For the last several weeks, John Rustad has been promising to have all his candidates sign a pledge committing to free votes on the first day of the campaign:

“One of the things I will be doing on day one of this election is asking all of our candidates to take a pledge that their number one priority will always be their riding. Speaking on behalf of the riding and voting on behalf of the riding… Some of those things are going to be big issues that are controversial, provincially. And I fully expect that there'll be free votes.” (Video)

This means that Rustad’s team - packed with conspiracy theorists who hold anti-abortion, and even bigoted views - will not be required to uphold the party’s position on those issues.

By not holding his candidates to any clear values, British Columbians won’t know what they’re getting when they vote B.C. Conservative.

But Rustad’s position is no surprise given that he has complained about how the B.C. Liberals wouldn’t let him talk about his own conspiracy theories on climate change.

Here’s a look at some of the views John Rustad has just told his candidates they can freely bring to the table:

Anti-abortion: Bruce Banman was applauded by anti-choice groups this spring for asserting in the legislature that motherhood begins at conception. He is endorsed by anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition, along with BC Conservative candidates Heather Maahs and Harman Bhangu.

Anti-science: Anti-vaccine candidates still on Rustad’s slate include: Anna Kindy, Ndellie Massey, and Rosalyn Bird - who all donated to the “freedom” convoy. Another is Sharon Hartwell, who said anti-vaccine convoy organizer Tamara Lich is “an inspiration” to her.

Homophobic: Paul Ratchford attacked Elenore Sturko as a “woke, lesbian, social justice warrior.” In a follow-up tweet, he called her a “groomer.”

Weird and bigoted: Bryan Breguet, running for Rustad in Vancouver-Langara, questions the age of consent, compared himself to a white nationalist, and says that Indigenous people inherently commit more crimes.

And those are just the candidates we know about - so far.

Ravi Kahlon, BC NDP Candidate: “We already knew that John Rustad is willing to tolerate hateful views and conspiracy theories amongst his candidates. Now to kick off his campaign, he’s promising to let them vote however they want. There’s no way for British Columbians to know if they’re getting an MLA who would advocate to restrict abortion, or vote against laws to protect gay and lesbian British Columbians. That’s a risk we can’t afford.”

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