In an interview with Dr. Jordan Peterson, John Rustad made it clear that he was a proponent of protecting women and girls against biological males encroaching on their spaces.The BC Conservative Party leader told the world-renowned Canadian psychologist he also firmly believed that any surgical form of so-called "gender-affirming care" should not be provided to children."One of the strangest things we've seen in recent years, and there's plenty of them, is this confusion about just what constitutes a woman and a man," Peterson began. "I know that your party has been involved in clarifying the distinction between men and women with regard to the participation in sports and also the protection of women's private spaces."He went on to ask Rustad about the orange moose hide badge he wears on his jacket just beneath the Conservative pin."This past spring, we introduced a piece of legislation, the first in Canada, called the Fairness for Women's and Girls' Sports Act," Rustad replied, "and what it's designed to do is say that biological men cannot compete against biological women and girls in sports."He noted that, "it's important that the rights of everybody should be able to be protected, particularly for women and girls," and that, "if they want to go after scholarships or whatever it is, and they want to be able to compete at high levels, they should be able to compete fairly."The BC NDP did not let it get past first reading, refusing to even have it heard on the floor."In my riding the First Nations started up a program called the Moose Hide Campaign," Rustad continued, "men talking to men about honouring and protecting women and girls, and trying to end the violence against women and girls."When asked whether he would follow Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's lead on legislation regarding "gender-affirming care," Rustad made it clear that while there should be support available for whoever needs it, he believed the province should not play any role in facilitating "any kind of procedure that would sterilize a child.""They are not old enough to make those kinds of decisions — who knows where they'll want to be in the future," he said, "and I think as a province we need to do everything we can to be able to protect children."
