The BC Conservative party has fired its candidate for the riding of Oceanside-Ladysmith, Dr. Stephen Malthouse, after allegations of mispractice surfaced online just hours after he was announced.
Malthouse, who is from Duncan, was an outspoken anti-vaxxer during the pandemic, travelling the province to hold events and arguing the mRNA vaccines were more dangerous than the virus.
At some events, including in Kelowna, he argued the vaccines also caused magnetism and other debunked claims.
He also faced allegations that he signed illegitimate vaccine and mask exemption forms for people willing to pay for them through an online website.
B.C.’s College of Physicians and Surgeons suspended Malthouse from practice in 2022 and issued a public notice that said, in part:
“Dr. Malthouse signed vaccine and mask exemption forms that he knew included false statements, stated medical conclusions absent any objective medical evidence and provided diagnoses and courses of action potentially harmful to patients.”
It also added, “There would be a real risk to harm of the public if Dr. Malthouse was permitted to continue to practice.”
The BC Conservatives and Malthouse are not commenting on the matter, other than a tweet that was posted by party president Aisha Estey.
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Dr. Stephen Malthouse is no longer a candidate for the Conservative Party of British Columbia. We thank him for putting his name forward and we wish him all the best. #bcpoli
— Aisha Estey (@AishaEstey27) March 28, 2024
Other political opponents have jumped on the issue, however.
“It’s not a surprise to anybody that’s been watching what the BC Conservative party’s been doing,” said BC NDP MLA Ravi Kahlon.
“They’ve been recruiting actively anti-vaxxers, people who don’t believe in climate change, they’ve got candidates right now who are fighting against protection for kids in our schools when it comes to their curriculum,” he said.
“So this is on brand for the BC Conservative party. They’re bringing a Trump-style politics to British Columbia, and I think that’s a scary proposition for us in the future.”
Meanwhile, BC United MLA Peter Milobar also weighed in.
“Surely – given that this gentleman was standing on the steps, it looks to be in November with Mr. Rustad and Mr. Banman making speeches – they have a relationship with him and must have known what his history was on even a personal level. To then turn around and do this so quickly, I think, Mr. Rustad would then have a lot of explaining to do to [with] his overall BC Conservative base,” said Milobar.
This is the second candidate that the BC Conservatives have fired over COVID-related reasons.
Its Esquimalt candidate, Jan Webb, a nurse, was fired recently after alleging people who get vaccinated actually spread COVID to others.
Rob Shaw
CHEK News
