Dear Editor:
When Columbia River-Revelstoke NDP chose Invermere mayor Gerry Taft as their man for 2017s election, a parallel universe arrived in the Kootenays.
The BC NDPs gender equity policy stipulates that a male NDP MLA stepping down be replaced by an equity-seeking individual, i.e. a woman or a person with minority status.
This policy has given Vancouver Island NDP equity woes. Their candidate, Georgia Collins, for Cowichan Valley quit, so the NDP held a contest to select her replacement.
Their long-standing riding association president, Ian Morrison, was barred from running because hes a man. He quit the party.
In order to remove barriers for what they call the equity-seeking groups, theyve raised barriers against heterosexual white males and thats the dictionary definition of discrimination, said Morrison.
Morrison rejects the NDP headquarters elitist rules so hes going to run as an independent.
In Kootenay-Columbia, we remember former councillor Ms. Spring Hawes competed with Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft to become the next NDP candidate. She obviously met the NDP criteria.
Mr. Taft, however, had to belong to a minority group in order to be considered for the candidacy.
The group that I identify with is bisexual, Mr. Taft said, Its something I wanted to keep private. Im in a heterosexual relationship (and have) a young child.
An MLA should represent everyone, even those who didnt vote for them, Gerry Taft correctly said. So thats part of the reason as well that I didnt think it was necessary to identify with one group and broadcast that out.
Of course, Gerrys right. NDP elitist policy forced him to tell the world hes bisexual, which is grotesquely irrelevant to his nomination. His claim cannot be, and must not be, verifiable.
A quintessential social activism parallel universe has arrived in BC. The NDP dogma is unnecessary and wrong.
Jim Abbott
Wasa
