Angry in the Great White North

Farhan Chak is the Liberal Party candidate for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont. He's in trouble for some things he has written in the past that certainly sounded extreme, and for having been charged with firing a shotgun into a club in 1993 after a knife fight:

It also came to light that Chak was arrested in 1993 in connection with the firing of a shotgun into the door of a south-side nightclub.

Chak stressed he has no criminal record.

"The charge that (the National Post) relates to is one of mistaken identity and I was fully exonerated in the law courts."

Chak was charged with aggravated assault by endangering lives, use of a firearm during the commission of an offence, pointing a firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon after the 1993 incident at Barry T’s nightclub. In the incident, a 23-year-old employee was stabbed in the thigh during a fight between several men. As bouncers tried to remove the men, a shotgun was fired over their heads into a doorway.

So what was the identity of the person who fired the shotgun? Chak was very fortunate that the witnesses whose initial statements to police supported the charges decided afterward that Chak wasn't the guy waving a shotgun and the case fell apart because of "mistaken identity".

Chak probably just has one of those faces. The kind that means he is easily mistaken for someone else. That's got to be tough thing to put up with. Too bad in that case he was mistaken for someone dangerous.

Still, Chak has to be aware that the Liberal Party application form is explicit. Any criminal charges, regardless of their final disposition, must be disclosed by potential candidates seeking the nomination:

4.a Past convictions involving other contraventions or criminal offences

Have you ever been charged in Canada or elsewhere, with any crime, offence or delinquency under a statute or ordinance? If yes, please provide full particulars (use a separate sheet if needed), including applicable dates, places, nature of acts or offences, penalties and pardons.

That's a problem that won't go away just because someone's memory has suddenly failed him.

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