Conservative Leader John Rustad speaks during a campaign stop at Seaspan Shipyards, in North Vancouver, on Thursday, October 10, 2024. The B.C. Conservatives are standing by a candidate whose racist and Islamophobic remarks — described by BC NDP Leader David Eby as "criminal hate speech" — surfaced online. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The British Columbia Conservatives are standing by a candidate who called Palestinian children “inbred” and “time bombs,” remarks that NDP Leader David Eby describes as "criminal hate speech."

Conservative Leader John Rustad said Thursday he has accepted the apology of Surrey South candidate Brent Chapman and won't ask him to step down.

Eby said a candidate engaged in such speech should be fired.

Chapman's comments in a series of social media posts about 10 years ago resurfaced this week, just days ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said Chapman's posts that refer to Palestinian children as "walking, talking, breathing time bombs" are deeply Islamophobic, disgusting, and utterly unacceptable.

"To be clear, we have been horrified by the posts, which were posted almost a decade ago," the council's statements said.

"These posts included multiple references to the dangers of 'Muslim inbreeding' … (and) suggestions that we cannot 'live with them, Islam.'"

The group said it recognizes that Chapman has apologized, both privately to them and publicly.

In a written apology, Chapman said that he is offering his “sincerest apologies to everyone hurt” by his posts, adding that the comments “do not reflect who I am today.”

"I am truly sorry for the pain my words have caused," Chapman said in the statement. "I take full responsibility for my past actions, and I am committed to continuing to learn, grow, and stand in solidarity with all communities I may have harmed."

Speaking in North Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, Rustad said Chapman has apologized and has spoken to the party's two Muslim candidates and numerous staff members.

"There's no question that the statement that he made, those comments from 10 years ago, I found offensive," Rustad said. "And I know many other people do. People sometimes make mistakes."

"I think the people of British Columbia will be looking at actions as opposed to words from 10 years ago," he said, adding it would be "unacceptable" if any elected B.C. Conservative would "promote and support hate."

Eby, who's a former executive director with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, told a campaign event in Coquitlam that what Chapman said has "all the elements of criminal speech."

He noted that Chapman is protected from prosecution because it has been more than six months.

"If you have a candidate who engages in criminal hate speech, that candidate gets fired."

Eby said the B.C. Conservative leader should "show backbone on issues that are challenging."

"That means standing up to bullies," Eby said. "That means having bright lines that should never be crossed. It means not enabling haters."

On Thursday, Eby announced his party's promise to attract another 45,000 health-care workers to the province in the next four years as part of a plan to get every resident who wants one to have either a family doctor or nurse practitioner by the end of 2025.

Rustad's announcement in North Vancouver involved a Conservative plan to "overhaul" BC Ferries with the establishment of a charter to outline service expectations, as well as design a monthly flat-fee program for frequent ferry users.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it is waiting on commitments from Chapman, Rustad and the B.C. Conservatives “to challenge Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.”

“We will also be consulting with local (mosques) and community organizations about what the next steps look like on this issue,” the statement said.

It was the second statement this week from the council concerning the B.C. Conservatives. In the first release, it called on the party to hold its spokesman, Anthony Koch, "accountable."

The council said Koch has "repeatedly made what we view as misogynistic, divisive and inflammatory remarks targeting Muslims, Sikhs and women of colour.

In a written response, Rustad's chief of staff Azim Jiwani called the council's statement "a political smear-job designed to help the BC NDP," and Koch's comments came "at a time of extreme pain and emotional turmoil" directly after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

“As a proud Ismaili Muslim and the first ever Muslim chief of staff to any political party leader in B.C., I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Anthony Koch for the last few months. I can say without hesitation that he has no hate in his heart and he is not an Islamophobe," Jiwani said.

Advance voting for the election began Thursday, and Eby used the opportunity to promote his get-out-and-vote message by casting his own ballot.

Eby and his wife, Cailey Lynch, brought their infant daughter in a stroller to vote in Vancouver at one of 343 advance polling stations open across the province.

Elections BC says the polls will be open from Oct. 10 to 13, then again on Oct. 15 and 16.

Figures from Elections BC show that 35 per cent of ballots cast in the 2020 pandemic election came from advance voting, up from 30 per cent in 2017 and 20 per cent in 2013.

This year's paper ballots will be collected by electronic tabulators and almost all of them are expected to be officially counted on the Oct. 19 election day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024