VANCOUVER — BC Premier David Eby alluded Monday to the recent “arrest” of BC Conservative MLA Hon Chan on three criminal charges, using the occasion in the provincial legislature to evade pointed questions from the Opposition on his handling of the economy and indigenous relations..The premier's comments about Chan were made during Question Period in response to Conservative MLA Gavin Dew. Dew, who had himself been sharply criticized by Eby just weeks earlier over his casual attire, pressed the government on Moody's recent credit downgrade of British Columbia.“You know what causes uncertainty Mr. Speaker? What corrodes confidence is instability, chaos, fights, poor relationships,” Eby said through Speaker Raj Chouhan.“Honestly, is the leader of the Opposition, who just had an MLA arrested, telling me he's going to bring stability to the government?”Interim BC Conservative leader Trevor Halford shot back reflexively, “Are you serious?”“Yes, I'm serious,” the Premier responded. “That happened.”.The exchange occurred at the very end of Question Period, depriving Halford of a full opportunity to respond on the official record.Halford instead yelled at Eby from across the House, asking “How desperate are you?” and calling the Premier “a joke.”What made the exchange particularly tense was that Chan was present in the chamber.Chan, the MLA for Richmond Centre after being removed from the BC Conservative caucus, faces charges of assault, assault by choking and uttering threats.The charges stem from an alleged incident of intimate partner violence in January 2024.The BC Prosecution Service announced the charges last week. A special prosecutor was appointed to the case last year to ensure independence..Chan has maintained his innocence and said he will not resign his seat. He is scheduled to appear in Richmond Provincial Court on April 22. None of the charges have been proven in court.While Eby did not name Chan directly in every comment, the reference was unmistakable to those in the House.Chan remained in his seat during the exchange and later spoke briefly to media outside the chamber, reiterating his intention to fight the charges.The testy back-and-forth is the latest example of an increasingly animated and fractious Legislative Assembly. Speaker Raj Chouhan has previously scolded MLAs for unruly behaviour during Question Period.Eby’s decision to highlight the Chan matter also fits a broader pattern in which the premier’s rhetoric has grown more personal as his NDP government trails in popularity — currently the least popular provincial administration in the province in more than a decade, according to recent polling.
