I wish we could discuss the climate, but B.C. Conservative bigotry gets in the way
Richmond-Bridgeport independent candidate Charlie Smith wonders if Teresa Wat can truly be counted on to stand up for Muslim constituents encountering discrimination
There is so much going through my brain right now. As the independent candidate in Richmond-Bridgeport, should I write about the climate catastrophe? It has received so little coverage in the B.C. election campaign. It makes sense, given that a second hurricane just walloped Florida this month.
Or should I highlight B.C. Conservative candidate Brent Chapman’s vile social media post about Muslims? Chapman is best known to British Columbians as the actor in the King of Floors advertisements, which repeatedly pop up during Vancouver Canucks games. He has since apologized for his comments about Muslims, which he says were made a decade ago. But he hasn’t yet posted his apology on his X feed.
Or should I focus on my Conservative opponent in Richmond-Bridgeport, Teresa Wat? She has issued so many statements in the legislature about her appreciation for our diverse and pluralistic society. Yet when the chips were down for her former BC United Party, she chose to cross the floor to join a gang of right-wing misfits, including one who clearly once had a big problem with our Muslim neighbours.
Not far from the eastern boundary of Richmond-Bridgeport is the Richmond Jamia Masjid. It is the first purpose-built mosque in B.C. and offers a reminder of Richmond’s connection to the community. The largest Islamic group in the province representing Sunnis, the B.C. Muslim Association, owns and operates Richmond Jamia Masjid.
Will Wat publicly condemn Chapman’s ugly past comment on social media to show her solidarity with Muslims in Richmond-Bridgeport? I certainly condemn his appalling tweet, as should every candidate and sitting politician in Richmond.
Social media posts drive coverage
I am running as an independent because I wanted to raise important issues in the campaign. I knew that the media would spend much of their time reporting on various candidates’ idiotic social media posts. That’s what the media tend to do in elections. I initially hoped that my candidacy would go beyond that and offer Richmond residents deeper insights into public policies.
There used to be a time when we would see detailed examinations of parties’ policies on healthcare, environment, taxation, and the like. But now, politics has devolved into two well-funded party research departments ferreting through thousands of social media posts. When one of the paid staff find a zinger that could bring down a candidate or even a whole party, they send it to the media.
The media willingly oblige by reporting on the offensive comment. It’s easier than researching long-term trends in greenhouse-gas emissions and explaining this in meaningful ways to the public. Repeating an offensive Facebook post is simpler than figuring out why water vapour is collecting at a greater rate above oceans, leading to atmospheric rivers like the one that hammered B.C. in 2021.
Unstable water system wreaks havoc
As I reported back then, climate stability has become a relic of the past due to the loss of hydrologic stationarity. This should be the central issue of concern in the election because an unstable water system affects food security, economic planning, transportation, health, tourism, and the price of goods.
In Richmond-Bridgeport, an atmospheric river or a major earthquake could easily put much of Sea Island—home to Vancouver International Airport—under water. That would have a devastating impact on the delivery of food and emergency supplies to the region.
This is deadly serious. As I wrote in 2021, without a relatively stable water system, weird things happen.
Hundreds of millimetres of rain fell on the Fraser Valley in a series of atmospheric rivers in the month of November of 2021. A sudden mudslide near Lillooet killed some motorists.
Meanwhile, Highway 8 was washed away between Merritt and Spences Bridge. Merritt itself was evacuated because of flooding from the Coldwater River. And the Coquihalla Highway was broken up in parts from rushing water.
This week, the people of Florida are dealing with a similar situation.
But Chapman’s tweet also deserves a great deal of coverage. It’s not your usual run-of-the-mill stupid comment made in the hubris of youth by a now grown-up candidate.
Chapman’s tweet is a painful arrow in the hearts of more than 125,000 Muslims living in B.C. According to the 2021 census, 7,630 Muslims live in Richmond.
Where is Teresa Wat?
In response to Chapman’s tweet, I sent out social media messages last night in Chinese, Urdu, Arabic, Indonesian, and Farsi. They all asked my opponent, Teresa Wat, to condemn what he had posted about Muslims.
This morning when I checked Wat’s X feed, there was not a word from her. Keep in mind that Wat is a former minister of multiculturalism. She has cultivated her political brand as someone who supports pluralism.
If she won’t stand up for Muslims when a member of her team expresses something disgraceful, can she be counted upon to stand up for Sikhs? Or gay people? Or Latin Americans?
If you’ve made it this far as a reader, you now know the answer to the questions that I posed at the top of this post. I dealt with all three topics: the climate catastrophe, Chapman’s offensive tweet, and Wat’s silence in response to it.
It goes to show that if you vote for me in Richmond-Bridgeport, you will have an MLA who can walk and chew gum at the same time.
On a serious note, voters can count on me to stand up for every citizen of Richmond-Bridgeport—regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression—if they’re being smeared by a politician on the basis of their identity.
Over the years, I have received an Anti-racism Award from Spice Radio, a Medal of Honour from Radical Desi, a Community Builder Award from the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, and a 25th-Anniversary Appreciation Award from TAIWANfest. These honours were far more meaningful than any journalism awards bestowed on me.
I’ve been in the trenches fighting discrimination for a very long time. I wish I could say the same for every B.C. Conservative candidate running in this election.
