Dear Editor,
In Maple Ridge, we’ve seen how public trust is managed: when a local councillor faces serious allegations, the system functions as intended, and they are placed on mandatory leave while the legal process unfolds.
It’s a standard of basic accountability that prioritizes the safety of the community over the convenience of the politician.
Yet, our provincial legislature refuses to meet this same bar.
We currently have a legislative assembly where MLAs Hon Chan and Jordan Kealy continue to collect public salaries and hold power while facing criminal charges for domestic violence and sexual assault.
When I asked my representative, MLA Lawrence Mok, to support a mandatory leave policy, his office retreated behind a rehearsed script, claiming it was outside their “jurisdiction” to act until a conviction is reached.
This is a choice, not a legal inevitability.
If our local municipal government has the mechanisms to remove a councillor from duty to preserve the integrity of their office, why does our provincial government treat a seat as an untouchable, lifetime entitlement regardless of criminal indictment?
It is time for the premier and the opposition to stop passing the buck.
We need a mandatory leave policy for any MLA facing charges of violent crime.
If a Maple Ridge councillor can be suspended to protect the public, our MLAs must be held to that same standard—not allowed to hide behind party lines while the legislature’s reputation is dragged through the mud.
Jullin Aberly-Silverio, Maple Ridge
EDITOR’S NOTE: Maple Ridge City Councillor Ahmed Yousef, facing charges of assault and sex assault, has been placed on mandatory paid leave.