Two of My Fellow MLAs Are Charged with Assault. Bar Them Now

[Editor’s note: This story discusses domestic violence and sexual assault. It may be triggering to some readers.]

I am proud to be the Independent MLA for Penticton-Summerland. In British Columbia’s legislature, MLA Jordan Kealy, who last week was charged with sexual assault, sits directly to my left. Directly to my right sits MLA Hon Chan, who has been arrested and charged with domestic violence, specifically choking.

Both MLAs deny the charges against them and are entitled to the presumption of innocence until those charges have been tested in court.

However, I’m calling on Kealy and Chan to go to the Speaker and ask for the government to find a way to allow them to take a paid leave of absence until these criminal matters are cleared.

I am a survivor of sexual assault, so this hits home. But this is not about me. This is about the people we MLAs are sworn to serve. I call on these two legislators to step away at this time, not because I am prejudging their guilt or innocence. I do so with their constituents in mind.

How can survivors of sexual violence be comfortable seeking assistance from an MLA facing charges of domestic violence or sexual assault? How can anyone in their ridings now fully trust them to act honourably on their behalf?

Both these men, who now sit as Independents, came into the legislature via the Conservative Party of BC. Chan was ousted from the Conservative caucus after he was charged, but he remains a member of the party.

Some political conservatives talk a big game about law and order and protecting women until it’s their guys who have been arrested. Then we get crickets. The Conservative Party of BC’s new leader, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who very recently gleefully accepted an endorsement from Kealy, has simply deleted all her social media posts with him and said nothing.

MLA Trevor Halford, who until days ago was the leader, has done nothing to revoke MLA Chan’s Conservative Party of BC membership. Mine was cancelled for taking a bill to committee.

If we want to signal to society, to our constituents, to women, to survivors that we think violence against women is a serious thing, we need to start acting like it.

At the local government level, if someone faces criminal charges they are automatically placed on a mandatory leave of absence pending the outcome. Why should it be any different at the provincial level? All the same logic applies, so why this loophole?

Friends, I dream of a world where we should never have to have this conversation. I dream of a world where elected officials charged with violence and crimes against women and sex crimes are automatically barred from the house until the court has adjudicated.

I dream of a world where 37 per cent of women in B.C. have not been sexually assaulted since the age of 15 — the largest percentage of any province.

I dream of a world where the solution, instead of merely instructing women to protect themselves, is to teach men not to beat and rape and assault.

I dream of a world where prison sentences when people are convicted are longer than the usual today, which essentially is a handful of months.

And I refuse to give up on that world.

I worry, as well, what signal the current loophole benefiting Kealy and Chan and any other MLA who might face criminal charges sends to citizens. I see too many people losing faith in our system of governance. I see some politicians exploiting that frustration by rage farming and saying the system is broken. I see our democracy under stress.

For all these reasons, I will be asking the government to take extraordinary measures to bring the province into alignment with the laws at the local level by requiring that any MLA charged with a serious crime be removed from their role until judgment is rendered.

If that does not succeed, I have prepared a private member’s bill for the fall session that would close the same loophole.

Please join me in emailing the Opposition by sending an email to Trevor Halford ([email protected]) — until the new leader has an email. Demand he cancel the membership of MLA Chan. Tell him to lobby the government to remove MLAs Kealy and Chan from the legislature until the courts have adjudicated. Email Premier David Eby ([email protected]) and Attorney General Niki Sharma ([email protected]) to urge the government to take immediate action, including an emergency session if need be, to put Kealy and Chan on mandatory leave.

Let me repeat that Jordan Kealy and Hon Chan are entitled to the presumption of innocence. But they shouldn’t be entitled to remain in this high office, because doing so carries great responsibility towards vulnerable communities and asks for their trust.

Once and for all, let’s see who has real conservative values by taking the stance against violence against women and sexual violence against women this situation calls for.

Survivors, I see you. Anyone requiring support please call or text VictimLinkBC at 1-800-563-0808 — toll-free, multilingual crisis support and referrals for victims of crime, including sexual violence.