by Les Leyne

Conflict of interest is dead in BC.

It's virtually extinct, and has been for some time. Which makes the New Democrats' latest beating of this all-but-dead horse a little surprising.

In the bad old days, the only control measure separating politicians' private interests from their public duties was the disclosure form they filed.

The media would periodically discover these holdings, then examine in minute detail whether public policy moves had any impact on politicians' private holdings. It was an amateur, slapdash method of regulating public officials' conduct.

Anyone could play, and just about everyone did. Stand up, hurl the charge, then sit back and enjoy the show. As an intermittent generator of lurid headlines and days of political drama -- anguish, recriminations, even resignations -- it was second to none.

The bountiful run of coverage along those lines culminated in the colorful flame-out of former premier Bill Vander Zalm. That tale of intrigue not only felled the leader, it killed off the whole conflict scandal cottage industry.

Because it led to the bureaucratic, formalized system we have today. It's squeaky clean and it does exactly what it's supposed to do -- kill any conflict of interest story dead in its tracks, before it has even a chance to make the front page. Alas.

Politicians now consult with an independent commisssioner on every aspect of their holdings, before they file their disclosure statements. He's standing by round the clock to advise on how to steer clear of conflicts.

"I act as guide, philosopher and friend," former commissioner H.A.D. Oliver once intoned. So the conflict of interest stories of the past decade or so have been pale shadows of the fulsome scandals of years gone by.

You have to be utterly dedicated to feathering you own nest in the crassest way possible, against all the best advice available, to get ensnared in a wide-open conflict scandal these days.

Nonetheless, the Opposition is taking Premier Gordon Campbell around this track one more time. They've compiled a dossier alleging that Campbell bought shares in a BC company called Terra Energy three years ago. Then he signed a cabinet order that could have given companies like that a tax break.

Then, they say, he sold the shares for a profit.

Over to you, commissioner.

Eminent lawyer Paul Fraser succeeded Oliver last year. It's his job now to sort this out.

Three NDP MLAs -- Guy Gentner, Leonard Krog and John Horgan -- appear particularly committed to this cause. They took turns this week painting a vivid picture of a "perceived, apparent conflict."

It must have sounded good in their caucus meeting, because the Opposition is quietly hopeful this is going somehwere. Which I doubt.

Some things to keep in mind as Fraser begins deciding how to check this out.

The allegations stems from a period when Campbell also held a few shares in Alcan. The NDP tried this same tactic on that holding and struck out under Oliver. No conflict found.

It came to light then that Campbell has an investment adviser who handles all these deals. The investment adviser manages the portfolio, and Campbell just signs the disclosure statement verifying they are his.

Subsequent to that, in an abundance of caution, he put further distance between himself and his holdings. As well, the investment was checked out in the usual manner by the previous commissioner beforehand. And the company says it never benefited from the cabinet order.

And although it's the principle, not the amounts, that matter, the Opposition hypothesis is that Campbell deliberately or inadvertently breached an ethical standard en route to making a grand total of about $5,000 on the deal. That's not much in the way ofmotivation.

The Opposition's best hope for making this stick is that the new commissioner will have a radically different view than his predecessor.

And since all this emanates from the political battleground, there are some things going on in that sphere to keep in mind. The NDP has been pondering this case for a year or more, but never got around to pulling the trigger. Until the third-to-last day of the legislative session, when both sides are thoroughly sick of each other and more or less firing blind.

New Democrats test-drove their case during question period this week before handing it over to the commissioner. Campbell appeared distinctly put out, and the rest of his government was intensely annoyed.

If the Opposition is looking for a win, that's likely about all they can count on with this blast from the past.