BC Conservative Leader John Rustad is approaching the finish line of the B.C. election the same way he started: On the defensive over stupid, outrageous comments made by his candidates on social media.
Rustad tried to unveil his party’s platform to reform BC Ferries on Thursday, but was pummelled by reporters over why he hasn’t fired Surrey South candidate Brent Chapman for Facebook comments that disparage Muslims.
“They are all little inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs,” Chapman wrote, in posts unearthed by CKNW host Jas Johal this week. “Figuratively and quite literally.”
Chapman has since apologized, saying the comments were “completely unacceptable” and “do not reflect who I am today or the respect and admiration I hold for the Palestinian and Muslim communities.”
Rustad pointed to the apology, and the fact the posts were made in 2015, as rationale to keep Chapman on the ticket.
“Brent has come out and made an apology, we have two Muslims who are running for us and he has spoken to both of them, and they have both accepted this apology,” said Rustad.
“I look at the statement, quite frankly, it’s wrong. It’s something that we do not support. I have also accepted Brent’s apology.
“I will say this, as the Conservative Party of British Columbia, we will not stand for anti-Palestinian Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Asian hate.”
But if that latter point is true, why not show Chapman the door, Rustad was asked.
“People sometimes make mistakes,” he said. “However, I think what is important is actions. So we’ll see. Brent has already reached out, like I say, to the candidates, to people on our team, and apologized. They’ve accepted that apology.”
It may also have something to do with the fact Chapman is married to Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the federal Conservative MP for South Surrey-White Rock. Not easily could Rustad eject Chapman without drawing the ire of Findlay, a former cabinet minister and still powerful influence within the much larger federal Conservative movement.
Still, Rustad has been dogged by controversial candidates for months. Some he’s removed, others he’s stood by. Collectively, though, they’ve been quicksand under his feet, slowly pulling him down, each one making it harder for him to move forward toward an election victory.
There was Rachel Weber, in Prince George, who compared 5G cellphone signals to “genocide” and contactless payment methods to the rapture. Rustad replaced her during the BC United merger.
Prior to that, he fired a Denman Island doctor for claiming COVID-19 vaccines give you magnetism, an Esquimalt nurse for claiming vaccines spread COVID-19 and a Courtenay candidate for calling LGBTQ people “degenerates.”
He’s also, at times, refused to act. Like when his North Coast candidate suggested that COVID-19 contributes to AIDS, or his Vancouver-Langara candidate attributed the high rate of Indigenous people in prisons to the fact they commit more crimes.
Then there are Rustad’s own online follies, like the online video in which he says he regrets getting vaccinated because it was part of Dr. Bonnie Henry’s population control methods, or when he appeared to express support for the idea of “Nuremberg 2.0” trials of public health officials like Nazi war criminals.
What exactly is the “red line” for comments that would cause ejection from the Conservative party, Rustad was asked Thursday.
“I think British Columbians look at actions more than words,” he replied, before launching into an attack against NDP Leader David Eby and his candidates.
The dodge didn’t work, and he was pulled back to the question again by another reporter.
“If I have MLAs that promote and support hate, certainly that is not something that I would support as a Conservative party at all,” said Rustad. “I find that quite frankly unacceptable.”
But don’t candidates like Chapman, espousing hate, undermine that very stance against hate, Rustad was asked.
“Hate crimes that are happening in this province without any crackdown from this premier, I think those actions speak far louder than words from 10 years ago,” he said.
“But ultimately, they’ll be a decision for the people of British Columbia to make.”
On that, Rustad is correct. It’s the voters who will decide. And there’s a very real possibility they conclude that the cavalcade of idiocy that has come from numerous Conservative candidates — and occasionally the leader himself — means the BC Conservative party is not ready or fit to govern.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 16 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
