VANCOUVER — Concerns are swirling around the candidate roster for the B.C. Conservative Party just over a week from the provincial election, with the B.C. Muslim Association calling for the removal of a candidate who called Palestinian children "time bombs."
In a letter to the party and Surrey South candidate Brent Chapman, the association says a statement like the one he posted on Facebook nine years ago "promotes division and hate" and it's imperative he be asked to step down.
Another candidate is facing criticism for telling constituents that when "people say they want to be First Nations" that comes with the responsibility to take care of people in the Downtown Eastside.
Dallas Brodie, who is standing in Vancouver-Quilchena made the remarks at a candidates event on Thursday, prompting NDP Leader David Eby to call the remarks ignorant.
Eby says Indigenous leaders have been working to provide housing and support in the Downtown Eastside and Brodie "wants to believe in her heart that Indigenous people are not taking action."
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad says he hasn't seen Brodie's comments, but the party has worked with Indigenous elders and leaders on expanding addiction treatment and recovery options run by First Nations.
Throughout the campaign, Rustad's party has been dealing with fallout from the emergence of a series of contentious remarks by candidates on social media.
Earlier this week the National Council of Canadian Muslims said Chapman's 2015 posts calling Palestinian children "inbred" and "walking, talking, breathing time bombs" were deeply Islamophobic, disgusting, and utterly unacceptable.
Chapman issued an apology, but Rustad has said he is standing by the candidate.
When asked about the tone of the campaign ahead of the Oct. 19 election day at an event in Comox, B.C., on Friday, Eby said it was important voters knew the values of candidates.
"I think people were making light of these candidates early on. They were calling them a clown car of candidates. And it's not a minor thing. These views are a threat to our way of life in British Columbia. What makes us successful and prosperous? Working together and communities that aren't divided and we need to fight that."
— With files from Chuck Chiang
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press
