Stop Hate, Defend Indigenous Rights, and Uphold Integrity in Public Life
No place for denialism, remigration, or disinformation in BC politics

To: The Executive, Leadership, and Elected Caucus of the Conservative Party of British Columbia

Preamble
Whereas the Indian Residential School system was a state-sponsored system of forced assimilation that inflicted profound and intergenerational harm on Indigenous peoples, families, and communities across British Columbia and Canada, and the House of Commons unanimously recognized the system as genocide in a 2022 motion;

Whereas residential school denialism, including the deliberate denial, distortion, or minimization of established historical facts and survivor testimony, causes further harm to survivors and their families and undermines reconciliation;

Whereas the identification of potential unmarked graves at former residential school sites through ground-penetrating radar and other investigations must be approached with scientific care, respect for Indigenous communities, and recognition of the distinction between potential burial locations and confirmed human remains;

Whereas public advocacy for the forced removal or so-called “remigration” of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin promotes exclusionary and discriminatory politics and threatens the security and dignity of multicultural communities;

Whereas much of British Columbia is unceded Indigenous land, and Aboriginal title and rights are constitutionally recognized and affirmed by Canadian courts, imposing enduring obligations on governments to respect Indigenous rights and engage meaningfully with Indigenous Nations;

Whereas reconciliation requires governments to recognize Indigenous sovereignty, title, and rights as enduring realities, rather than treating them merely as obstacles to economic development or as problems to be resolved at the expense of Indigenous peoples;

Whereas the deliberate creation and dissemination of demonstrably false information by political actors can undermine public trust, distort democratic debate, and intensify social division, while legitimate criticism, honest mistakes, and good-faith disagreements must remain protected;

Whereas political parties have a responsibility to establish clear standards of conduct for their candidates, nomination contestants, and elected representatives, and to enforce those standards fairly, transparently, and consistently;

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon the Conservative Party of British Columbia to adopt the following commitments:

1. Formally recognize Indigenous title and rights
Adopt a clear statement in the party’s platform and governing principles recognizing that much of British Columbia is unceded Indigenous land and affirming the constitutional protection of Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Commit that a BC Conservative government will never pass laws designed to ignore, bypass, or extinguish Aboriginal title and rights.

2. Establish a transparent political disinformation protocol
Develop and publish a protocol for responding to demonstrably false or materially misleading claims deliberately disseminated by party candidates, elected representatives, or other party officials.

The protocol should:

Define the evidence and standards required to establish a breach.
Distinguish deliberate deception from honest mistakes, opinion, satire, and good-faith disagreement over facts or their interpretation.
Require documented findings and publicly explainable reasons for formal disciplinary decisions, subject to legitimate privacy and legal restrictions.
Provide notice of allegations, a meaningful opportunity to respond, and an independent or impartial appeal process.
Require timely corrections when a material breach is established.
The purpose should be to improve the integrity of political debate, not to suppress legitimate criticism or disagreement.

3. Adopt a clear candidate and elected-representative code of conduct
Amend the party’s rules to prohibit declared candidates, nomination contestants, and elected Members of the Legislative Assembly from engaging in the forms of conduct defined in the appendix, including:

Willful promotion of hatred through residential school denialism.
Public advocacy of forced deportation or state-enforced “remigration” based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Deliberate, bad-faith dissemination of demonstrably false or materially misleading information, where the applicable evidentiary threshold is met.
The code should define each category separately and make clear that lawful criticism of government policy, immigration levels, Indigenous policy, or historical interpretation is not, by itself, a violation.

4. Establish fair and enforceable disciplinary procedures
Create a transparent process for investigating alleged breaches of the code, with proportionate consequences that may include a formal warning, a requirement to correct or retract a statement, suspension of party privileges, or disqualification from party candidacy where permitted by the party’s rules.

The process must include:

Clear written notice of the alleged conduct and the applicable rule.
Disclosure of the evidence sufficient to permit a meaningful response.
A fair opportunity for the person concerned to be heard.
Written reasons for decisions.
An impartial appeal process.
Consistent application of the rules regardless of a person’s position or political influence.
The party should publish an annual summary of complaints, findings, and disciplinary outcomes, protecting confidential information where necessary.

5. Support effective, Charter-compliant protections against the promotion of hatred
Adopt a party resolution urging the Parliament of Canada to pass effective, constitutionally compliant legislation protecting Indigenous peoples from the willful promotion of hatred.

In doing so, the party should explicitly support legislation based on the approach proposed in former Bill C-413, consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, protecting legitimate expression, and providing clear and enforceable legal standards.

Appendix: Proposed Party Conduct Standards
These definitions are proposed standards for internal party discipline. They are not intended to replace or expand the definitions of criminal offences under Canadian law. Any disciplinary finding should be based on evidence, fair procedures, and the applicable party rules.

A. Residential school denialism

Public communications that deliberately deny, justify, or materially distort established historical facts concerning the Indian Residential School system, or that willfully promote hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning or minimizing the system’s documented abuses.

Legitimate historical research, good-faith discussion of evidence, and careful distinctions between potential burial sites and confirmed human remains are not, by themselves, residential school denialism.

B. Extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and forced remigration

Public communications advocating the forced deportation or state-enforced removal of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, or otherwise deliberately promoting hatred against immigrants or national minorities on those grounds.

This standard does not prohibit good-faith debate about immigration policy, border administration, citizenship, or lawful deportation based on individual circumstances and applicable law.

C. Political disinformation

The deliberate and bad-faith creation or dissemination of information that is demonstrably false, or materially misleading through the omission or distortion of essential facts, where the conduct is intended to deceive the public, manipulate political debate, or improperly influence public policy.

A finding should require reliable evidence of material falsity or misleading distortion and evidence supporting the conclusion that the conduct was deliberate and in bad faith.

Honest mistakes that are promptly corrected, clearly identified opinion, satire, legitimate political advocacy, and good-faith disagreement over disputed evidence or interpretation do not constitute political disinformation under this standard.

 
We call on the Conservative Party of British Columbia to demonstrate that political leadership requires accountability, respect for Indigenous rights, and a commitment to honest democratic debate.

We urge the party to adopt these standards publicly, implement them fairly, and apply them consistently to everyone seeking to represent it.

Sign this petition to demand accountability and help stop hate, denialism, and deliberate political deception in British Columbia.