Rustad: Kamloops “zero-bodies” claim true, but MLA unwelcome in caucus
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad expelled MLA and justice reform critic Dallas Brodie from caucus after she was embroiled in a controversy over her statements about the Kamloops Residential ...
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad expelled MLA and justice reform critic Dallas Brodie from caucus after she was embroiled in a controversy over her statements about the Kamloops Residential School site.
In his statement, Rustad claimed the expulsion had “nothing to do” with the “objectively true” claim that zero bodies had been uncovered at the site–referencing Brodie’s original “zero graves” post on X, which made her the target of the BC NDP and legacy media.
“I want to be clear – this has nothing to do with whether or not there are undiscovered remains at Kamloops Indian Residential School, where it is objectively true that no new bodies have been found,” said Rustad.
B.C. NDP Premier David Eby called for Brodie to be fired on Thursday after she appeared in a video where she further discussed her views on the Kamloops Residential School site – it was this appearance that Rustad claimed prompted her expulsion.
In his denunciation of Dallas, Premier Eby accused the BC Conservative leader of allowing a “space for racism” by not kicking her out of the party.
“Well, a big tent that has space for racism is not a political tent. That’s a circus tent, and he’s got to kick the clown out of the tent. And if he doesn’t do that, then I think we know exactly what kind of a leader he is,” said Eby.
Brodie shot back at Eby saying the NDP’s drug policies have damaged the Indigenous community in B.C.
“His party’s botched job on fentanyl and COVID chopped SIX YEARS off the lifespans of indigenous people,” Brodie said. “More theatrics from David Eby.”
She referenced a report by B.C’s First Nations Health Authority, which found that Indigenous life expectancy in the province fell from 73.3 years in 2017 to 67.2 years in 2021. Between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy for First Nations People decreased by 7.1 years.
Though Eby became premier in 2022, the First Nations Health Authority did attribute the sharp decline to the “dual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the toxic drug public health emergency.”
Brodie has been the target of attacks from both the BC NDP and members of her own party after she came to the defence of lawyer James Heller. Heller is suing the B.C. Law Society for refusing to correct a misleading claim in its training courses on Indigenous issues.
The training material claimed that on May 27, 2021, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation reported the discovery of an unmarked burial site containing the bodies of 215 children on the former Kamloops Indian Residential School grounds.”
Heller repeatedly requested that the training material be updated to include words such as “probable” or “suspected” as the Kamloops band themselves now note the discovery was of soil anomalies. Heller also alleges defamation from his own law society which called him racist rather than correct the material.
Rustad said that despite firing Brodie, the Conservative Party of BC team would take over her AG critic profile — including continuing to advocate that the Law Society of BC uses accurate language in training materials and” does not unduly agitate against its members.”
While defending herself against criticism online, Brodie said there are some people in her party that she thinks should be in the NDP. In his statement, Rustad accused Dallas of employing a “mocking, child-like” tone when describing her critics.
According to Rustad’s statement, this was the last straw.
“As a result of her decision to publicly mock and belittle testimony from former residential school students, including by mimicking individuals recounting stories of abuses — including child sex abuse, MLA Brodie is not welcome to return to our Conservative Party of BC Caucus,” the statement said.
“Horrible things happened to vulnerable children at Residential Schools — including pedophiles preying on children; at Kamloops Indian Residential School, Gerald Mathieu Moran was charged and convicted by Canadian courts with several dozen sex crimes he committed against children while working there.”
Rustad did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.
Rustads the disappointment in this story. Finally politicians are speaking what we all know the truth
Well Mr. Rustad and any concerned, all of these things happen regular public schools. And to maybe at a higher rate. When will something be done about that. We have teachers who seduce their studends, sell them drugs. Where is the government and the laws there. The natives are not the only one's on the list.