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Poverty pimps explode at John Rustad for wanting to address homelessness
The B.C. Conservative leader isn’t using homeless people, his critics are
British Columbia’s provincial election campaign is not even a week old and already getting nasty.
Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad didn’t even have to open his mouth on the campaign trail before accusations began to fly. At his first presser, held at Vancouver’s oceanfront Crab Park, Rustad was admonished for allegedly using homeless people as election props. His crime: one of our province’s many tent encampments could be seen approximately 100 metres behind him while he spoke. Not a single homeless person was visible.
Standing alongside his wife at a podium adorned with a “Common Sense Change” sign, Rustad addressed a small crowd on writ day. “Behind me: the beautiful scenery, the industrial activity that’s happening, or the tents — and the drugs and the addictions that are going on. It is a stark contrast between what we’re trying to do for the people in British Columbia, and where we see hope for our future, and to the David Eby and Justin Trudeau approach, which has led to so many issues and challenges across this province… people in this province cannot afford to live here,” Rustad said Saturday.
Cue the outrage. University of British Columbia law professor Margot Young, for instance, launched a volley of adjectives at Rustad: “appalling,” “cruel,” “misleading,” “dog-whistling,” “dishonourable.” She accused him of “political profiteering.” She was one of many to do so. To an uninformed observer, the backlash wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s dishonourable for a politician to not want drug-addicted homeless persons sleeping in tents on our beaches? It’s appalling for our potential premier to want to lift our most downtrodden from their miserable lives on the streets? Sure thing.
