Theresa Tam to step down as Canada's chief public health officer
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Summary
Chief Public Health Officer Teresa Tam has announced she will be stepping down from her role on June 20th, after a controversial tenure in the role. Tam became a household name and a controversial figure during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she featured in dozens of public news conferences to update the public on the pandemic on a regular basis.
Transcript
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Chief Public Health Officer Teresa Tam has announced she will be stepping down on June 20th
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Liberal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandesangri says that he will recuse himself from any conversation
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involving the Sri Lankan terrorist group the Tamil Tigers, citing a potential conflict of interest.
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British Columbia has a new centre-right party with official party status in the B.C. legislature called 1B.C.
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Hello Canada, it's Monday, June 16th and this is the True North Daily Brief.
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We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
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Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
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Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Teresa Tam, will be stepping down from her role
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after eight years of service and controversial oversight of federal COVID-19 pandemic policies.
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Tam became a household name and a controversial figure during the pandemic,
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where she featured in dozens of public news conferences to update the public on the pandemic on a regular basis.
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Tam was at the forefront of the federal government's messaging during the pandemic
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and was a central authority figure in making policy recommendations to the government
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During the pandemic, Tam made a number of controversial public statements
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and recommended that the government take a top-down, domineering approach
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to controlling the pandemic with social distancing requirements, mask mandates, and vaccine passports.
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At the beginning of Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
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Tam advised Canadians that wearing a mask in public was not necessary for healthy individuals,
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even warning the masks could lead to a further spreading of the virus.
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However, masks would become a central component to the government's response to the pandemic,
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mandating the use of masks in every part of the country.
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So much so that in September 2020, Tam advised Canadians to wear masks while having sex
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Tam was a leading voice behind the government's restrictions on international travel,
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enforcing mandatory testing and aggressive quarantine requirements.
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The requirements resulted in dozens of travelers being hit with fines over $1,000.
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Tam was also a champion of recommending and encouraging compliance with the government's
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vaccine passport system, despite acknowledging that there was no evidence that vaccine passports
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would work in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.
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During her time as Chief Public Health Officer, Tam frequently referred to pregnant women or mothers
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as pregnant people or breastfeeding people in an attempt to use progressive and gender-neutral language.
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Tam leaves the role as Canada's top health official on June 20th,
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having presided over a marked decline in public trust in health institutions.
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So Noah, how will Canadians remember Teresa Tam and her management of the COVID-19 pandemic?
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Well, they'll probably not remember it very fondly.
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Teresa Tam, as you mentioned, became the public face of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
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And during her time, she made a number of just controversial and, quite frankly, asinine statements.
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For example, her flip-flopping on the mask issue really confused Canadians
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and really led to the beginning of a lot of the distrust that we saw in public health officials,
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justifiably so, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where they advised that you should not be wearing a mask
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in order to save PPE for our health care officials and instead to carry on your daily tasks and not to panic
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and then switching on a dime and basically saying that if you leave your house without a mask,
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And, you know, if you don't pay those fines, you could be arrested.
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So masks became a central component to the pandemic response,
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whereas in the beginning it was something to be avoided.
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Similarly, Tam and many public health experts reassured Canadians
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that the government would not be taking such an authoritarian, top-down approach
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to mitigating the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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However, this was the opposite of what had developed in the next coming years
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with vaccine mandates, with mask mandates, with international travel restrictions,
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so much so that it generated a lot of anger and created the Freedom Convoy,
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which was largely a protest against public health officials like Theresa Tam.
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And the Freedom Convoy, while, you know, it being a bit of a divisive issue for many Canadians,
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at least half of the Canadian public was sympathetic with the cause,
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basically doubling down on the fact that Theresa Tam had lost the confidence of the public.
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As a public health official, as the chief public health officer,
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your goal is to ensure that the public remains confident in the government
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However, that was the opposite of what happened.
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We saw a marked decline in public trust in health institutions over these past years,
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and that damage has not been restored in these recent years for good reason.
