UPDATE: B.C. Chief Ed John faces historic sex charges: prosecution service

VANCOUVER – Ed John, a leader of the First Nations Summit and former British Columbia cabinet minister, is accused of four counts of sexual assault dating back to 1974.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says in a statement that special prosecutor Michael Klein was appointed in February to look into allegations of sexual offences that were alleged to have occurred in and around Prince George.

The service says Klein has approved four counts of having sexual intercourse with a female without her consent.

The incidents were alleged to have occurred between March 1 and Sept. 15, 1974.

Prosecution service spokesman Dan McLaughlin says the charges are alleged to involve one person.

John, who's first court appearance is set for Dec. 10, could not immediately be reached for comment.

He is a hereditary chief of Tl'azt'en Nation in northern B.C. and a lawyer who holds honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria.

John completed his eleventh consecutive term as an elected leader of the First Nations Summit Political Executive in June and served for five years as a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

His biography also says was involved in the development of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 and implemented by the British Columbia government just last month.

In 2015, then-premier Christy Clark appointed John as Special Advisor on Indigenous Children in Care and after extensive consultations he submitted a report one year later containing 85 recommendations to overhaul British Columbia's Indigenous child welfare system.

The recommendations were aimed at improving outcomes for Indigenous children and youth by changing the focus from intervention and separation to strengthening families.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2019.