Nearly a month after BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon booted John Rustad out of caucus for making social media posts questioning CO2’s role in climate change, the former BC Liberal MLA says neither Falcon — nor anyone in the BC Liberal Party — has provided a substantive answer as to why exactly he was axed..Rustad, who now independently represents Nechako Lakes, reposted comments on social media from Patrick Moore, director of the CO2 Coalition in August..He said he believes the "case for CO2 being the control knob of global temperature gets weaker every day.”. John Rustad .In response, Falcon took to Twitter condemning Rustad for reposting such comments, saying he “does not speak on behalf of the caucus” regarding climate change..Less than 24 hours later, Falcon removed Rustad from caucus.."While a diversity of perspectives are encouraged and a source of strength, they cannot exist without that important foundation in place,” the official opposition leader said in statement after he'd ousted Rustad.."Following a pattern of behaviour that was not supportive of our caucus team and the principles of mutual respect and trust, I have removed MLA John Rustad from the BC Liberal Caucus effective immediately.”.Now, nearly a month later, Rustad says Falcon still hasn’t addressed any of his concerns specifically, but rather chooses to appease the “environmental elitist crowd.”.“It was pretty clear messaging in my mind — there’s no room for any discussion on the topic whatsoever and he wants to play up to the environmental elitist crowd,” Rustad told the Western Standard..“The science behind the CO2 theory is not ironclad. There are much better policies we could be looking at that would achieve results in terms of helping improve our environment without having to punish people.”.While Rustad maintains the position human activity is impacting environmental factors, calling it “undeniable,” he says the province needs to focus on what he calls “climate realism,” which to Rustad means prioritizing food security and independence above reducing carbon emissions and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizer — the latter of which he says “intentionally” hurts people..“Cost of food will go up dramatically and the availability of food, as well as price impact globally,” he said of policies that reduce the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, further noting “there’s 345-million people in the world facing a severe food insecurity, which means they’re not getting enough calories on a daily basis.”.Calling the BC Liberals an “echo chamber” and a “party that no longer accepts people across the political spectrum,” Rustad says he’s considering several options going forward — including joining the newly minted BC Conservative party. But for now he’s maintaining his position as an independent..“One of the standards I’m going to look for before joining any party is acceptance of a variety of views. We have to encourage debate, not limit it,” he said.