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I mean, after several years of public health officials giving false promises to the Canadian public,
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saying, oh, we just need to reach a vaccination rate of 75%,
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and then all the pandemic restrictions can go away,
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and then Canada reaching an 80%, 81% vaccination rate,
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and the mask mandates, and the lockdowns, and the vaccine mandates, they all remained.
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Meanwhile, the people who were unvaccinated, who decided not to take a vaccine for legitimate reasons
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or just reasons that concern their own health, they were demonized,
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and they were made into sort of electoral fodder for the Liberal Party to win a re-election in 2021.
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And a lot of that was narratives that were pursued by Chief Health Officer Theresa Tam.
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So I don't really think Theresa Tam will be remembered fondly, at least by half the Canadian public.
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Sure, maybe the half of the Canadian public that was really enthusiastic about lockdowns
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and the government's response might remember her fondly.
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But for a whole other half of the Canadian public, she is a representation of much of the pain and hardship
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that Canadians had to go through during the pandemic that they potentially did not have to go through
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had the government not taken such a domineering authoritarian approach to responding to the pandemic.
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Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasanguri said that he would recuse himself from any conversation
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regarding two designated terrorist groups based in Sri Lanka.
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Anandasanguri cited a potential conflict of interest tied to his personal background and community ties
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as a Sri Lankan native of Tamil origin who immigrated to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1983.
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The two groups in question are the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam and the World Tamil Movement.
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In a published statement sent to Global News on Tuesday, Anandasanguri's office said he had
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stepped away from, quote, any matter related to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, Tamil Tigers
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or the World Tamil Movement, out of an abundance of caution.
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The statement came in response to questions about the conflict of interest disclosure.
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His office had earlier stated that the minister had asked officials, quote,
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to implement a screen on any national security issues relating to the Tamil community
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due to his roots in Sri Lanka and his history of involvement with Tamil diaspora issues.
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Public Safety Canada maintains a federal list of terrorist entities which lists both groups.
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The Tamil Tigers, responsible for a protracted civil war in Sri Lanka,
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were designated as a terrorist organization by Canada in 2006.
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The World Tamil Movement was added in 2008, with RCMP investigations linking it to fundraising
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The Tamil Tigers are designated as a terrorist group by the United States,
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the United Kingdom, the European Union, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and India.
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India was the first country to apply the terrorism designation in 1992
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in response to the 1991 assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
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Chinorth reached out to the Sri Lankan and Indian embassies but did not receive or apply in time.
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So, Isaac, I think it would concern a lot of Canadians to know that the chief politician
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responsible for Canada's public safety is unable to decide on matters that concern certain terrorist organizations.
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So, Isaac, how can Minister Anandasangri carry out his task as the public safety minister
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if he cannot be involved in discussions concerning terrorist organizations like the Tamil Tigers?
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So, obviously, Minister Anandasangri's decision to recuse himself from matters involving the Tamil Tigers
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and the World Tamil movement raises serious concerns about his ability to fully execute his role
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as public safety minister, especially since, as you said, both groups are designated terrorist entities
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on Canada's official list, along with 77 other for a total of 79 entities.
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So, as the minister responsible for national security, counter-terrorism, and the oversight of intelligence agencies,
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his portfolio includes serious responsibilities related to the listing, delisting, and monitoring of terrorist organizations.
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And by stepping away from any involvement in issues related to the two entities due to his personal conflict
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stemming from his Tamil heritage and past advocacy,
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it potentially limits his ability to provide oversight or input on matters within his jurisdiction.
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And while his office states that the move was made out of an abundance of caution,
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it raises the question of whether such a recusal creates a precedent where personal background can compromise engagement
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with sensitive national security files, and it also puts additional pressure on deputy ministers
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or other cabinet members to fill the resulting policy gap.
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Ultimately, if a minister cannot engage with designated terrorist groups due to personal affiliations,
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it could be argued that it calls into question whether that individual can serve impartially and fully
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in a role that demands comprehensive oversight over all national security threats, regardless of origin.
