B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad faced more questions about candidate Brent Chapman’s social media posts, including comments that seemed to cast doubt on mass shootings in the United States and in Quebec.
A Facebook post, which was shared on the social media platform X by former B.C. Liberal MLA and current CKNW radio host Jas Johal, shows the Surrey South candidate saying that victims of mass shootings have “sketchy stories” that change drastically, and that they seemed to connect to current political debates.
He further questions deadly mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., Orlando, Fla., Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Ct., and a Quebec City mosque — with the latter of those attacks taking place days before Chapman allegedly made the post on Feb. 5, 2017.
CBC News has not independently verified the Facebook post.
Rustad said he found comments about mass shootings posted online by Chapman offensive.
Chapman addressed the post on X, and said that all the shootings referenced were “all very real. I sincerely wish they weren’t, because they’re horrific and needless tragedies.”
“What I was trying to say is the whirlwind of U.S. media and commentary makes everything chaotic and confusing to people watching the TV,” the Conservative candidate said on X.
“People’s understanding of what’s going on changes from moment to moment and it’s all just so difficult to understand.”
Chapman also said that, following advice from legal counsel, he would not comment further on old social media posts.
The B.C. Conservative candidate for Surrey South, Brent Chapman, drew flak on Monday for Facebook posts that seemed to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Canadian and U.S. mass shootings, including the Quebec City mosque massacre. Leader John Rustad tried to distance himself from the comments on Monday, and Chapman has since apologized. As Georgie Smyth reports, the comments were unearthed just under a week before the provincial election.
The latest controversy comes after the candidate apologized for 2015 comments he made on social media about Palestinians, in which he referred to them as “inbred.”
Haroon Khan with the Al Masjid Al Jamia in Vancouver and Pakistan Canada Association said in a statement Monday that Chapman had shown a “clear pattern of racist, Islamophobic behaviour promoting Muslim and Palestinian hatred.”
“Yesterday, it came to our attention that Brent Chapman has engaged in denialism of mass shootings, casting doubts about the reality of the grotesque deaths of 20 children and six teachers in Sandy Hook, the mass shootings of 49 people in Orlando, Florida and the six murders of Muslims while in prayer at a Masjid in Quebec City,” read the statement.
“It is unconscionable that this individual remains a candidate for election in our province.”
Warning: This story contains offensive comments. B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman is apologizing for previous comments he made on social media about Palestinians, in which he referred to them as “inbred.” The comments were posted to Facebook in 2015, before Chapman entered politics, and were shared on social media Wednesday by CKNW Radio host Jas Johal.
B.C. NDP Leader David Eby said in a statement that the shootings referenced in the post shattered lives, and that Chapman had insinuated they were faked to further political agendas.
“John Rustad should have fired this candidate days ago for his openly racist and homophobic comments. He must fire him today,” Eby said.
In an unrelated Monday news conference, Rustad said he found the posts offensive and wrong.
“They don’t reflect the values for myself personally and they don’t reflect the values for us as a Conservative Party,” Rustad said.
The B.C. Conservative leader did not directly address a reporter’s question about calls to drop Chapman as a candidate, and said that given the legal advice that Chapman said he had sought, it would be inappropriate for him to comment further on the matter.