B.C.'s New Democrats issued a release Monday highlighting a Surrey Conservative MLA's criticism and concerns about her own party hosting an "anti-abortion, homophobic, and anti-trans group" at the B.C. legislature.
Last Tuesday (April 29), Chilliwack North Conservative MLA Heather Maahs hosted a reception at the B.C. legislature for the Association for Reformed Political Action, an organization which believes homosexuality is “immoral,” abortion should be criminalized, and conversion therapy bans should be reversed, the NDP release said.
Surrey-Cloverdale Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko criticized Conservative party leader John Rustad and her caucus for hosting a group that “actively works against the rights of other British Columbians," the release continued, and listed 21 MLAs who they say attended the reception, including Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford, among others.
During her introduction to the event, Maahs praised ARPA and highlighted their longstanding alignment with the views of the BC Conservative Party, the NDP release noted.
"Many of their stances align with our common sense approach as the Conservative Party of B.C. They defend parental rights, they speak for the protection of life and harm created by MAID, and for the division created by the learning resource SOGI 123 in our public schools," Maahs was credited with saying.
On Monday (May 5), Sturko said "Ultimately, I have to stand up personally for what I believe, and that's what I've done."
Although she hadn't seen the NDP release, she reiterated that she believes British Columbia should be inclusive for all — at all levels.
"I think that the Hall of Honour ... it's a place that represents all British Columbians, and it does not align with my personal values or beliefs — nor the majority of British Columbians' (beliefs) — that we should host in the legislature groups that would be working against the rights of others, or would hold beliefs that are hurtful against our fellow British Columbians," she said.
Sturko, who is gay, said this wasn't an issue she anticipated when she ran for the Conservative Party of B.C.
"No, I actually did not think I would be placed in a situation where we would be having this conversation right now. ... I'm a strong believer in free speech (and) freedom of thought. Every person in British Columbia is free to choose. ... I do not believe that (ARPA) is a group that is aligned with (the views of) most of the people in my riding," or even most of those in the caucus, Sturko said.
Many of her colleagues, in fact, reached out to her over the weekend, to tell her they had no idea what ARPA is, or the view the group holds, she said.
"They actually weren't aware of some of the views held by this group, and they were very apologetic and very regretful of going to it. They thought the group was carefully vetted, and it's clear that they weren't," said Sturko.
She said she does not believe most of her colleagues are homophobic or hold such views.
Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford, one of the Conservative MLAs on the list of attendees, said he was simply passing through and didn't realize which group was being hosted, or their values.
"I support an inclusive British Columbia and an inclusive community. I'm proud to represent that," Halford said Monday. "I'm not familiar with this group, but I'm very familiar with my own personal beliefs — I come from a place of tolerance. I will always stand up against anything that is intolerant or anything that impedes the rights of the people I represent," Halford said. "My track record, I think, speaks for itself."
Another Conservative MLA, Penticton-Summerland's Amelia Boultbee, joined Sturko in speaking out against hosting the group in the legislature.
"ARPA espouses positions myself and the majority of my constituents reject," Boultbee said on X/X. "I wouldn’t willingly be caught dead with them in public and I believe it’s an error they were allowed in the Hall of Honour at the legislature."
The NDP release said Rustad and the BC Conservative Party have a long history of condoning attacks on reproductive and human rights, and quoted Coquitlam-Maillardville NDP MLA Jennifer Blatherwick.
“At a time when we’re seeing Donald Trump stripping people’s rights away in the U.S., it’s disturbing to see John Rustad officially recognizing a group that wants to roll back reproductive rights and believes LGBTQ people are fundamentally immoral," she said. "I am glad Elenore Sturko is calling out the discriminatory beliefs of this group. We stand with her in condemning John Rustad for making space for these backwards views her party has tolerated for too long.”
Sturko said that while she will always stand up for herself and what she believes in, her focus remains on fighting for a safer, more affordable B.C. with accessible health care, especially in her role as critic for Solicitor General and Public Safety, and noted abortion and MAID aren't even provincial laws.
"My focus and my mandate given to me by my constituents is to fight for those core issues, not to fight a culture war."
