Rustad’s Anti-SOGI Stance Is Blasted in the Legislature

Premier David Eby slammed BC Conservative Party Leader John Rustad Tuesday for choosing to use his first questions in the legislature since his party gained official status to criticize how sexual orientation and gender identity is addressed in schools.

“I have got to say, this is not an auspicious start,” Eby said. “It is outrageous that he would stand here and do this. He sees political advantage in picking on kids and families and teachers and schools who are just trying to do their best for kids who are at risk of suicide. Shame on him.”

Known as SOGI 123, the province’s sexual orientation and gender identity resources were developed with input from school districts, the University of British Columbia and Ministry of Education. They include lesson plans for kindergarten to Grade 12 that are deemed appropriate for each grade, as well as templates for administrative policy and professional development for teachers.

The goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment. Supporters say having policies and procedures that explicitly reference SOGI is proven to reduce discrimination, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts for all students.

Full exchange of @JohnRustad4BC and @Dave_Eby on SOGI today in QP, in which Eby eviscerates Rustad. pic.twitter.com/BIA8DYFXS7

— Rob Shaw (@RobShaw_BC) October 3, 2023

There is, however, a fringe minority in B.C. who are opposed to SOGI and including LGBTQ2S+ information in schools.

“Thousands of British Columbians, many of them from minority communities, have been protesting against SOGI 123,” Rustad said in the legislature’s first sitting of the fall, adding that it is “an assault on parents’ rights” and a distraction from education.

The BC Liberal government introduced SOGI 123 seven years ago, with support from the NDP, when Rustad was in cabinet. The BC Liberal Party changed its name to BC United earlier this year.

Rustad was kicked out of the party more than a year ago, then joined the BC Conservative Party and became leader by acclamation earlier this year. The party recently gained official party status when Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor from BC United to join him.

The status gives the party access to more resources than the MLAs would have as independents and a right to greater participation in proceedings in the legislature, including an opportunity every day in question period.

Eby said Rustad was using the authority of his new office to make a small group of kids in the province feel less safe in schools and the community, and “to feed the fires of division in our province and bring culture war to British Columbia. It is not welcome.”

Rustad said it’s the government that is creating division. “This isn't about attacking a particular group of people,” he said. “This is about having a policy that is inclusive, that is anti-bullying, that is supportive, so everybody feels safe. But right now we have kids that are running home from school and going to the bathroom because they don't feel safe in school, and that is this government's fault.”

He called for a “less divisive” approach to anti-bullying in schools.

“I'm so saddened that the member opposite is talking about this,” said Education Minister Rachna Singh. “Here we are trying to create inclusive safe spaces for our children, where every child belongs, and the member is the one who's trying to create these divisions.”

In B.C., focusing on anti-SOGI positions has tended to be a political loser. In recent byelections, BC Conservative Karin Litzcke came a distant fourth with a Vancouver-Mount Pleasant campaign that opponents labelled “transphobic.” A more mainstream BC Conservative candidate, Mike Harris, came second in Langford-Juan de Fuca.

In the 2022 school board elections, most candidates who ran on “parents’ rights” platforms were not elected.

In what was the first question period after a four-month break, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon and MLAs focused their questions on the failure of the government to better address housing affordability and BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau asked about climate change and spending on wildfires.