***UPDATE: Heather Leung has been dropped as the candidate for this riding based on the video described in this blog. Read the breaking story .
Burnaby North-Seymour Conservative candidate Heather Leung has - so far - refused to do any media interviews and looks committed to not taking part in any of the riding鈥檚 all-candidates鈥� meetings.
So, with Leung hiding from public view to avoid questions about her views on important issues, we have had to look elsewhere.
I wrote in June about 尝别耻苍驳鈥檚 abortion stance, which includes her view that even woman who have gotten pregnant after being raped should denied access to an abortion.
On Wednesday, I was made aware of a video interview with Leung that was posted on YouTube by the Burnaby NOW in 2013. This is long before I started with this newspaper. Former NOW reporter Jennifer Moreau produced this excellent video, which documented the passage in 2011 of a gay- and transgender-positive school board policy in Burnaby aimed at stopping bullying.
I encourage everyone to watch the entire video (posted below) because it shows Burnaby students proudly fighting for the rights of students bullied for who they are.
But at around the two-minute mark, there is an interview with Leung, who was fighting against the policy.
尝别耻苍驳鈥檚 , but hearing Leung articulate her disturbing views is worth listening to if you are a voter, although you will probably need a shower afterwards.
Moreau is more than fair with her questions. Leung says she doesn鈥檛 think the policy is really about stopping bullying, but is actually an attempt to 鈥減ush鈥� kids into the 鈥渉omosexual鈥� 鈥渃amp鈥� 鈥� whatever that means.
Leung also hauls out that old nugget about how LGBTQ2+ people (no, she doesn鈥檛 use that acronym) are trying to 鈥渞ecruit鈥� kids.
Like being gay or transgender is some sort of cult.
Leung says in the video that the Burnaby school trustees are 鈥渄igging a deep, dark pit for the next generation. Because these homosexual people, they cannot produce the next generation. They recruit more people and more people into their camp.鈥�
Leung also says the policy would promote 鈥渢ranssexual鈥� behaviour to children.
This, of course, is ridiculous. Policies like the one passed in 2011 and the SOGI education materials approved more recently by the B.C. government are all about stopping bullying by educating children about LGBTQ2+ communities, some of whom are their classmates. It鈥檚 about making schools more inclusive. It鈥檚 about potentially saving lives.
尝别耻苍驳鈥檚 interview is truly sickening. No wonder the Conservative Party of Canada doesn鈥檛 want her out in public.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
