In their only direct exchange of the night, BC NDP candidate Clay Pountney called on his Prince George-Valemount opponent Rosalyn Bird of the Conservative Party of BC to discuss the future of one of her party’s candidates who made discriminatory comments in the past.
Brent Chapman has admitted to posting derogatory online statements about Palestinian people in 2015 and for calling mass shootings, including those at the Quebec mosque and the Sandy Hook school case in the U.S., hoaxes in 2017. While Conservative Leader John Rustad condemned Chapman’s 2015 statements, and Chapman later apologized, he remains the candidate in Surrey South.
The exchange came at the end of the two-hour all-candidates form Tuesday, Oct. 15, which was held at the downtown studios of CFIS and broadcast live. The first hour was made up of prepared questions from moderators Res Krebs, Nicole Fraser and Trudy Klassen, while the second had the moderators ask the candidates written questions submitted by the public.
In the last question of the night, a member of a visible minority who lives in northern BC wanted the panel to discuss whether candidates who have expressed racist, bigoted or misogynistic opinions in the past should be kept on the ballot. “What role does the party have in ensuring that this isn’t something that becomes commonplace or accepted within our multicultural and diverse communities,” Klassen read from the question.
BC Green Party candidate Gwen Johansson said it should be up to party leaders to take action: “I think that that is the position of all the parties, and so I do believe that if it's a severe enough infraction, then a person would no longer be part of that party,” she said.
“I think this goes beyond parties,” said Bird in response. “This is an individual responsibility. So we currently live in a society where we have actually lost the ability to have conversations with people unless we agree with them. And that is a very dangerous place for us to be. And so I think when you're talking about certain comments, you know, it's just not acceptable. Racism is not acceptable. Discrimination is not acceptable. You know, being rude, disrespectful is not acceptable. And I think we all have to decide as individuals what it is we want to see our communities and our families and our country look like. And so, yeah, there is a piece of leadership there. But we all have a leadership role in regards to that and the example that we want to present to our youth.”
As was the practice throughout the event, the question was followed by a two-minute period where candidates could expand on their answers or question other candidates about theirs.
“We did have a call today to remove an MLA from the Conservative Party,” said Pountney. “I know a lot of people are calling (for it). What are your thoughts on that, Rosalyn, for removing – I think his name is Chapman – for his extreme comments on a different group of people?”
“Well, I'm not going to speak to Brent Chapman's comments,” Bird replied. “That's up to Brent Chapman to do. I don’t know which comments he did or he didn't make. So that's his response, to step up and …”
“It’s a leader's responsibility, too,” Pountney interjected.
“You're right,” said Bird. “This has been a very divisive province for a long time now. And there's a lot of reasons for that. There's individuals that don't want to play the game. We have a media that is often, you know, publishing stories that don't tell every side or aren't truthful. So there's a lot of reasons things are being said across our society right now.
“So, like I said, that's an individual responsibility. I know how I act and can be respectful and dignified as an MLA. I want to be the change. I want to be the change that I want to see in the world. And so I can't speak (for) another candidate. I can only speak (for) myself. I do not agree with racism or discriminatory comments or being rude or being disrespectful or mudslinging.”
Other topics discussed earlier in the night included the forestry industry, homelessness, health care, rent prices and housing, with the candidates laying out their parties’ approach to addressing issues affecting local voters.
A second all-candidates forum for the Prince George-Mackenzie happens Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 7-9 p.m. and will be aired live on CFIS 93.1 FM.
