Brent Dancey, chief of staff, was pardoned for 1993 assault

The Alberta government is still not commenting on a 1994 assault conviction involving Brent Dancey, the chief of staff to Environment Minister Shannon Phillips.

Dancey was sentenced to nine months in jail after he was convicted of assault causing bodily harm. He was given a pardon in May 2005.

Shannon Prithipaul, past president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, said the conviction would not show up in a background check.

"A pardon allows a person, really, to get on with their life, so if the person is found guilty of an offence before but has done a lot to rehabilitate themselves and are now citizens who are respectful of the law ...it's like that part of their life just didn't exist," she said.

The conviction was first revealed earlier this week by Ezra Levant. The court documents, which are under seal, were mistakenly released to Levant's website by the courts in Saskatchewan.

Dancey was 18 when he was involved in an assault at a party in Regina in 1993.

Witnesses said a male victim was kicked and punched by several young men while he was lying on the ground.

A spokesman for Premier Rachel Notley confirmed Thursday that Dancey will not comment on the issue.

Laura Tupper, spokeswoman for Shannon Phillips, would not offer any information beyond a written statement.

"A number of legal issues may arise around the publication of details around this matter," she said. "And so it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time."

The Wildrose Party wants Premier Rachel Notley to explain why Dancey was appointed.

Dancey was an adviser with the NDP government in Manitoba before he came to Alberta.