to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1985. In 2003, he was appointed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal where he served until he resigned to seek election to the provincial legislature. He is the second Indo-Canadian Attorney-General of British Columbia.

Oppal served in the provincial cabinet as Attorney General of British Columbia and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism. He is also known as the author of a report: the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Policing in British Columbia (commonly referred to as the Oppal Inquiry).

Oppal announced in March 2007 that he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. By the end of the month, Oppal was declared cancer free by his doctor.

For the 2009 provincial election, Oppal switched to the riding of Delta South. In initial results on election night, Oppal led in Delta South by a margin of just two votes over independent candidate Vicki Huntington. On May 26, 2009, a recount revealed that Huntington had defeated Oppal by only 32 votes. A judicial recount on June 2 confirmed Huntington's victory.