It has been revealed that a number of BC Conservatives MLAs sent out a memo to leader John Rustad urging him to reaffirm the party's commitment to free speech and denounce "cancel culture" in the wake of now-former Vancouver Police Board co-chair Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba's ouster.Following the news that Sakoma-Fadugba had resigned over backlash regarding posts she made on social media, most Conservative MLAs came to her defence while Elenore Sturko sided with her critics.."The post express views many Conservatives (including Conservative MLAs and staff) hold in support for parental rights, religious faith, and the pursuit of shared Canadian values," the letter read, per a copy shared to X by Jas Johal. "Under your leadership, the Conservative Party of BC has consistently denounced 'cancel culture' and stood for the Charter rights British Columbians enjoy to free expression and freedom of religion ... We were therefore dismayed to learn that in an interview with CBC News, Ms. Sturko endorsed the resignation on the basis that these views were 'offensive' and undermined trust in police."The group went on to argue that Sturko's statements "caused undue harm to Ms. Sakoma and called into question our commitment to the core values shared by Conservatives."They called on Rustad to get Sturko to apologize in writing, and to "encourage" the VBP to "advance conciliatory discussions with Ms. Sakoma." If the invitation was declined, they added, "we ask that that you offer this apology and encouragement on behalf of the Conservative caucus."The letter was dated November 29, and signed by Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong, Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird, Vancouver Quilcheena MLA Dallas Brodie, Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman, Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper, Bulkley Valley-Stikine MLA Sharon Hartwell, North Island MLA Anna Kindy, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy, Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen, West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Macklin McCall, Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs, Abbotsford West MLA Korky Neufeld, and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer.More to come...
It has been revealed that a number of BC Conservatives MLAs sent out a memo to leader John Rustad urging him to reaffirm the party's commitment to free speech and denounce "cancel culture" in the wake of now-former Vancouver Police Board co-chair Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba's ouster.Following the news that Sakoma-Fadugba had resigned over backlash regarding posts she made on social media, most Conservative MLAs came to her defence while Elenore Sturko sided with her critics.."The post express views many Conservatives (including Conservative MLAs and staff) hold in support for parental rights, religious faith, and the pursuit of shared Canadian values," the letter read, per a copy shared to X by Jas Johal. "Under your leadership, the Conservative Party of BC has consistently denounced 'cancel culture' and stood for the Charter rights British Columbians enjoy to free expression and freedom of religion ... We were therefore dismayed to learn that in an interview with CBC News, Ms. Sturko endorsed the resignation on the basis that these views were 'offensive' and undermined trust in police."The group went on to argue that Sturko's statements "caused undue harm to Ms. Sakoma and called into question our commitment to the core values shared by Conservatives."They called on Rustad to get Sturko to apologize in writing, and to "encourage" the VBP to "advance conciliatory discussions with Ms. Sakoma." If the invitation was declined, they added, "we ask that that you offer this apology and encouragement on behalf of the Conservative caucus."The letter was dated November 29, and signed by Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong, Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird, Vancouver Quilcheena MLA Dallas Brodie, Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman, Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper, Bulkley Valley-Stikine MLA Sharon Hartwell, North Island MLA Anna Kindy, Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy, Kelowna Centre MLA Kristina Loewen, West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Macklin McCall, Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs, Abbotsford West MLA Korky Neufeld, and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer.More to come...