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

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.”

Thursday, Rustad’s party clarified that if elected it still plans to scrap DRIPA and replace it with something different.

"However, we will utilize and honour UNDRIP as a foundational framework to develop new legislation that respects and advances Indigenous rights and aspirations," the BC Conservatives said.

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.

Speaking to the Union of BC Municipalities convention last month Rustad took aim at the agreement with the Haida Nation.

"Title on Haida Gwaii will now exist underneath your private property. Underneath your communities. That also means Haida law will apply to those communities,” he said as he warned the framework for the agreement could now be applied in other parts of the province.

“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.”

Following Wednesday’s radio leaders' debate, Rustad, who previously served as the province’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation when he was in the BC Liberal cabinet, responded to the Moose Hide Campaign.

"So, when the Moose Hide campaign started, it started actually with a concept in my riding,” he said. “I've been supporting it. I provided funding when I was minister. We provided staffing when I was minister."

Since it’s inception, the campaign has received provincial funding from both BC Liberal and NDP governments.