BC Conservative MLAs want Sturko to apologize to ex-VPD board member

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Thirteen B.C. Conservative MLAs are calling for party leader John Rustad to take action and ensure a Vancouver police board member who was forced to resign over comments made on social media receives a written apology.

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The group is particularly upset that one of their own, Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko, said she thought it was appropriate for the board to accept the resignation of vice-chair Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba, calling her comments offensive.

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“It is our view that the statements caused undue harm to Ms. Sakoma and called into question our commitment to the core values shared by Conservatives,” they wrote in a letter, dated Nov. 29.

CKNW radio host Jas Johal first obtained the letter, which he posted online.

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In screenshots shared on Reddit, Sakoma-Fadugba’s lengthy posts talk about “a growing aversion to assimilation,” expressed concern about gender transitioning among children, and suggested that Hindu values might become “the dominant cultural influence” in Canada, replacing what she claimed were traditional Canadian values.

She also claimed that her son’s participation in a Diwali celebration at school made her realize that the “push for secular education wasn’t about religion,” but about “erasing Christian values from the lives of our children.”

Police board chair Frank Chong asked for Sakoma-Fadugba’s resignation after the comments came to light, saying they “do not reflect the value of the Board and are inconsistent with our code of conduct.”

Some B.C. Conservatives have rallied behind Sakoma-Fadugba, calling her a victim of “cancel culture.”

“Cancel culture is alive and well at the Vancouver Police Board. She never should have resigned and shame on those who pressured her to do it,” Aisha Estey, the B.C. Conservative party president, wrote on X.

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The 13 MLAs asked Rustad to “invite” Sturko to provide a written apology to Sakoma-Fadugba or to provide one himself on behalf of the party. The letter stated that Sakoma-Fadugba’s posts “express views many Conservatives … hold in support for parental rights, religious faith, and the pursuit of shared Canadian values.”

“Under your leadership, the Conservative Party of B.C. has consistently denounced ‘cancel culture’ and stood for the Charter rights British Columbians enjoy to free expression and freedom of religion,” they wrote.

Rustad has previously said his MLAs would be free to speak their minds.

Signatories to the letter come from across the province, including South Surrey MLA Brent Chapman, who was forced to apologize for his earlier social media comments where he called Palestinians “inbred walking talking breathing time bombs.”

In a text message, Sturko said she had spoken with Rustad and that she wouldn’t comment on the letter, as it was addressed to him.

“I have not been asked to write a letter (of apology) and will not be writing one,” she said.

Sturko was an MLA for B.C. United before crossing the floor in June to join Rustad as one of the party’s earliest MLAs.

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Postmedia contacted Rustad for comment but did not hear back.

The MLAs who signed the letter are: Tara Armstrong, Rosalyn Bird, Dallas Brodie, Brent Chapman, Reann Gasper, Sharon Hartwell, Jordan Kealy, Anna Kindy, Kristina Loewen, Heather Maahs, Macklin McCall, Korky Neufeld and Ward Stamer.

— With a file from Sarah Grochowski

Read the full letter from the 13 MLAs about Sturko’s comments:

ngriffiths@postmedia.com

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