Kelowna MLA Renee Merrifield has spoken out against what she calls a B次元官网网址渄espicableB次元官网网址� and insulting comment made by John Rustad, leader of the Conservative Party of BC
The comment stems from a town hall meeting, which Rustad attended Dec. 5 in Surrey, where participants addressed the.
Rustad posted on post on X (formerly Twitter) after the meeting that local South Asian business owners had told him that they were concerned about B次元官网网址渢hird world crimeB次元官网网址� coming to Canada.
I met with South Asian business owners in Surrey who are concerned about third world crime coming to Canada.
B次元官网网址� John Rustad (@JohnRustad4BC)
Gangs threaten their businesses and ask for B次元官网网址減rotectionB次元官网网址� money.
Entrepreneurs come to BC for safety & opportunityB次元官网网址� we should deport & jail criminals who harass them. 1/2
In response to RustadB次元官网网址檚 tweet, people of Indian descent spoke with Capital B次元官网网址 and raised concerns about the B次元官网网址渢hird world crimeB次元官网网址� comment.
The individuals asked to remain anonymous for fear of backlash. They explained that differentiating between crime committed by people of South Asian descent from all other crime could cause divisions within B.C.B次元官网网址檚 community. They explained the label of B次元官网网址渢hird world crimeB次元官网网址� perpetuates already-present racism.
Merrifield, BC United MLA for Kelowna-Mission said that she rejects the term and condemns RustadB次元官网网址檚 statement.
B次元官网网址淩ustadB次元官网网址檚 portrayal of the South Asian community as B次元官网网址榯hird worldB次元官网网址� is despicable,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t shows a racial bias that is an ugly reality for many British Columbians of ethnic descent.B次元官网网址�
She explained that all crime is equal and that creating divisions is unnecessary and potentially harmful.
Merrifield said B.C.B次元官网网址檚 crime rate is a symptom of judicial policies created by the current provincial government, rather than being an issue disseminating from another country.
Merrifield urges Rustad to take action and improve the systems in place that enable a , rather than placing blame on a group of people.
B次元官网网址淐omments like Mr. RustadB次元官网网址檚 perpetuate a racial bias and put the South Asian community in danger,B次元官网网址� Merrifield said.
The past year has seen several attacks on the South Asian community in Kelowna. One instance saw an international student taken to the hospital after being
Police in Abbotsford, Surrey and Vancouver first warned of the extortion letters on Nov. 23.
The police said that anyone who receives what they believe to be an extortion letter the letter should not engage or send money and should instead contact police immediately.
Rustad has not responded to interview requests, but this article will be updated as more information becomes available.
