BC Conservative MLAs Call for Apology After Colleague’s Comments About Police Board Member Resignation

Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba, former vice-chair of the Vancouver Police Board. Courtesy of Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba

Some BC Conservative MLAs are calling for a caucus member to issue an apology for media comments over the forced resignation of a Vancouver Police board member.

Vancouver Police Board vice-chair Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba resigned on Nov. 22 after social media comments she made about the prevalence of “woke culture” and Christianity being sidelined. The board asked for her resignation, saying that her comments did not align with the board’s values.

Thirteen Conservative MLAs wrote a letter to leader John Rustad on Nov. 29, asking him to take action after MLA Elenore Sturko’s comments to CBC News about Sakoma-Fadugba’s social media posts.

In the Nov. 23 news article, Sturko is quoted as saying that she thought the board’s actions were appropriate, and that Sakoma-Fadugba’s comments were offensive. Sturko, who is a former RCMP officer and was formerly part of the BC United caucus, added that Sakoma-Fadugba’s social media comments impact public trust with police.

In the letter, the MLAs ask Rustad to have Sturko apologize to Sakoma-Fadugba, saying that if the MLA did not want to apologize, Rustad should issue an apology on behalf of the caucus.

They wrote that Rustad’s leadership had been marked by his willingness to denounce cancel culture and stand up for freedom of expression.

“It is our view that the statements caused undue harm to Ms. Sakoma and called into question our commitment to the core values shared by Conservatives,” they wrote.

“There are unanswered questions regarding the extent to which Ms. Sturko’s statements were vetted in advance by senior staff.”

The MLAs also ask that the Vancouver Police Board engage in conciliatory discussions with Sakoma-Fadugba.

The letter was signed by Tara Armstrong, MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream; Rosalyn Bird, MLA for Prince George-Valemount; Dallas Brodie, MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena; Brent Chapman, MLA for Surrey South; Reann Gasper, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission; Sharon Hartwell, MLA for Bulkley Valley-Stikine; Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island; Jordan Kealy, MLA for Peace River North; Kristina Loewen, MLA for Kelowna Centre; Macklin McCall, MLA for West Kelowna-Peachland; Heather Maahs, MLA for Chilliwack North; Korky Neufeld, MLA for Abbotsford West; and Ward Stamer, MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson.

The Epoch Times attempted to contact Sturko for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

A Conservative Party of B.C. spokesperson told The Epoch Times that Rustad could not comment on internal caucus matters at this time.

Sakoma-Fadugba responded to the MLAs’ letter on social media, saying she was grateful for the support.

“Their call for an apology and reconciliation by the Vancouver Police Board underscores the critical importance of fairness, accountability, and the principles of justice that should guide us as a society,” she wrote in a Dec. 5 post on the X platform.

The comments that led to Sakoma-Fadugba’s ouster relate to her social media posts in November about a recent Diwali celebration her son was invited to as part of school activities. She wrote that the “push” for secular education “isn’t about religion” but about “erasing Christian values from the lives of our children.” She added that she had “nothing against Hinduism,” saying her comments were aimed at the impact on Canadian identity of replacing the values of Christianity, which she described as Canada’s “dominant” religion, with those of “a new dominant group.”

In a subsequent post, Sakoma-Fadugba said she had received death threats over her previous comments.

“This experience has only strengthened my resolve to champion the values I hold dear: faith, family, and freedom,” she wrote in another post on X.

“It is time to come together to Make Canada Canadian Again—a place where fairness, common sense, and respect for differing viewpoints define our national identity.”

Carolina Avendano contributed to this report.