** UPDATED 03/27 at 11am to include event bullet point sources
The
world of provincial politics was shocked today (03/26) by news that BC Conservative MLA
Hon Chan has been charged charged
with assault, assault by choking and uttering threats. Following the information becoming known, interim party leader Trevor
Halford immediately removed Chan as an MLA for the party.
That was
definitely the right thing to do.
The NDP,
however, have seized on this story as their MLA’s and supporters have gone on
the attack asking when the party knew about it, as if inferring they had
ignored it, and also saying that Halford hadn’t gone far enough, and should
have demanded Chan resign his seat.
Now let me just say, at the outset, these are serious allegations, and if they
end up being true, they will likely negatively reflect on the Conservative Party.
That said, allegations of wrongdoing, as well as charges of criminality
haven’t escaped the BC NDP. And like the old saying
goes, those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
While
the NDP puff up with self-righteousness over the incident, and continue with
their holier-than-thou social media campaign, perhaps it's well worth
remembering these events:
- high
taxpayer-funded expenditures, including $3,900 for an NDP minister's
"happy hour" in Amsterdam in June 2025 (Cdn Taxpayers Federation)
- Brenda Bailey charged taxpayers for a $6,645 limousine service bill
during a four-day trip to Boston in 2023 (Cdn Taxpayers Federation)
- from January 1st,
2024, to September 2, 2025 almost 400 gift cards totaling about
$15,000 were handed out to bureaucrats and volunteers, and some exceeded the
$100 limit. (Times Colonist – Feb 2026)
- In 1995, multiple women,
including former staff members, accused Robert Blencoe of sexual harassment ...
Premier Mike Harcourt removed Blencoe from Cabinet and kicked him out of the
NDP caucus (CBC News – Jan 2001)
- March came in badly
for NDP Premier Mike Harcourt - and April promises to be at least as cruel.
Almost since the beginning of the year the party that won power in 1991
promising an end to "playing favorites with political friends and
insiders" has been on the defensive about its own ethics (Maclean's Magazine on April 3, 1995)
- NDP
forced to admit its opponents got it right on kickback allegations - says it
got new information on kickback allegations. Likely that was advice on looming political
damage (Maclean's Magazine -- April
3, 1995)
- The BC
government has ordered the auditor general to investigate MNP, a private
accounting company it hired to administer clean technology grants on its
behalf. The investigation follows allegations of a conflict of interest with
MNP allegedly acting as both grant writer and administrator for a grant
program. (CBC News – April 2004)
- On March 2, 1999, the RCMP
raided Premier Glenn Clark’s home, an event that became the defining image of
his administration. Clark resigned on August 21, 1999, shortly after being
informed he was under criminal investigation (The Tyee, dubious moments in BC’s
political history, May 2013)
- It's
been a tough few weeks politically for Premier David Eby and his government. From alleged
kickbacks to leaked memo about drug use in northern BC
hospitals (Global News – April 2024)
- Of all the tawdry, underhanded and despicable things politicians have got up to in this province, it is hard to match anything as low-down dirty as the affair known as Bingogate. The NDP, a party which professes a belief in social justice, was found to have been skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from charities over a 20-year period. (The Tyee, dubious moments in BC’s political history, April 2013)
And,
of course, the BC NDP has recently gone about reducing financial transparency
as well as the dismantling of the merit commissioner's office.
Again, today’s allegations are a serious issue, the truth of which will
ultimately be decided in court.
Regardless, the NDP attempting to capitalize on it, for political gain,
is in my opinion, disgusting.
I'm no Conservative, but I don't think this should reflect badly on the Party per se. They say they vetted him and he answered in a way that puts the liability on him. If he was lying about investigations ongoing, then that is on him, and no matter how disorganized the BC Conservative Party was at the outset I can;t imagine that would have fumbled this basic eligibility question. I agree that making this partisan is inappropriate. And so I'm at a loss as to why you have now included a list of transgressions that the NDP has committed over the past 30 years. BC Polictis has always been a messy affair, and Vander Zalm, Campbell and Clark weren't immune from corruption and law breaking either. If we could be bothered and if it wasn't so boring, we could make a very long list of stuff like this. I don;t get the point though. For me the issue is domestic violence. If the allegations are true, Chan will be forced to resign and will face his charges in court. I hope for the victim that they get heard and supported. This puts the charges against Chan in another class altogether and the "glass houses" analogy seems tired and overplayed. You could have made that list and published it with using the NDP's rabid responses toChan's transgressions as an excuse. Here's a few more for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_scandals_in_Canada#British_Columbia
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