Political science lecturer says calls for resignation of MLA Chan hold water

VICTORIA — A University of British Columbia political analyst says calls for the resignation of Independent MLA Hon Chan are appropriate, after the legislator was charged this week in relation to an alleged incident of intimate partner violence in 2024.

The Richmond Centre MLA has been charged with assault, assault by choking and uttering threats, with interim B.C. Conservative leader Trevor Halford saying the party kicked Chan out of its caucus after learning of the charges Wednesday.

Halford said it was up to Chan to decide whether to resign his seat.

But University of B.C. political science lecturer Stewart Prest said he agrees with calls by the provincial New Democrats and Greens for the MLA’s resignation.

He said Chan is entitled to the presumption of innocence and a “robust defence.”

“But that doesn’t mean that he will be able to mount that robust defence at the same time that he is serving the interests of the constituents, who elected him,” Prest said in an interview Friday.

“I think that is where calls to have him resign hold water.”

Grace Lore of the B.C. NDP first called for Chan’s resignation on Thursday, followed by the B.C. Green Party’s Jeremy Valeriote.

Valeriote said it is “incumbent” on MLAs to uphold the highest standards. “Elected officials have a responsibility to maintain the public’s trust,” he said.

The case points to a “very abstract but important” question, Prest said. “Is there shame in politics anymore? I do think we are seeing a test of that right now in B.C.”

Chan has said he disagrees with the allegations dating back to Jan. 12, 2024, and plans to defend himself through the court system.

“As this matter is before the court, no further comment will be made at this time,” Chan said in a statement Thursday.

Chan’s removal from the Conservative caucus means that the legislature now has six Independent members. The B.C. NDP stays at 47 seats, including Speaker Raj Chouhan, while the Conservatives drop to 38 seats, with the B.C. Greens at two seats.

David Black, who teaches communication and political theory at Royal Roads University in Greater Victoria, said the Conservatives have handled this issue as well as they could have so far.

“The Conservatives, at this point, are blameless,” Black said. “So far, they are proceeding as they should. He has been ejected from caucus.”

Black added that Chan also remains a member of legislature under B.C.’s Constitution Act, which says that a member cannot be removed until convicted of an indictable offence. “We are not there yet,” he said.

“So I don’t think there is any damage, but there is an opportunity, especially in a time when people are rather cynical about politics, to do the right thing and speak to the terrible thing that is domestic violence,” he said.

Details about Chan’s case are sparse, but his file is marked as a “K” file. This means it involves allegations of intimate partner violence. Chan will make his first court appearance on April 22, with the legislature set to resume sitting next week.

Black said while Chan might be out of caucus, his ongoing presence in the legislature could come to hurt the party.

Conservatives parties have consistently talked about being committed to the law and order and public safety, he said.

“In terms of their issue-set, this is not something that B.C. Conservatives want hanging around,” Black said. “So as long as he is in the legislature, even as an independent, it kind of hangs around.”

Historian David Mitchell, a former member of the provincial legislature himself, said he would be careful about exaggerating the possible importance of the case.

“It’s not affecting the party as a whole, it’s not affecting the legislature as a whole, it’s affecting one MLA and his alleged behaviour, and I don’t think we should try to draw any larger conclusions from this,” he said.

Mitchell specifically pointed to the Sommers Affair of the late 1950s, early 1960s.

It involved the late Robert Sommers, who was eventually arrested and charged with bribery involving the awarding of forestry licences. Sommers had previously served as the minister of lands and forests under Social Credit premier W.A.C. Bennett.

Sommers, who was a sitting MLA at the time of his arrest and charge, but not in cabinet, was sentenced to five years in prison in 1957, serving 28 months, according to the Encyclopedia of British Columbia.

Mitchell said the Sommers case was “probably the last time that anything like this has occurred in British Columbia’s legislature.”

But Mitchell also added that the Sommers Affair did not hurt Social Credit.

“In fact, the Social Credit government won the byelection in his (Sommers) riding and won the next election,” Mitchell said. “It had no lasting impact.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press