The BC Conservatives have dismissed rumours suggesting that a website calling for leader John Rustad's ouster did not originate from within the party.The creator of "firejohnrustad.ca" took aim at Rustad over his acceptance of certain candidates who had served for, or supported, opposition parties in the past, accusing him of putting power over the preservation of conservative values."We have evidence that this is not a campaign by a member, but in fact, a third party campaign masquerading as members," BC Conservatives Campaign Director Angelo Isidorou told the Western Standard. He added that the party will soon be notifying Elections BC to discuss further action..President Aisha Estey disavowed the message promoted by the website, making it clear that "you don't need to pass an ideological purity test to be in this party. You simply need to want common sense change from an NDP gov that is failing on every level.""As members of the BC Conservative Party, who pre-date John Rustad's appointment as leader, we are severely concerned by the abandonment of Conservative values of our party," the website's homepage stated, citing five current candidates as "just some of the examples of John choosing whoever it takes to get into power, while abandoning the core principles of our party."Those behind the website referred to Salmon Arm-Shuswap candidate David Williams as a "Green Party supporter," and Surrey-Panorama, Langley-Willowbrook, and Nanaimo-Lantzville candidates Dupinder Saran, Dr. Jody Toor, and Gwen O'Mahony as "NDP activists."The harshest criticism, however, was directed at Richmond-Bridgeport candidate Teresa Watt, who was deemed to be a "Pro-China Liberal.""Anyone should be able to join our party," the website's creator added, "but we cannot allow our MLAs to be made-up for people who do not support our core values." .Below profiles of the aforementioned candidates highlighting their past, the website provided visitors with an opportunity to add their name and email address to send a personalised note to Rustad."Dear John," it read. "As a member and supporter of the BC Conservative Party, I am appalled to hear of your decision to allow pro-Beijing former-Liberal MLA Teresa Wat into our movement. I stand against communism and pro-Beijing policies. We must protect democracy. This, combined with the appointment of several pro-NDP radicals has me concerned over the erosion of Conservative values in our party. I ask you to remove Teresa Wat from our party immediately, and to consult the membership better in the future."
The BC Conservatives have dismissed rumours suggesting that a website calling for leader John Rustad's ouster did not originate from within the party.The creator of "firejohnrustad.ca" took aim at Rustad over his acceptance of certain candidates who had served for, or supported, opposition parties in the past, accusing him of putting power over the preservation of conservative values."We have evidence that this is not a campaign by a member, but in fact, a third party campaign masquerading as members," BC Conservatives Campaign Director Angelo Isidorou told the Western Standard. He added that the party will soon be notifying Elections BC to discuss further action..President Aisha Estey disavowed the message promoted by the website, making it clear that "you don't need to pass an ideological purity test to be in this party. You simply need to want common sense change from an NDP gov that is failing on every level.""As members of the BC Conservative Party, who pre-date John Rustad's appointment as leader, we are severely concerned by the abandonment of Conservative values of our party," the website's homepage stated, citing five current candidates as "just some of the examples of John choosing whoever it takes to get into power, while abandoning the core principles of our party."Those behind the website referred to Salmon Arm-Shuswap candidate David Williams as a "Green Party supporter," and Surrey-Panorama, Langley-Willowbrook, and Nanaimo-Lantzville candidates Dupinder Saran, Dr. Jody Toor, and Gwen O'Mahony as "NDP activists."The harshest criticism, however, was directed at Richmond-Bridgeport candidate Teresa Watt, who was deemed to be a "Pro-China Liberal.""Anyone should be able to join our party," the website's creator added, "but we cannot allow our MLAs to be made-up for people who do not support our core values." .Below profiles of the aforementioned candidates highlighting their past, the website provided visitors with an opportunity to add their name and email address to send a personalised note to Rustad."Dear John," it read. "As a member and supporter of the BC Conservative Party, I am appalled to hear of your decision to allow pro-Beijing former-Liberal MLA Teresa Wat into our movement. I stand against communism and pro-Beijing policies. We must protect democracy. This, combined with the appointment of several pro-NDP radicals has me concerned over the erosion of Conservative values in our party. I ask you to remove Teresa Wat from our party immediately, and to consult the membership better in the future."