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And listeners may remember Ananda Sangri from Conservative MP Andrew Lawton's basic line of questioning to him,
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where he failed to answer basic questions surrounding Canada's gun laws.
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And this has become a recurring theme for Lawton, exposing Liberal ministers for not knowing basic questions about their files.
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Because, of course, shortly after, Lawton later revealed the Treasury Board President Shafkat Ali,
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who similarly couldn't answer basic questions about Canada's ballooning federal service.
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Two former BC Conservative MLAs have launched a new centre-right party named 1BC.
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Led in the interim by Vancouver Kilchenna MLA Dallas Brody,
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and joined by Kelowna Lake Country Coldstream MLA Tara Armstrong,
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1BC notably did not have the support of former BC Conservative MLA Jordan Keeley,
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who had departed from the party in solidarity with Brody's expulsion.
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Brody claims that the BC Conservatives and NDP have made a mockery of British Columbian democracy
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and promised to bring democratic, economic, and social reform to the province to reverse socialist policies.
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After nearly a decade of socialist policies, our province is falling apart.
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And when I realized that none of the other parties had the integrity or courage to make the bold changes we need to survive,
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namely a promise to cut the income tax by 50% for those making $100,000 and under,
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and a 25% tax cut for everyone else, including on corporate income.
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On culture, 1BC is promising to confront the issue of declining birth rates and marriage rates,
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dismantle what it calls the reconciliation industry,
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forbid teachers' unions from striking by legislating education as an essential service,
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and put an end to the flow of fentanyl from China.
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1BC also promises to allow British Columbians to choose private health care options
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1BC is promising to end the practice of multi-day voting
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and conduct same-day, in-person voting using paper ballots with the results being counted by hand.
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The party is also proposing to allow for referendums on major issues
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Since the NDP lowered the threshold to achieving official party status within the legislature,
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1BC will be able to obtain such status, granting them a host of privileges,
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including receiving taxpayer funding, office space, and time during question period.
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In a comment to True North, a spokesperson from the 1BC leaders' office
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alleged the party is expecting a number of MLAs to join in the coming months
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and encouraged independent MLA Jordan Keeley to join the party.
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as is any other MLA who is prepared to fight for this province with courage and integrity.
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In the coming weeks and months, we expect a number of MLAs to join us.
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However, Keeley issued a statement saying he will not be joining the party,
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instead deciding to focus on issues that matter to his constituents.
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1BC tells True North that they endeavor to do something similar in the next election,
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seeking to form government as a legitimate goal.
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So, Noah, will 1BC become a major party in BC fighting to form government,
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or will they become a provincial version of the NDP,
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as the BC Conservatives are beginning to suggest?
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I don't think that the BC Conservatives are dead in the water
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Quite the contrary, I think that the BC Conservatives
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had really displaced BC United, the formal BC Liberal Party,
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because there was a gap within British Columbian politics
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and what the people wanted, and the BC Conservatives had filled that gap.
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But if they do not continue to fill that political demand,
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to fulfill the demand for taxation and regulatory reform,
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to fulfill the demand to reform British Columbia's healthcare sector,
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I think that 1BC will rise in that environment.
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the BC Conservatives have moved left on a number of issues.
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in calling out SOGI-123 in British Columbia's education system,
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when they were still trying to make a name for themselves
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and trying to contrast themselves against BC United.
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However, they have started to abandon their focus
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and this is in correspondence with MLAs like Eleanor Sterko
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that they cannot speak too ardently on these issues.
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You also have someone like Aaliyah Warbus,
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helping to determine their approach on Indigenous issues,
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for Dallas Brody being expelled from the party.
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at the former Kamloops Indigenous Residential School,
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All that has been discovered were soil disruptions,
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and Tara Armstrong and Keeley leaving the party in solidarity.
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in that Jordan Keeley decided not to join the party.
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Perhaps he does not agree with the goals of the party
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the BC Conservatives just formed the official opposition.
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However, he might not be the most savvy political operator,
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and you could replace the BC Conservative leader
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and especially relate to younger British Columbians
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on certain issues that matter to Conservatives,