The Opposition B.C. Liberals have removed MLA John Rustad from the party caucus after he retweeted comments that questioned the role of carbon dioxide in climate change.
Party leader Kevin Falcon says in a statement that Rustad, who represents Nechako Lakes in central B.C., has been removed for what he says is a “pattern of behaviour” that isn’t supportive of the caucus.
Rustad had shared a tweet on Sunday by Patrick Moore, director of the CO2 Coalition, who said the case for carbon dioxide being climate’s “control knob” was “getting weaker by the day.”
The tweet included the hashtag “CelebrateCO2.”
No net warming in Australia for the past 10 years. And the Great Barrier Reef has more coral cover this year than ever recorded. The case for CO2 being the control knob of global temperature gets weaker every day. #CelebrateCO2!!https://t.co/x3loEktjVo https://t.co/7TERLoKur9
— Patrick Moore (@EcoSenseNow) August 15, 2022
Falcon says in a statement that while the party encourages a diversity of perspectives, these have to exist on a foundation of mutual respect and trust, which Rustad had breached.
On Wednesday, Falcon tweeted that the party was “strongly committed to substantive climate action,” and that he wanted B.C. to be a world leader in climate policy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2022.
Following a pattern of behaviour that was not supportive of our caucus team and the principles of mutual respect and trust, I have removed MLA John Rustad from the BC Liberal Caucus effective immediately. #BCpoli
My full statement below: pic.twitter.com/Dblw0Q2JFD
— Kevin Falcon 🇺🇦 (@KevinFalcon) August 18, 2022
The Canadian Press
