B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad
stated that the vaccine mandates appeared to be more focused on “shaping public opinion” and controlling the population.
Rustad shared these views in a video interview published on July 23 by the B.C. Public Service Employees for Freedom, a group that opposes vaccine mandates. The video was later
shared on social media by the NDP, the Conservatives’ political rivals, during the provincial election campaign.
In
the video, Rustad discussed a conversation he had with Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry regarding vaccine mandates.
“I’ve had three shots of the vaccine. I wish I hadn’t, quite frankly,” Rustad remarked. “That’s one of the things that has changed in my thinking. The so-called vaccine, the COVID mRNA shots.”
Rustad expressed that after speaking with Henry, he realized that the intention behind the mandates was not primarily about achieving herd immunity or controlling the spread of the virus, but rather about influencing public opinion and exerting control over the population.
The Epoch Times reached out to Henry for a comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Henry has emphasized the importance of continuing to receive booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
“We have achieved one of the highest vaccination rates and lowest fatality rates in North America. Vaccines have enabled us to resume our daily routines, socialize with friends and family, and return to in-person work and school, all of which are crucial for our health and well-being,” she
stated in March 2023.
Responding to the video criticizing him, NDP Leader David Eby accused Rustad of promoting the idea that vaccines are ineffective and questioned how Rustad would respond to an outbreak.
“How will he handle a measles outbreak in British Columbia? What will his stance be? Will he advocate for vaccination? Measles can be fatal for children,” Eby remarked. “He says one thing in private meetings and another in public.”
In his rebuttal to Eby, Rustad
stated on X on Sept. 23, “all children in B.C. should receive the measles vaccine.” Additionally, he criticized the NDP’s drug policies, stating, “no children in B.C. should be given free crackpipes.”
Last year, high school students in Cowichan Valley, B.C., were provided with tools to use hard drugs like cocaine, courtesy of an activist group conducting a school-approved drug presentation. The school district, while supportive of harm-reduction strategies for drugs, deemed the distribution of these kits inappropriate.
The video interview with Rustad took place at an event where members of the B.C. Public Service Employees for Freedom and United Health Care Workers of BC posed various questions to Rustad.
The B.C. Public Service Employees for Freedom
describes itself as a collective of B.C. public servants who are troubled by the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies in workplaces, violation of employees’ medical privacy and human rights, and coercion, discrimination, and censorship by public employers.
The United Health Care Workers of BC
states that it is a large group of compassionate frontline Health Care Professionals advocating for medical privacy and bodily autonomy.
B.C. lifted vaccine mandates in July, becoming the final province to rescind its vaccine-related directives. This decision
enabled 2,000 healthcare workers who had lost their jobs for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to return to work.
The official election campaign in B.C. commenced on Sept. 21, with election day slated for Oct. 19.
Chandra Philip contributed to this report.
