Regina man reiterates claim that he doesn’t belong in Unifor video

Chad Zipchian is convinced Unifor has the wrong guy.

Zipchian co-owns a string of restaurants in southern Saskatchewan with Kalpesh Patel, who has been under the microscope since his name and face appeared in a video produced by Unifor.

That video purports to show workers who have replaced Unifor members at the Co-op Refinery Complex during the labour dispute at that facility. Patel, however, maintains he isn’t — and never has been — one of those replacement workers.

Zipchian agrees with his business partner.

“If he did (work at the refinery), he did a pretty good job of having a second, moonlighting job (aside) from running businesses because I’m sending him to Saskatoon and Moose Jaw all the time,” Zipchian said during a media conference Monday.

“It would be pretty hard for him to pull a shift (at the refinery). I’m sure, being the upgrader, they’re probably pulling 12-hour shifts or whatever. It’d be pretty damn hard for him to do that without me knowing about it.”

Patel’s life changed Friday, when the video appeared on Unifor’s Twitter feed.

He told reporters Monday that he was “surprised” when he heard from people telling him they had seen his face and name on the video. Others questioned why he would work at the refinery as a replacement worker — and that also befuddled him because he says he has never been to the facility.

“I was confused,” Patel said. “I didn’t know what to do. I tried to stay home and tried to figure out what to do now.”

He has contacted a lawyer, who suggested Patel should “stay down and stay home.”

“I’m confused what to do,” he said. “I’ve never been in this kind of situation.”

Patel couldn’t guess how many phone calls he has received since the video surfaced. He also doesn’t know what the callers’ messages are because he isn’t answering calls from unknown numbers.

The businessman isn’t sure why Unifor is convinced he has worked at the refinery, nor is he sure if he’ll take legal action against the union. He’ll continue to discuss the situation with his lawyer.

“I wanted my name cleared,” Patel said. “That’s all I wanted. I have nothing to do with the union or the Co-op refinery. I want to clear my name. I don’t want there to be further damage to my name and my business.”

“Kalpesh obviously has been the victim of a major mistake in identity,” Zipchian added, “and we just want to make sure that everybody knows that that’s not the case.”

Scott Doherty, the executive assistant to Unifor’s national president, told Gormley on Monday that the union is looking into Patel’s claims that he doesn’t belong in the video.

“We believe he is in the refinery and has worked at the refinery, but we’re doing our investigations,” Doherty said. “We find it fairly suspicious that somebody would go to the press about the fact that they’re worried about being defamed as opposed to just coming to us and saying that he’s not the right person.

“We’re highly suspicious, but we’re doing our investigation and if we’re wrong, we will certainly do what we need to do to make it right.”

Doherty wouldn’t say what steps the union would take if Patel’s assertions are shown to be true.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Jessie Anton