LETTER – Who will be the next MLA to bolt from the BC Conservatives?

Attention John Rustad: Love don’t live her anymore

So Dallas Brodie has been thrown out of the caucus for rude behaviour, really, bad manners and you’re out? John Rustad, who was thrown out of BC Liberals/United for climate denialism, or as he prefers, an “irreconcilable difference” (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/john-rustad-removed-caucus-1.6555527) is taking a stand on rude speech!   Rustad claimed his removal was an unjust punishment and swore the conservatives would be different, that they’d be better.  This is better?

Whatever happened to “All members of the caucus have the right to say things, and the right to be able to bring forward issues, and I look forward to the discussions,” or “We don’t whip our people to say what they want to say” (https://globalnews.ca/news/10910980/rustad-sturko-dispute-caucus-meeting/).  Maybe Rustad forgot about that, after all it was all the way back in December and a lot has happened in the past 3 months.

Brodie was a problem candidate and Rustad was urged not to allow her to run on the conservative ticket, but he failed to act.   Brodie espoused that First Nations bands must take greater responsibility in supporting their members in the Downtown Eastside, “don’t just make Vancouver your dumping ground. Come and take your citizens.”  https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/bc-conservative-candidate-doubles-down-on-first-nations-responsibilities-to-downtown-eastside-9650967  That was acceptable, but mockery is, “where I draw the line” (https://www.biv.com/news/economy-law-politics/bc-conservative-mla-ejected-from-caucus-after-mocking-accounts-of-residential-schools-10342425).  Remember that proverb, “He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas”,  seems apropos.  I wonder what Peter Milobar has in common with this member because unlike NDP leader David Eby, or Green leader Sonia Furstenau, he hasn’t said anything about his caucus colleague after these comments last October.

Who’s next to bolt,  will it be Elenore Sturko or the 13 members who penned a letter to Rustad demanding her apology for participating in cancel culture.  Correction, make that 10 as 3 of those 13 just walked out the door.  Maybe it’ll be controversial newbie Brent Chapman  who once wrote:

“It is forbidden to marry outside of your family in Palestine.  They are all little inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs … figuratively and quite literally,”(https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-conservatives-candidate-brent-chapman-2015-palestinians-1.7348697).

Or maybe it will be Heather Maahs, who was censured 3 times in her last year as a Chilliwack school trustee, interesting no other member was censured in the previous 3 yrs.   Coincidentally, these 2 were the last 2 members of the 5 who refused to condemn Trumps tariffs, not surprisingly, they too were part of the earlier bakers dozen.   I wonder what Ward Stammer has to say, after all, he was one of the 13.

Well, I suppose bad manners can be described as different but I don’t think it’ll “Unite” the party. Speaking of uniting the party, the BC United Party are still kicking around, I got a feeling we’ll be hearing more about them in the coming months as this marriage of convenience seems destined for an annulment under Rustad.  I’m wondering if the federal Conservatives will perform a similar vetting process.

MAC GORDON

Editor’s Note: Peter Milobar did address Brodie’s remarks during comments he made in the B.C. Legislature.