NDP calls for Liberals to fire Langley candidate who voted against rainbow crosswalk
Posted September 29, 2020 9:08 am.
Last Updated September 29, 2020 9:58 am.
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP (NEWS 1130) – NDP candidate for Vancouver-West End Spencer Chandra Herbert is calling for the B.C. Liberals to fire their candidate in the Langley East riding, after she voted against a rainbow crosswalk in her role as an elected councillor in the township.
Speaking from the Vancouver rainbow crosswalk in the West End on Monday, Chandra Herbert, who is a member of the LGBTQ community, called on Leader Andrew Wilkinson to “do what’s right,” and to stand for human rights.
“To put action behind his words,” Chandra Herbert said. “As we know, he has one candidate who has defended conversion therapy, and now, he has another candidate who doesn’t believe rainbow flags should be there in her community.”
It’s 2020 yet the BC Liberals are comfortable with a candidate who believes there’s room for conversion therapy, and a candidate who just tried to stop a rainbow crosswalk from coming into her town, not 10 years ago, but last week.
— Spencer Chandra Herbert (@SChandraHerbert) September 29, 2020
Kunst did not provide a reason for her vote against the rainbow crosswalk, which was ultimately approved by the rest of the councillors last week.
Her vote came the same day she was appointed by the Liberals as the party’s candidate in the Langley riding.
“They’ve selected her as a candidate. They still have time to choose somebody else that better reflects the values of British Columbia, that better reflects a stand for human rights and equality. It really is up to Andrew Wilkinson if he wants to choose one side, and that’s the greater equality and support for all, or he can choose the small minority,” Chandra Herbert said.
This isn’t the first time the B.C. Liberals have been criticized for issues related to the LGBTQ community. The party was accused of homophobia earlier this year after it paid for advertising in a conservative Christian magazine that defended conversion therapy.
Wilkinson said on Tuesday that he was sticking by his candidate, despite her vote. He claims the vote was one of “procedure,” and that Kunst shares his values that there is “no room for discrimination.”
-With files from Paul James
