Kamloops Centre MLA-elect Peter Milobar has gone public with criticism of a potential would-be member of his own BC Conservative caucus.

In a post on X Saturday morning, Milobar takes aim at Juan de Fuca-Malahat BC Conservative candidate Marina Sapozhnikov, who finds herself the focus of attention this weekend for a pair of different reasons, the second of them drawing a lot of unwanted heat.

“I am feeling outraged, and filled with sadness,” stated Milobar in his post.

He also went on to put distance between himself and Sapozhnikova’s comments.

“I want to be crystal clear, the comments made by BC Conservative candidate Marina Sapozhnikov regarding Indigenous people are reprehensible and I do not condone them or share those views in any way shape or form,” stated Milobar.

Milobar’s wife Lianne is Indigenous, with their children also holding First Nations status.

“I regard my family with love and respect, and am thankful that, as a white male that married into a First Nation family, they welcomed me with open arms,” stated Milobar.  “I do not take that for granted, and I try to be respectful of their values and perspectives.”

Sapozhnikova had already been at the center of the political quagmire which is the 2024 BC Election, as she is running just 23 votes behind her NDP opponent in Juan de Fuca-Malahat.

Elections BC has added a total of 681 absentee and mail-in ballots into that riding’s final vote count this weekend, making her the BC Conservative candidate with the best chance to flip a riding from orange to blue when the results are finalized.

However, Sapozhnikova is now under intense scrutiny for comments made during an interview with a student reporter from Vancouver Island University on election night.

As part of the hour-long discussion after the polls closed on October 9th, Sapozhnikova argued that before Europeans arrived in North America, Indigenous people “didn’t have any sophisticated laws. They were savages. They fought each other all the time.”

She also went further, taking aim at Indigenous history courses taught at the university level in BC, while also arguing the NDP government’s adoption of the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act has turned each Indigenous person in BC into a  “second-rate citizen.”

“They make them some enlightened people,” said Sapozhnikova of Indigenous history courses at BC universities.  “They didn’t have an alphabet.”

The BC Conservative candidate — a former family doctor — also claimed during the interview that “90 per cent of Indigenous people use drugs.”

Days after the interview was given, Sapozhnikova also appeared to double-down.

Asked about the comments six days later by Post Media, after it obtained the recording of the UVI student’s interview, Sapozhnikova appeared to maintain her position on Indigenous history courses, telling the newspaper outlet the courses “only teach a one-sided story.”

The comments have drawn a firestorm of criticism.

Milobar’s rebuke of Sapozhnikova’s comments are being echoed by BC Conservative leader John Rustad, who was quick to denounce the statements.

“Her words are not only inaccurate but profoundly harmful, painting a distorted picture of the communities I have worked alongside for many years,” said Rustad in an emailed statement to Post Media.  “Our party stands for unity, respect and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. We must continue to move forward by embracing truth and compassion — not harmful misconceptions that only divide us further.”

However, Rustad has not indicated whether he has any intention of heeding the calls of critics and dumping Sapozhnikova from the BC Conservative ranks.

Should the count in Juan de Fuca-Malahat go Sapozhnikova’s way this weekend, her dismissal from the BC Conservative Party would see her sit as an Independent, meaning one less secure vote for the Conservatives in a Legislature which the the Party could end up controlling, or sitting one seat back of the NDP as the Official Opposition, after the final count results are certified.

–With Files from Post Media