B.C. Conservatives Maahs, Bhangu, and Chapman dodge Human Rights Code vote
VICTORIA—As most B.C. Conservative MLAs stood with the B.C. NDP to affirm support for the Human Rights Code and Tribunal, three notable MLAs skipped or were forced out of the vote.
Heather Maahs and Harman Bhangu have been openly attacking the Code and Tribunal, alongside leadership contestants Caroline Elliott and Yuri Fulmer.
Maahs tabled a motion targeting Section 7 of the Code, the same section that former Chilliwack School Trustee Barry Neufeld violated.
Bhangu has called for scrapping the Tribunal altogether.
Brent Chapman was forced to apologize during the 2024 election for calling Muslims “little inbred, walking, talking, breathing time bombs.”
Korky Neufeld also skipped the vote and was in the house moments later to speak to a different item.
All four had voted on items earlier in the day.
Peter Milobar and Claire Rattee missed the vote, but had not been present in the house today.
Former Conservative MLAs Dallas Brodie, Tara Armstrong, and Jordan Kealy were the only MLAs to oppose the motion.
Rohini Arora, MLA for Burnaby East:
“I’m relieved that most B.C. Conservatives voted in favour of this motion, especially after they recently supported a bill at first reading that would have repealed the Code. But it’s deeply disappointing that the exact MLAs who are actively trying to undermine people’s rights were nowhere to be seen. British Columbians deserve clear explanations from Harman Bhangu, Heather Maahs, and Brent Chapman about where they stand. If the B.C. Conservatives can’t stand united to support something as simple as human rights, why should British Columbians trust them with anything else?”