British ColumbiaB.C. Conservative leader John Rustad is facing calls to denounce a statement by a caucus staffer who called the Survivors’ flag – which commemorates the deaths at residential schools – a “disgrace” and a “fake flag.”John Rustad faces calls to denounce statement by a caucus staffer who called Survivors’ flag a “disgrace”Katie DeRosa · CBC News · Posted: Sep 30, 2025 11:13 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoThe Survivors Flag flies alongside the flag of British Columbia outside the B.C. Legislature buildings in Victoria in late September 2025 (Government of B.C.)B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad is facing calls to denounce the statement by a caucus staffer who called the Survivors’ flag – which honours residential school survivors – a “disgrace” and a “fake flag.” On Thursday, several NDP, Conservative and Green MLAs raised the Survivors’ flag on the front steps of the legislature in Victoria, ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. The next day, Lindsay Shepherd, a communications staffer for the B.C. Conservative caucus, wrote on social media: “The Orange Shirt and the Orange Flag perpetuate untruths about Canadian history, such as the grandest lie of all that 215 children’s graves were unearthed in Kamloops. “It is a disgrace that this fake flag flies in front of the provincial parliament buildings, and it is a disgrace to see the shirt of lies framed prominently and permanently beside the coat of arms so that locals and tourists cannot view our insignia without having their eye drawn and redirected to the Orange shirt.”Shepherd deleted the post shortly after it was posted. A screengrab sent out by the B.C. NDP shows a tweet by B.C. Conservative Party staffer Lindsay Shepherd on the raising of the Survivors Flag outside the B.C. Legislature Buildings on Sept. 25, 2025. (Screengrab/B.C. NDP)A screengrab was shared by Rohini Arora, NDP MLA for Burnaby East. Arora wrote: “Denying the horrific realities of residential schools is perpetuating anti-Indigenous sentiment. B.C. Conservative MLAs need to stand up, denounce this and continue holding people, just like Dallas Brodie, accountable.”‘We support survivors’CBC could not reach Rustad or Shepherd for comment Monday. Caucus spokesperson Ryan Painter said he could not comment on the matter and would not say if Shepherd still works for the caucus. Conservative MLA Scott McInnis, the party’s critic for Indigenous relations and reconciliation, wrote on the social media platform X that it was an “incredible honour” to speak on behalf of the B.C. Conservative party during the flag raising ceremony. “We support Residential School survivors and always listen with open minds and hearts,” McInnis wrote Friday. “Truth and Reconciliation also means providing opportunity and hope for future generations so youth can be proud of their identity as we navigate challenging times ahead.” MLAs Ward Stamer and A’aliya Warbus also attended the flag raising, but both declined to be interviewed. ‘Astonishing’ commentsGrand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said Rustad should fire Shepherd. “It’s shocking, it’s absolutely disgusting. It’s astonishing that there can be that level of ignorance in this modern day,” he said.”Residential school denial is a terrible, racist sickness that is given public expression with impunity in this province and in this country.” Former B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen, a negotiator for the Tsartlip First Nation, called the comments “vile.” “These kinds of attacks on the true history of our province is really troubling. It’s really toxic behaviour,” Olsen said.”I feel for all our relatives who have the confront these kind of messages and have their entire history questioned in such a mean-spirited way.” Olsen said he’s concerned that Rustad has politicized Indigenous reconciliation by promising to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and by stating last week that Indigenous title cannot co-exist with private property rights. Brodie denied she was mocking residential school survivors.Brodie was accused of residential school denial following a post on X that said: “The number of confirmed child burials at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site is zero.”Brodie said at the time of her social media post that she wasn’t denying the impact of residential schools but wanted to be precise about the findings at the Kamloops site.MLA Dallas Brodie expelled from B.C. Conservative caucusB.C. Conservative leader John Rustad has kicked an MLA out of caucus over controversial comments she made about residential school survivors. As Katie DeRosa reports, there are concerns that MLAs who have sided with Dallas Brodie could also leave the caucus.In 2021, the federally appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation said it had documented the deaths of more than 4,100 children while attending these schools, most due to malnourishment or disease. That work had come as part of the Truth and Reconciliation report into residential schools, which entailed collecting six years of testimony received from more than 6,000 attendees across the country.It also heard testimony that many of the children who attended the schools were physically, sexually or psychologically abused, ultimately characterizing the system as a “cultural genocide.” In May 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said ground penetrating radar provided “confirmation of the remains of 215 children” at the school site but revised its language in July 2021 to describe the finding as “potential burial sites.” The First Nation changed the wording last year to “anomalies.”ABOUT THE AUTHORKatie DeRosa is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC British Columbia. She is based in Victoria. You can contact her at katie.derosa@cbc.ca.
UBCIC calls for firing of B.C. Conservative Party staffer after comments on orange shirts
