A provincial New Democrat executive member and former candidate has quit the party over its "marginalization of Indigenous peoples, communities, voices and issues."
In a letter obtained by Public Eye, Troy Sebastian made it clear he wasn't renouncing his membership because of party leader Carole James, who is part Métis.
"Her warmth, friendship and support towards me in the nine years I have known her would be remarkable enough; that she has not changed at all since becoming leader is a testament to who she is," the now former executive member-at-large wrote.
But, he stated, "the indifference and privilege that the party demonstrates towards Indigenous peoples is shameful" - especially for a "party that so effortlessly espouses social justice as a core principle and consistently fails to address these issues."
"Consider how many Indigenous voices there are within the BCNDP." Writing on the eve of this past weekend's provincial council meeting, Sebastian asked members of the party's governing body to "look around the room and determine if Indigenous peoples are represented."
He also took issue with the New Democrats' handling of the B.C. Conservatives' commitment to opposing aboriginal title in the government's proposed Recognition and Reconciliation Act.
"That a party could espouse such ignorant vitriol towards Indigenous peoples without a response from the BCNDP was highly disappointing," wrote Sebastian, who was the New Democrat candidate in Kootenay East during the last election -the same riding in which Conservative leader Wilf Hanni ran.
"For me, it illustrated how the party is bereft of understanding of the issue and complacent towards any notion of change. I asked the party to respond. The party chose to ignore it. I cannot fathom the privilege that would produce this sort of reasoning," he stated.
However, in concluding the letter, he extended an olive branch to the New Democrats: "I ask that this letter be read not as a mean-spirited challenge to the party or its values, but as a difficult and personal decision. I can no longer subsume my Indigenousness in order to be a member of this party. I look forward to a day when the BCNDP stands in unequivocal solidarity with Indigenous peoples in this land."
In response, the party's aboriginal relations and reconciliation critic Scott Fraser stated, "His concerns resonate loud and true with me."
"I know Troy well and I very much respect his letter," the critic continued. "We do this to each other. We challenge each other. And I consider this a challenge. And I'm going to try to live up to that."
Moe money, mo problems
Money from two major unions is paying the lion's share of provincial New Democrat president Moe Sihota's controversial stipend, Public Eye has exclusively learned.
The party confirmed it was paying Sihota using a "generous, earmarked gift from the labour movement" late last month.
But it refused to answer some specific questions about the arrangement - including which members of the movement put money in that pot.
Sources within the New Democrats have said some MLAs are upset about being kept in the dark about the deal for almost a year, while others are concerned about how it was structured.
Party officials - including Sihota - tried to allay some of those concerns during a closed-door meeting of the New Democrats' governing council this past Sunday (Nov. 21).
Delegates were told the stipend is being funded, in part, using two $30,000 donations from the Canadian Union of Public Employees British Columbia and the United Steelworkers.
CUPE B.C. president Barry O'Neil confirmed the contribution in an interview with Public Eye, stating, "I'm glad they decided to use it where they use it. And certainly I feel good about that.
"If you want someone to do full-time work for the party, you need to make sure they're at least compensated on it. I don't think there can be any arguments we're talking about a million-dollar golden handshake. This is a pretty minimal compensation package."
British Columbia Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair already came forward in October to say his group donated $4,000 toward Sihota's stipend.
Sean Holman is editor of the online provincial political news journal Public Eye (publiceyeonline.com). He can be reached at [email protected].
