Skeena MLA tells Findlay to ‘do better,’ says she is staying

PENTICTON — Skeena MLA Claire Rattée used a 1,000-word Substack post Wednesday to tell Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to “do better,” and to say she is not leaving the party..“I want to be very clear, I am and will remain a Conservative Party of BC MLA,” she wrote. “Today, that means telling the leader to do better.”The post, titled “The B.C. Conservatives must win. Here’s how,” went up the same day Findlay skipped a morning caucus meeting and hours before two unnamed colleagues asked Findlay to resign at an emergency night session in Vancouver. Findlay refused. Rattée’s letter is the public record of what one sitting MLA was willing to put her name on.Rattée posted the Substack link on X Wednesday afternoon. She represents Skeena, holds the critic file for mental health, addictions and social housing, and is the first woman elected MLA for the riding..She wrote that members chose Findlay on May 30 and caucus was, and is, bound to respect that vote. “In return, our leader was expected to quickly bring the team together,” she said. “We were unified when she started and now we are deeply divided.”“To date, that bargain has not been fulfilled, and without immediate course correction I fear it never will be.”Nine sitting MLAs have left the Conservative caucus since August 14. The sitting caucus is down from 44 after the last general provincial elections to 28, not counting vacant Abbotsford-Mission, where Findlay is on the ballot September 26.“One or two MLAs leaving after a leadership race could be excused, but nine is a different matter entirely,” Rattée wrote. “The leader should have tried to personally mend fences so that this wouldn’t have happened, but here we are. Today, at a minimum, she should be making personal calls to make sure the situation doesn’t get any worse. That is not happening.”She said she had tried to reach Findlay privately at meetings the leader called and then skipped, and that requests for a call went unanswered. “She has now called several caucus meetings and either left after making a speech or not attended at all (including one today). That is unacceptable.”.Rattée said the fight is not about policy. “It is about leadership, judgment, accountability, and our responsibility to the people we were elected to serve.”She accused Findlay of “extremely poor staffing choices” and wrote that “serious allegations involving senior members of the leader’s office have resulted in reports of potential police inquiries.” Those reports include Delta South MLA Ian Paton’s allegation, made after he left caucus, that then-chief of staff Chris Delaney offered him a paid agriculture-adviser post to vacate the seat. Findlay denied any such offer on August 24. RCMP E Division will not confirm or deny an investigation unless charges are laid. No charges have been laid. Delaney resigned September 2. Reann Gasper, who resigned Abbotsford-Mission so Findlay could run, is now chief of staff.Rattée also said Findlay chose the byelection clock. “She could have spent more time solidifying and building the team before moving for a seat but chose not to. Now she must do both at the same time, no excuses.”.Rattée won Skeena in 2024 with 6,243 votes (51.20%) over New Democrat Sarah Zimmerman. She sat on Kitimat council from 2014 to 2018 and ran federally in Skeena—Bulkley Valley in 2019 and 2021. She supported the December 4, 2025 removal of John Rustad. On the May leadership first ballot in Skeena — Rattée's riding — Caroline Elliott took 30 of 96 votes and Findlay 25. Rattée did not endorse any particular candidate during the race. She congratulated Findlay on X the day after the vote and kept the mental-health critic post in the June 30 shuffle.“She was a minister in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet,” Rattée wrote. “She needs to reach back into the skill set that Mr. Harper would have demanded of her and get this job done instead of continuing on the path she’s currently on.”Her close: “Engage with her team. Come to caucus meetings. Enlist more help. Address poor choices. Correct them and ensure they won’t be made again … Stop the bleeding and start winning.”“Whether or not our leader decides to do this is up to her. If she does, I will be excited to support her in her efforts.”“I will not, however, tolerate leadership refusing to address challenges.”

Skeena MLA tells Findlay to ‘do better,’ says she is staying

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