There was a subtle sign duel Thursday (May 12) at the Legislature in Victoria between the MLA for Chilliwack-Kent and the former MLA for the riding.
Hundreds marched in the capital as part of an annual “March for Life” rally, this year held in the wake of the heated abortion debate south of the border.
No current BC Liberals were spotted at the event, according to other media outlets, but disgraced former BC Liberal MLA Laurie Throness was spotted, alongside fellow Chilliwack resident William Klassen.
The two had signs that said “Life is Precious” and “We Choose Life.”
Chilliwack-Kent NDP MLA Kelli Paddon stood near an entrance to the building with others holding their own signs.
Paddon’s said: “Her Body, Her Choice.”
In a Facebook post including both photos, Paddon said she was at work and proud to be among a majority of women in government, and working with “some fantastic brothers and sisters,” and working to serve British Columbians,
“Meanwhile on the front lawn, there is a collection of people who don’t think I should be able to make choices about my own body,” Paddon’s post said. “Including an old politician who is proud to be showing who he is. Just a couple of guys from Chilliwack fighting to control women’s bodies, forgetting that they don’t have uteruses so really don’t get a say.
“When people show you who they are, believe them. And don’t forget. Voting matters.”
When asked about the signs and the issue via Facebook Messenger, Paddon said her issue is no longer with Throness. That ended when Throness compared free birth control to eugenics and he was ousted from the BC Liberals before the election, which Paddon won.
READ MORE: BC Liberal leader rebukes Laurie Throness comparing free birth control to eugenics
Paddon said her issue is with Falcon who has not addressed the question of whether or not members of the BC Liberal Party support anti-abortion views.
In a Tweet showing the photo of Throness with the anti-abortion sign, Paddon said: “Any party that doesn’t require their candidates to be pro-choice is catering to anti-women groups. Will anti-abortion candidates like former @bcliberals Throness be welcome in Falcon’s Liberals?”
While he sat as an MLA for Chilliwack-Kent, Throness got in trouble in the past for saying childcare can be “harmful” to kids because mothers should just stay home.
“I can tell you how many child-care spaces we have right now in B.C.,” Throness said speaking against universal child care on Feb. 22, 2018. “We have one full-time, 24-hour-a-day space for every child in B.C. By law, child-care is now, and always has been, universal and 24-7.”
His membership in the party ended when, in 2020, while running for re-election in Chilliwack-Kent his own party leader rebuked him for his comparison between handing out free birth control and eugenics.
“What Laurie Throness said was wrong and against my position as leader of this party,” then BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson said on Twitter on Oct. 15, 2020. “I will be making this very clear to Laurie when we next speak.”
Wilkinson did speak to Throness, and he was ousted from the party. It was, however, too late to have Throness removed from the ballot so he remained as an Independent, losing the election to Paddon.
READ MORE: Chilliwack-Kent MLA criticized by NDP for saying childcare can be ‘harmful’
READ MORE: Widespread reaction to BC Liberal ousting Chilliwack-Kent candidate for controversial comments
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:
editor@theprogress.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
