Why a BC MLA Charged with Assault Is Still On the Job

Even when a British Columbia MLA is facing serious criminal charges, as Richmond Centre representative Hon Chan is, there are few means to fire them.

Chan has sat as an Independent since late March when the Conservative Party of BC booted him from its caucus after learning that he has been charged with assault, assault by choking and uttering threats for offences alleged to have occurred against an intimate partner on Jan. 12, 2024, in Richmond.

Colleagues in the legislature can call for his resignation, as BC NDP and BC Green MLAs have.

Victoria-Beacon Hill NDP MLA Grace Lore said it’s inappropriate for Chan to continue serving as an MLA.

“His constituents, survivors of intimate partner violence, and all British Columbians deserve better than that,” Lore said in a March 26 statement.

“Intimate partner violence occurs in every corner of this province, in every kind of community, at every level of income and status. It is a public safety issue.”

And West Vancouver-Sea to Sky BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote said: “It’s incumbent on Members of the Legislative Assembly to uphold the highest standards — and to face accountability if they do not.”

But it is not up to them whether or not Chan loses his seat, and so far he has declined to resign, saying in a post on X that he “disagrees with the allegation and looks forward to defending himself through the legal process.”

Instead, whether he can continue as an MLA is governed by the Constitution Act until voters get their say in the next election, scheduled for 2028.

It says a person ceases to be an MLA and their seat becomes vacant if “the member is convicted of an indictable offence that may only be prosecuted by way of indictment.”

In Canadian law, indictable offences are serious crimes like murder and robbery. It’s not known if the Crown will proceed by way of indictment against Chan or file summary charges, which carry lesser penalties.

And like anyone charged with a crime, he is innocent until proven guilty. With a first appearance scheduled for April 22, it will be some time before a court hears his case and decides whether or not to convict him.

The charges come as intimate partner violence rates continue to rise in Canada. Between 2018 and 2023 the police-reported offence rate increased 13.8 per cent across the country, according to Statistics Canada. In B.C., the rate increased 6.6 per cent.

Advocates note a large number of cases are not reported to police.

The province’s constitution also allows for a seat to become vacant after an MLA dies, becomes a member of the federal House of Commons, fails to attend the legislative assembly during a whole session without the assembly’s permission, becomes a subject or citizen of a foreign state or power or “makes a declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence” to a foreign state or power.

Dual citizens can serve as MLAs if they are dual citizens prior to their election but may forfeit their seat if they become a citizen of another country after they are elected.

The other way to fire an MLA is through the Recall and Initiative Act, a process that involves collecting signatures from at least 40 per cent of people who were registered voters in the district on election day and who remain registered voters in the province.

“I’ll tell you one thing, it’s rigged to not work,” said Salvatore Vetro, the proponent on a failed 2023 effort to recall Premier David Eby in Vancouver-Point Grey. Canvassers submitted 2,737 signatures to Elections BC, far short of the 16,449 required.

The signature requirement is high considering how few people vote, and 60 days is a short time to collect them, Vetro said. “It’s so bloody hard,” he said. “It’s rigged against you. They never meant recall to work.”

Since 1995, Elections BC’s website says, the chief electoral officer has approved 30 recall petitions. None has succeeded.

The closest was in Parksville-Qualicum, where BC Liberal MLA Paul Reitsma resigned before Elections BC completed the verification process. The rest failed because proponents either did not collect enough valid signatures or did not submit them by the deadline.

Recall petitions can’t start until 18 months after an MLA is elected. For the current legislature, that means Elections BC will begin accepting applications for recall petitions on April 20.

For now Chan is relegated to a far corner of the legislature, where along with five other former Conservative MLAs — some of whom will face their own recall petitions — he will have few opportunities to speak or participate in the house’s business.