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BC MLA Pat Pimm Charged with Assault

Former Liberal minister of agriculture resigned from party caucus on Aug. 15.

Andrew MacLeod 12 Sep 2016TheTyee.ca

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria and the author of A Better Place on Earth: The Search for Fairness in Super Unequal British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2015). Find him on Twitter or reach him here.

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MLA Pat Pimm stepped down from the BC Liberal caucus on August 15 after his arrest.

A special prosecutor has approved an assault charge against Pat Pimm, the MLA representing Peace River North in the British Columbia legislature.

“Mr. Pimm has been charged with one count of assault, which is alleged to have occurred on August 13, 2016 in Dawson Creek,” said a statement from the Criminal Justice Branch, which said special prosecutor Michael Klein had approved the charge.

The Criminal Justice Branch’s announcement includes few details, and the charge has not been proven in court.

Pimm’s first appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 13 in Dawson Creek provincial court.

Pimm was first elected in 2009, and Premier Christy Clark appointed him minister of agriculture after the 2013 election, a position he held for 10 months before resigning while undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

He stepped down from the BC Liberal caucus on August 15 after his arrest.

Jackie Tegart, the chair of the government caucus, made a statement on the charge against Pimm: “MLA Pat Pimm stepped aside from our Caucus some time ago. As this matter is before the courts, we are not able to comment further.”

In 2011, RCMP investigated a matter involving Pimm, but a special prosecutor recommended no charge be laid since there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction.  [Tyee]

Read more: Politics, BC Politics

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