Saskatoon city council candidate Henry Chan, who is running in Ward 8, has declined to respond to questions about his employment and residency.
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Henry Chan is promoting himself as an advocate for democracy in his campaign to join Saskatoon city council.
But he’s declined to answer basic questions about himself.
Chan’s campaign website outlines his activism for democracy, including “multiple” appearances before Canada’s Parliament to testify about fighting foreign interference and strengthening “Canada’s democratic foundation.”
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Yet this democracy advocate has failed to respond to numerous messages from the StarPhoenix seeking answers. Messages were sent to the email address listed on his website and to his phone.
Chan is running to represent Ward 8 in the November city council election.
His website says he has worked as a parliamentary assistant for a member of parliament, but does not identify the MP. The office of Alberta Conservative MP Garnet Genuis, who represents Sherwood Park — Fort Saskatchewan, confirmed last month that Chan worked for Genuis, but is no longer employed by him.
Neither Chan nor the office of Genuis responded to messages seeking to clarify how long Chan worked for Genuis or when he departed.
The StarPhoenix obtained an email sent on Sept. 13 listing Chan as Genuis’s parliamentary assistant. Parliamentary assistants usually live and work in Ottawa, according to House of Commons speaker spokesman Mathieu Gravel.
Chan’s website says he grew up in Saskatoon, but does not specify where he currently lives. His Facebook page, which promotes his council candidacy, said on Friday that he “works” at the House of Commons.
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To qualify to run as a city councillor, candidates must have lived in Saskatchewan for six straight months prior to the day they submit their nomination papers, and have lived in Saskatoon for three straight months prior to the same day.
Candidates are required to declare their eligibility, including their residency, on their nomination papers — but the city’s election office makes no effort to verify the information.
Chan’s nomination cites the address of a bungalow in the Lakeview neighbourhood in Ward 9. Councillors are not required to live in the ward they represent, although most do.
Council candidates require the signatures of 25 people who live in the ward they want to represent. Chan’s nomination includes about 575 signatures.
Genuis, who was first elected in 2015, made news over a comment he made in the House of Commons last month that was interpreted by Liberals as homophobic, although the Alberta MP denied that was his intention. Genuis withdrew the comment this week.
Genuis has also said he was the target of Chinese hacking attempts intended to interfere with the 2021 federal election. Genuis, who was first elected in 2015, faced criticism three years ago as the only MP to vote against asking the Pope to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in Indian residential schools.
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Genuis was also one of 63 MPs to vote against a ban on conversion therapy.
A photo on Chan’s campaign website appears to show him sitting at a meeting next to Conservative Saskatoon West MP Brad Redekopp. Chan’s Facebook friends include Redekopp and other Conservative Saskatchewan MPs Kelly Block and Cathay Wagantall.
Former Saskatchewan Party cabinet minister Gord Wyant, who is running for Saskatoon mayor, is also among Chan’s Facebook friends, as is Robert Pearce, who is running to represent Ward 3.
Chan’s website describes him as a “grassroots candidate,” and he uses the slogan “let’s clean up Saskatoon” to introduce his platform.
Just over a year ago, Chan wrote a letter to the editor of the StarPhoenix in the wake of council’s unanimous decision to rename John A. Macdonald Road and replace it with an Indigenous name. In the letter, Chan called the move part of a “woke name-changing agenda.”
He labelled city finances and essential services a “mess” — even though the city boasts a coveted AAA credit rating — and labelled council and the city administration “laughable and incompetent.”
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Chan’s Facebook account posted the letter’s headline in September, calling for “common sense.”
In July, Chan wrote an op-ed for the Hill Times in Ottawa on how party nominations can be fixed to prevent foreign interference in elections.
As of Thursday, six other candidates had registered to run against Chan in a ward that was represented by Coun. Sarina Gersher since 2016: Darren Abrey, Scott Ford, Prathamesh Kale, Malvina Rapko, Ron Mantyka and Kevin Zarycki.
Ward 8 includes Briarwood, Brighton, College Park, East College Park, Greystone Heights and Wildwood.
Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
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