On Monday evening after debate, the House voted with 64 yeas and 1 nay in favour of an NDP Motion “denouncing the Freedom Convoy protests and affirming B.C’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Newly crowned Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad was the lone MLA to vote against the motion.

Conservative Party Leader, MLA John Rustad, stood alone as the only MLA to push back and vote "NO" against condemning the Freedom convoy and endorsing the draconian lockdowns that crippled our economy. Enough is enough. Join us: https://t.co/ENVqGGk7yy#AllButOne #BCPoli pic.twitter.com/OG4LDaKDoS

— Conservative Party of BC (@Conservative_BC) April 20, 2023

The Freedom Convoy movement at its peak drove tens of thousands of Canadians, mostly Conservatives, to peacefully protest against discriminatory vaccine mandates outside of Canada’s capital in 2022. While the massive demonstration in Ottawa was eventually smothered out by the Trudeau government's invocation of the Emergencies Act, many smaller convoys standing in solidarity dispersed across the country, including in British Columbia.

“I voted against the motion because it was simply offensive and wrong,” Rustad said in a statement to Rebel News while also acknowledging that the widespread freedom rallies were peaceful.

Rustad went on to list many draconian government-mandated Covid-19 measures which caused societal harms in BC as further reasons for his refusal to support the motion. These included forbidding loved ones from being at a dying relative’s side or to visit elders in care, denying people’s right to freely practice their religion, and the currently lingering vaccine mandate still preventing thousands of medical professionals from saving lives while the province's healthcare system remains critically understaffed.

Yesterday, BC United (BC Liberal) & NDP voted to support lockdowns & mandates and to condemn the peaceful freedom movement.

They voted to support firing nurses.

They voted to support draconian lockdowns.

They voted to support mandates.

I was the lone vote against. 1/3 #bcpoli

— John Rustad (@JohnRustad4BC) April 18, 2023

Despite a popular belief that the BC United Party (formerly the BC Liberals) is a coalition which includes conservatives, not one of the party's MLAs chose to defend the freedoms Rustad listed or the Freedom Convoy movement during the vote.

Additionally, at least 20 members did not participate in the vote despite some being present in the House that day. Although all MLAs unable to attend a standing vote have the option of voting virtually, BC United Party leader Kevin Falcon, Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield, and Skeena MLA Ellis Ross were just a few of the traditionally conservative voices absent from the voting list.

Have the BC Liberals gone woke? The Conservative Party of B.C’s
new MLA John Rustad ( @JohnRustad4BC ) thinks so.https://t.co/Y0SWmyI0SD

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) February 24, 2023

“I guess they have completed their transition to being woke. They are no longer the party they used to be. Their coalition is truly dead,” Rustad said in response to the BC United's overwhelming support for the NDP motion condemning the beliefs of many Canadians who support the Freedom Convoy and oppose the province's mandates.

“The party used to celebrate free votes and independence. They have become a party that only accepts people who are willing to parrot their party line. BC needs to renew democracy with a new coalition option as the NDP and NDP-lite do not represent the majority of values in BC,” Rustad concluded.

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