BC Liberal MLA under fire for calling BIPOC NDP members ‘tokens’
Posted November 9, 2021 5:15 pm.
Last Updated November 9, 2021 5:18 pm.
An MLA who’s running to become the next leader of the BC Liberal Party is not apologizing for comments she made which suggested members of the NDP caucus who are women, Black, Indigenous or people of colour are “tokens.”
At a weekend gathering of provincial Liberal members, Renee Merrifield said, “They [the NDP ] still have five — no offence to anyone in the room — middle-aged white dudes controlling their entire party.”
“They have a photograph of diversity. They have token diversity. But they don’t have it real,” she added.
Merrifield’s comments prompted many BIPOC members of the NDP to call on Merrifield to apologize, saying the remark is insulting, demeaning, and undermines their work.
NPD MLA for Burnaby-Lougheed, Katrina Chen, called out the comments Merrifield made by saying, “No. This is wrong and undermining.”
“Do not diminish the work of your BIPOC colleagues by calling us ‘tokens,'” a tweet reads. “I’m proud of the hard work and sacrifice of my BIPOC colleagues and friends. You should apologize and reflect on the harm of your words.”
https://twitter.com/KatrinaCBurnaby/status/1457828213451722752
Niki Sharma, an MLA from serving Vancouver-Hasting, added, “BIPOC work 10 times harder to get elected and to be recognized- thanks for erasing our existence by calling us tokens.”
Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Melanie Mark also responded to the comments.
“As the first and only First Nations woman to serve in the BC Legislature and Cabinet, I do not appreciate being referred to as a token. Rather I am proudly elected to serve the people of my constituents of VMP/BC- my ancestors resilience/perseverance is an asset to our democracy.”
In response, Merrifield took to Twitter and said her words have been misunderstood, saying as a woman who has worked in male-dominated businesses and institutions she understands “the pain, passion and effort it takes to overcome the odds against diversity.”
Understanding the depth of pain, passion and effort it takes to overcome the odds against diversity, I would never intend to have that effect.
Just the opposite. 2/4#bcpoli #bclib22
— Renee Merrifield (@ReneeMerrifiel3) November 9, 2021
While she isn’t apologizing, she said that if she is the leader of the BC Liberals, she would be proud to “emulate the positive aspects of diversity achieved by [the NDP] caucus.”
“And I will continue to stand against discrimination, until all parties across Canada not only have representation from all, but have leadership that reflects that membership.”
– With files from Nikitha Martins
