Vaughn Palmer: Eby adds a legal adviser to an office already crammed with lawyers

VICTORIA — When I wrote last week about the growing, inner circle of advisers around Premier David Eby, I got a note from a reader saying, “You missed one.”

Enclosed was a posting from Thompson Rivers University dated last November, announcing that law professor Craig Jones had been “retained to serve as general counsel to the premier.”

My first thought was to wonder whether Eby really needed his own general counsel.

After all, he’s a lawyer. So is his deputy minister and new head of the public service, Shannon Salter. Ditto Doug White, the premier’s special counsel on Indigenous reconciliation. Likewise, Jessica Prince, the new assistant deputy minister in the premier’s office.

Then there’s Attorney General Niki Sharma, whose prime duties include providing legal advice to the government, and her entire ministry, which is known to have a lawyer or two.