Ousted Vancouver Police Board Vice-Chair Comfort Sakoma (L) with BC Conservative Leader John Rustad (R)/via John Rustad on X

The Leader of the BC Conservatives has stepped into the fray to try to iron out the public wrinkle which has been developing over the last few days within his his newly-tailored team.

John Rustad took to social media late Monday afternoon to say he’s met with Comfort Sakoma, the woman whose recent dismissal from the Vancouver Police Board has become the fuel for an early-term political fire — the embers of which include one of the MLA’s representing Kamloops.

“Together, we talked about our shared values of family, faith, and community and about what it means to be proudly Christian and proudly conservative,” said Rustad on X in confirming his sit down with Sakoma at her home in Surrey.  “To me, being Christian and conservative means fighting for parents rights, religious liberty, and freedom of speech — even when we don’t always fully agree with one another.”

The BC Conservatives Leader has also brought new clarity into where he lands in all of this.

“There has been some controversy about my decision to allow different views to be shared by my Conservative Party Caucus — particularly about MLA Elenore Sturko’s comments around the dismissal of Comfort Sakoma from the Vancouver Police Board,” continued Rustad in his social media post.  “I want to make it crystal clear where I personally stand — I support Comfort Sakoma and I don’t believe she should have been asked to quit the VPD police board.”

Kamloops-North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer/via Conservative Party of BC

That would seem to align Rustad with the position of Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer and 12 other members of the BC Conservative Caucus who have been demanding the Party offer its full-throated support to Sakoma.

However, their other demand — an apology from Sturko or Rustad to Sakoma — appears to be a bridge too far, at least for now.

“I also understand the critical importance of freedom of speech, particularly for MLAs,” continued Rustad.  “Personally, I believe MLA Sturko should meet with Comfort Sakoma before drawing further judgement — Comfort is a wonderful person with so much to offer, and I hope she continues to advocate for the conservative movement in British Columbia and in Canada.”

While the BC Conservative leader attempts to stitch the Caucus back together, its not clear yet how much thread will be needed.

Asked by Radio NL on Sunday if he would like to discuss the issue, Stamer maintained a Party-line approach.

“The Conservative Party of BC does not discuss Caucus business publicly,” wrote Stamer in an email response.  “Myself and the other Caucus members are focused on addressing the issues faced by everyday British Columbians – access to healthcare, affordability and cost of living, crime, addictions and homelessness.”

Stamer is one of 13 signatories to an internal BC Conservative Caucus memo which found its way public this past week.

That memo from the 13 — all of whom are first time MLA’s — took aim directly at Sturko, after she publicly agreed with a decision by the chair of the Vancouver Police Board to push Sakoma off the board for the contents of a social media post.

Post hits cultural, social and religious hot-buttons

Comfort Sakoma photo for Vancouver Police Board/via VPD

Comfort Sakoma, who now bills herself as a champion of free speech, parental rights and unity, is a Christian Nigerian-Canadian who was pushed off the VPD Board on November 22nd, after an eleven page message on Instagram (since deleted, but cached on Reddit) came to the attention of Vancouver Police leadership.

In her post, she argues — in part — that Canada has lost its identity through an influx of non-Christian immigrants.

“The implications of an immigration system which allowed for mass immigration without cultural integration, combined with a growing aversion to assimilation, are slowly transforming Canada into a place where a shared identity is disappearing,” said Sakoma in her social media post.  “The friendly smiles, courteous service, and even the simple “sorry” when someone bumps into you–traits that used to define our culture—are now fading away.”

However, Sakoma would then go on to draw a line between her concerns and the South Asian community, which happens to be one of the fastest-growing voting blocs and candidate pools for political parties in BC to woo in Metro Vancouver.

“Recently, my son was invited to participate in a Diwali celebration at school, and it took me some time to realize that the push for secular education isn’t about religion—It’s about erasing Christian values from the lives of our children,” she continued.  “Now, those values are being replaced by those of a new dominant group.”

