VANCOUVER — BC Conservative leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer has been accused of hypocrisy for calling out Coastal First Nations after his company, Fulmer & Co., invested in and endorsed their Great Bear Forest Carbon Project.In a statement, Coastal First Nations drew attention to a video Fulmer recently uploaded to social media attacking foreign-backed groups' influence in British Columbia politics..In the clip, Fulmer called Coastal First Nations a "political advocacy group that was set up with millions of dollars from left-wing American and international foundations focused on stopping oil and gas development, as well as stopping mining and forestry in BC."He went on to draw attention to other foreign-backed groups such as pro-Hamas Samidoun and vowed to boot them all from BC if elected. "This smear campaign is breathtakingly hypocritical given Fulmer’s own company endorsed and celebrated the work of CFN after investing in the organization’s Great Bear Rainforest Carbon Project as recently as fall 2022," Coastal First Nations wrote in a statement, adding that Fulmer & Co. showcased the move on their website.."We're thrilled our carbon offsets will be used to support the Coastal First Nations in preserving the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project," Fulmer said in 2022. "Sustainability and reconciliation have always been important to Fulmer & Company, so taking the next step with Carbon Zero was a great way to put those values into action.".In their statement, Coastal First Nations explained that they are "an alliance of eight First Nations on the north and central coast and Haida Gwaii led by the elected leadership of its respective communities, over which each Nation holds individual Rights and Title.""This is a new low and shows the depths people like Yuri Fulmer are willing to go when they have nothing substantive to say," President Marilyn Slett said. "Mr. Fulmer should be ashamed of spreading the kind of disinformation and propaganda we’ve come to expect from politicians in the US, not here in Canada."She went on to argue that "Mr. Fulmer — and others who have intentionally amplified and shared this type of disinformation — should apologize to our leadership and our community members and immediately correct or remove it."In a statement to the Western Standard, Fulmer's team justified his company's involvement with the organization."This is a classic example of the private sector doing what the government cannot," they said of Coastal First Nations' Great Bear Forest Carbon Project. "Yuri's company stepped up to support conservation through private stewardship — not taxes, not government mandates, and not regulation."They went on to declare that "Conservatives believe in protecting our land, and we believe businesses and individuals can lead that charge," and that "anyone who thinks a private company supporting the preservation of the Great Bear Rainforest is somehow a political controversy is truly out-of-touch."
