We've been hoping Dallas Brodie would hold an event in the riding for constituents to talk about issues that matter to us. Instead, she's invited a flagrantly anti- 2SLBGT+ hate figure to join her today to talk about right-wing culture war topics.
Yesterday, she finally revealed the location of OneBC's Vancouver Townhall event today as the Hellenic Centre on Arbutus. Her team kept the event location a secret until the last possible moment, probably to prevent concerned community members from contacting the venue to cancel the event, like the event she tried to hold at the Edelweiss Club in Victoria 4 days ago. That event was quietly cancelled after intense community opposition.
The short notice also means our group could not organize a protest, as we are only active in the riding and did not know the event would be in the riding. There will be other groups protesting!
Actions you can take right now
- Contact the Hellenic Centre and ask them to cancel the event, issue a statement, and put procedures in place to prevent hate groups from booking there in the future. Many of us have attended events there at some point- let them know we won't be doing this again if they choose to host her. https://helleniccommunity.org/contact-us/ or (604) 266-7148.
- Attend a peaceful protest today. At this time, it appears there are multiple groups organizing protests starting at 1-2 pm, 4500 Arbutus St, Vancouver. Location is easily accessible by transit.
- Contact MLA Brodie and let her know that as her constituents, we do not support using public funds to invite hate into our neighbourhood: Dallas.Brodie.MLA@leg.bc.ca.
- Share this petition. Growing our community will help when it's time to reach people about how everyone can help with a recall!
We know that the event today will bring up feelings of grief, anger, and betrayal for many of us. This is Brodie's first large-scale hate event in our riding.
We want to say plainly to anyone struggling with this: you belong here, you belong in public life, you belong in schools, in sport, in government, and everywhere. Your stories are valid, and we stand with you. Brodie does not reflect the values of our community.
Resources:
BC Trans Lifeline Hotline: https://helpstartshere.gov.bc.ca/resource/trans-lifeline-hotline
National Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419