VANCOUVER -- Several groups in Chilliwack are calling on BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson to remove a candidate they say promotes homophobia with his defence of so-called conversion therapy.
They include the Board of Chilliwack Pride Society and the local Metis association, which say in an open letter to Wilkinson that Laurie Throness's views cause harm and trauma to LGBTQ people because the supposed therapy is dangerous and has no basis in science.
The Chilliwack-Kent MLA has come under fire for defending an article about the therapy in a Christian magazine, which he has also refused to stop advertising in.
The Vancouver Pride Society said in July that the Liberal party no longer met the threshold for taking part in its parade, and while Wilkinson has said there's no room in the party for homophobia, transphobia or discrimination Throness remains a candidate.
