John Rustad removed as B.C. Conservatives’ leader, party says, but Rustad says not true

The B.C. Conservative Party says John Rustad has been “removed” as leader of the Opposition and a caucus vote has installed MLA Trevor Halford as interim leader.

“It’s a pretty fluid situation right now,” Halford told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve been asked to take on the job as interim leader for the party and I’ve accepted that.”

The announcement about Rustad comes after 20 MLAs representing a majority of Rustad’s caucus said they had lost confidence in him and wanted him out, but he refused to resign and said there was no way they could remove him.

Rustad cited the party constitution, which says a leader can only be removed by resignation, death, incapacitation or a leadership review.

His supporters roamed the legislature on Wednesday, insisting he remained Opposition leader, despite a news release on party letterhead saying he was removed because he was “professionally incapacitated.”

In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Rustad said, “I have not resigned, I have not been removed, and I am not going anywhere.

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“A political party’s board can throw around whatever creative terminology they like, ‘professional incapacitation’? Give me a break Let me be clear : That’s not a constitutional mechanism.”

2:00 BC Conservatives Management Committee wants Rustad to step down

But the party says it”respects the democratic will” of the majority of the caucus.

Some Conservative MLAs continued to call Rustad their leader, despite the news release.

Abbotsford West MLA Korky Neufeld turned the question of the leadership on reporters, asking them, “What did you hear?”

“We’ll have to find out,” he said, adding that he “always stood with John, from beginning to the end.”

And the party’s leader?

“Right now, it’s John Rustad,” Neufeld said.

Reann Gasper of Abbotsford-Mission said there had to be “order in the process, and this is out of order.”

“I am disappointed in my colleagues. I am disappointed in the way that this has taken shape,” she said.

Gasper, too, insisted that Rustad remained the Opposition leader, while the Conservatives’ house leader, A’aliya Warbus, said another press release would clarify exactly who was leading the Opposition.

The announcement on Wednesday comes after lawyer Bruce Hallsor wrote to party president Aisha Estey saying he was in possession of letters from the 20 MLAs calling for Rustad’s removal.