Indigenous-led campaign against gender-based violence tells John Rustad to stop wearing its pin

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad wears a Moose Hide Campaign pin during a news conference in Richmond, B.C., on July 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A grassroots campaign to end gender-based violence has sent a letter to BC Conservative Leader John Rustad informing him it is withdrawing permission for him to wear its symbol.

The Moose Hide Campaign is an Indigenous-led effort that began in BC more than a decade ago to “engage men and boys in ending violence towards women and children.”

According to the organization, moose hide is a symbol of taking a stand against violence and undoing the effects of residential schools.

Supporters often wear a small square patch of moose hide pinned to their lapels.

Rustad has frequently worn the symbol to show his support for the Moose Hide Campaign.

CTV News has obtained a copy of the letter to Rustad from the campaign’s co-founder and spokesperson Raven Lacerte.

“Elected leaders have a unique level of responsibility and accountability to uphold basic standards of respect, including respect for Indigenous Peoples and for those along the gender continuum,” Lacerte wrote in the Oct. 1 letter. “It is our position that you are not upholding these standards.”

The letter came one day after the BC Conservatives unveiled a portion of their platform called "Indigenous Economic Reconciliation: A Path to Prosperity and Wellness."

The party chose the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to release the plan.

“The Conservative Party will honour the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as it was intended: not as an obstacle to development, but as a guiding principle for recognizing Indigenous rights and aspirations,” Rustad said in a news release.

Rustad has previously called for the repeal of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act which was passed unanimously in the BC Legislature, with Rustad’s support, in November of 2019.

Despite that initial support, he has publicly stated UNDRIP “was established for conditions in other countries – not Canada.”

In an interview with CTV News, BC Regional Chief Terry Teegee of the Assembly of First Nations said UNDRIP is about more than economic reconciliation and he condemned Rustad’s intention to use it as a guiding principle while at the same time calling for the repeal of the act that enshrines the declaration in law.

“It just flies in the face of many First Nations because quite simply, you know, it's beyond, economic reconciliation,” Teegee said. “Sovereignty and self-determination is really what we're seeking to resolve some of the outstanding issues with the Crown and also with colonization.”

He also called out Rustad for what he calls misleading and divisive rhetoric around the Agreement on Haida Aboriginal Title, and proposed amendments to the BC Land Act which the province has since paused.

“Certainly over the last year, we’ve seen the very conservative point of view demonizing First Nations, especially in the discussions over the Land Act amendments,” Teegee said. “Utilizing First Nations as a wedge issue. He stated that perhaps First Nations will have some sort of veto and/or perhaps take private property away, which could not be further from the truth.”

CTV News has reached out to Rustad through his BC Conservative Party for comment on the issues raised by the Moose Hide Campaign and the AFN but has not yet received a response.