Rustad's major housing tax rebate plan overshadowed by anti-vaccine comments on video

On the day British Columbia Conservative Party Leader John Rustad unveiled a major election campaign promise to help renters and homeowners squeezed by high housing costs, a video surfaced showing him saying he regrets getting the "so-called vaccine" against COVID-19.

The New Democratic Party shared the video Monday, while Leader David Eby said voters in B.C. should be aware that the B.C. Conservative Party leader's "health policy is driven by conspiracy theories from the internet."

The video, released by the NDP on Day 3 of B.C.'s election campaign, is an edited version of longer footage posted online by the BC Public Service Employees for Freedom, a group of former workers who believe they were discriminated against for not getting vaccinated.

It shows Rustad directly addressing a camera and saying vaccine mandates were "not so much" about achieving herd immunity or stopping the spread of the disease as they were about "shaping opinion and control of the population."

The group says the conversation with Rustad took place on June 14 in an online meeting with its members.

Rustad sidestepped commenting directly on the video at a campaign event in Surrey on Monday where he introduced his tax rebate plan, but said the NDP was trying to "distract away from the real issues."

The previous inability of unvaccinated doctors and nurses to get their jobs back in B.C. was a "horrendous problem," he said.

The NDP lifted the vaccine mandate for health workers in July.

Rustad said he wanted to focus on providing relief to people in B.C. facing the high costs of rent and housing, which have soared over the past seven years.

He said he will introduce a "Rustad Rebate" to renters and homeowners by exempting up to $3,000 a month in housing costs from provincial income taxes.

The rebate would begin by exempting $1,500 per month in the 2026 budget and increase it by $500 per year to $3,000 per month, Rustad said.

Eby visited a residence in Burnaby where he spoke with health care workers and patients who said they have benefited from current government policies to improve patient care and find family doctors for people.

He said the NDP health care plan is on track to link every person in the province who signed up for the government's Health Connect Registry with a family doctor or nurse practitioner by the end of 2025.

The NDP plan also includes allowing pharmacists to test and prescribe medicine for common conditions, including strep throat, urinary tract infections and renal function, said Eby.

He said the plan would eliminate the requirement for sick notes from doctors for people who miss periods of work less than five days.

Doctors, nurses and midwives trained in Canada will be issued provisional licences to start working in B.C. while the process to obtain their completed paperwork continues, said Eby.

But the premier said he had to raise the issue surrounding the Rustad video because it should play a role in the election where voters are deciding who will lead the province.

"He says that Bonnie Henry, our provincial health officer and her vaccination plan and the work she did to keep all British Columbians safe, that that wasn't actually a vaccination plan," said Eby. "That was a secret conspiracy to control the population of B.C."

Rustad was "promoting the idea that vaccines don’t work when in fact, the COVID vaccines saved so many lives in this province," Eby said.

Voters should be considering if they can support and trust a leader who bases his thoughts and decision-making on conspiracy theories, he said.

"These are not minor considerations," said Eby. "These are really important for British Columbians to know. He says one thing that he thinks is secret that won't get out and he says another thing in public. You can't trust John Rustad on health policy on what he says because he's always saying something different to different groups."

Rustad said he had not seen the video.

"I understand why the NDP have decided to talk about things like vaccines, because they cannot defend their policies," he said.

"For me, the most important thing that we have going on in B.C. today is the fact that people are leaving this province because they can't afford to live here, and we need to be taking every step that we can to reduce those costs."

Voters in B.C. go to the polls on Oct. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

Dirk Meissner and Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press