The leader of the BC Conservatives has publicly responded to a letter from 13 MLAs singling out one of their caucus colleagues.
The letter, addressed to Conservative Leader John Rustad, targeted Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko, after she expressed support for the ouster of Vancouver Police Board vice-chair Comfort Sakoma in an interview with the CBC.
The letter urged Rustad to ask Sturko to apologize or to do so himself on behalf of the party, and questioned whether Sturko’s comments had been “vetted in advance by senior staff.”
The board had asked for and received Sakoma’s resignation after controversial posts on her Instagram account about Christianity, immigration and gender identity surfaced.
In a statement posted to social media on Monday, Rustad said he’d met with Sakoma and discussed their “shared values of family, faith, and community and about what it means to be proudly Christian and proudly Conservative.” He said such values include supporting religious liberty and freedom of speech, even amid disagreements.
Rustad acknowledged there had been “some controversy” about his decision to allow different viewpoints among MLAs, including Sturko’s comments.
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“I want to make it crystal clear where I personally stand. I support Comfort Sakoma and I don’t believe she should have been asked to quit the VPD police board,” he said.
“However, I also understand the critical importance of freedom of speech, particularly for MLAs.”
Rustad added he believes Sturko should meet with Sakoma “before drawing further judgement.”
Sturko responded to Rustad’s social media post late Tuesday, rejecting his suggestion.
“I carry the same values & principles forward as a proud elected member of the Conservative Party of BC in representing my constituents & all British Columbians,” she said.
“I do not plan to meet with Ms. Sakoma, nor do I plan to write a letter as requested by some of my colleagues, though I wish her the best.”
Sakoma resigned from the police board on Nov. 22, after screenshots of her Instagram stories were posted to Reddit.
In the posts, Sakoma suggested Christianity underpins Canadian culture and values, raised concerns about secular education “erasing Christian values from the lives of our children,” and mused that exposure to Diwali celebrations in schools could lead to Hinduism becoming the “dominant cultural influence.”
The posts claimed that “mass immigration without consideration of cultural integration, combined with a growing aversion to assimilation are slowly transformed Canada into a place where shared identity is disappearing” and claimed the country has a “woke culture that pits children against their parents by creating a judicial system where parents can be incarcerated for refusing to let their minor child undergo gender transitions.”
Police board chair Frank Chong subsequently said he asked for Sakoma-Fadugba’s resignation, stating the social media posts “do not reflect the value of the Board and are inconsistent with our code of conduct.”
Sakoma told Global News that since the controversy, she had been flooded with both abuse and support.
The full list of signatories on the letter to Rustad includes:
- Tara Armstrong, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream
- Rosalyn Bird, MLA for Prince George-Valemount
- Dallas Brodie, MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena
- Brent Chapman, MLA for Surrey South
- Reann Gasper, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission
- Sharon Hartwell, MLA for Bulkley Valley-Stikine
- Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island
- Jordan Kealy, MLA for Peace River North
- Kristina Loewen, MLA for Kelowna Centre
- Macklin McCall, MLA for West Kelowna-Peachland
- Heather Maahs, MLA for Chilliwack North
- Korky Neufeld, MLA for Abbotsford West
- Ward Stammer, MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson
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