In a composite image made of two photographs, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, left, walks after attending a ceremony at the LingYen Mountain Temple Buddhist monastery, in Richmond, B.C., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024; B.C. NDP Leader David Eby speaks with candidates, not shown, in North Vancouver B.C., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck, Ethan Cairns
The NDP has shared a video of B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad saying he regrets getting the “so-called vaccine” against COVID-19.
The video shows Rustad directly addressing a camera and saying vaccine mandates were “not so much” about achieving herd immunity or stopping the spread of the disease as they were about “shaping opinion and control of the population.”
The video, shared by the NDP on Day 3 of British Columbia’s provincial election, is an edited version of longer footage posted online by the BC Public Service Employees for Freedom, a group of former workers who believe they were discriminated against for not getting vaccinated.
The group says the conversation with Rustad took place on June 14 in an online meeting with its members.
Rustad wouldn’t comment directly on the video at a campaign event in Surrey, but said the previous inability of unvaccinated doctors and nurses to get their jobs back in B.C. was a “horrendous problem.”
The governing NDP lifted the vaccine mandate for health workers in July.
NDP Leader David Eby said of the video that Rustad was “promoting the idea that vaccines don’t work when in fact, the COVID vaccines saved so many lives in this province.”
Eby said on the campaign trail in Burnaby on Monday that voters should be considering if they can support and trust a leader who bases his thoughts and decision-making on “internet conspiracies.”
“These are not minor considerations,” said Eby. “These are really important for British Columbians to know. He says one thing that he thinks is secret that won’t get out and he says another thing in public. You can’t trust John Rustad on health policy on what he says because he’s always saying something different to different groups.”
Rustad, who was in Surrey on Monday making an announcement about affordability, said he had not seen the video.
“I understand why the NDP have decided to talk about things like vaccines, because they cannot defend their policies,” he said.
“For me, the most important thing that we have going on in B.C. today is the fact that people are leaving this province because they can’t afford to live here, and we need to be taking every step that we can to reduce those costs.”
He announced his party would introduce a tax deduction of up to $3,000 per month in housing costs – either rent or a mortgage – dubbing it the “Rustad rebate.”
Voters in B.C. go to the polls on Oct. 19.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