The post from Sakoma also touched on areas of non-religious society.

“We need to move past the woke culture that has led to the removal of Canadian heroes like Terry Fox from our passports, and the erasure of veterans from the same,” while adding that “It’s time to return to the moral fabric of Canadian society.”

“We need to get beyond a woke culture that pits children against their parents by creating a judicial system where parents can be incarcerated for refusing to let their minor child undergo gender transitions and irreversible body alterations.”

Sakoma did later go on to clarify some of her statements as part of a roughly five minute video.

“I have no issue with Diwali being celebrated in schools.  My concern is the inconsistency of how we approach religious holidays,” she said in her video posted online, which was then picked up as part of a story done on Rebel News Canada — a popular resource for social conservative viewpoints.  “Why is it acceptable to teach children about Diwali as a religious celebration, but we shy away from teaching about Christmas in the same way.”

She also appears to be hoping to capitalize on the notoriety, with the impending launch of a podcast called Freedom over Fear.

Code of Conduct cited for removal

In calling for her resignation, the Chair of the Vancouver Police Board said the decision was based around the statements made in the post by Sakoma as being “inconsistent” with the VPD Board’s Code of Conduct that “don’t reflect the Board’s values.”

BC Solicitor General Gary Begg/via Wikipedia

Her ouster then drew comment from various officials, including Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, Solicitor-General Gary Begg and his BC Conservative critic Elenore Sturko.

Sturko, who left the RCMP to seek political office, suggested to the CBC that Sakoma’s online statements could lead to issues on the streets for the VPD.

“When we have statements being made that erode the public’s trust, or their comfort with their police service, it makes it that much harder on the front-line officers,” said Sturko, according to the CBC.

But at the same time, Sakoma also gained support from different quarters for her stand.

This included the President of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

“Cancel culture is alive and well at the Vancouver Police Board,” wrote Aisha Estey on X shortly after the decision by the VPD Board was made public.  “She should never have resigned and shame on those who pressured her to do it.”

Statement prompts internal pushback, retort

The term “cancel culture” used by Estey in her social media post would eventually find its way into memo addressed to BC Conservative Leader John Rustad which attempted to push back on behalf of Sakoma.

Rather than taking aim at their political opponents, the 13 Caucus members listed on the memo would instead call on Sturko to be held to account for siding with the VPD Board, rather than Sakoma.

Dated November 29th, the memo is headed:  Restoring Confidence in the Core Values of the Conservative Caucus.

The memo called on Rustad to “invite” Sturko to pen a letter of apology to Sakoma and try to convince the VPD Board to make amends with the now-former Vice Chair.

Failing a mea culpa from Sturko, the memo then called on the BC Conservative Leader himself to issue the apology, as well as provide Sakoma with “encouragement on behalf of the Conservative Caucus.”

While those were the demands laid out on paper, its not clear if the memo ever made it on to John Rustad’s desk.

CKNW Host Jas Johal/via BC Liberal Party

We do know the memo found its way to CKNW host Jas Johal, who first put the document out publicly on Thursday, December 5th.

“BC Conservative MLA’s challenging one of their own MLA’s on how she responded to a Vancouver Police Board Director being let go, who, by the way, happened to be a NDP appointee,” said Johal of the politically-abstract nature of the memo and its demands on Rustad.  “It’s not a political hill you would want to die on.”

Not willing to disclose how he was able to obtain a copy of the memo, Johal — speaking to Radio NL — says it does raise questions about the BC Conservative’s priorities, as well as their future ability to work together as a team.

“You want to govern, or do you want to fight culture wars?  That’s the core issue here,” said Johal, who was a member of the BC Liberal Caucus under Christy Clark.  “If you’re going to go after one of your own, be careful that you do so, because those issues don’t just go away.  They fester.”

Monday’s intervention by John Rustad comes on the heels of Johal reporting the BC Conservative Party’s Director of Research, Tim Thielmann, was dismissed on Friday due to his connection with the memo.