BC Conservatives Under Fire Over Spokesperson Known for Insults, Slurs and Online Abuse
Groups pen open letter calling for action against a BC Conservative spokesperson for “targeting Muslims, Sikhs and women of colour”
A coalition of organizations representing religious and racialized groups across Canada have issued a joint letter calling on John Rustad’s BC Conservatives to hold their party spokesperson accountable for a pattern of harmful behaviour.
According to the group’s letter, BC Conservative spokesperson Anthony Koch has repeatedly made “misogynistic, divisive, and inflammatory remarks, targeting Muslims, Sikhs and women of color.”
Some of the examples listed in the letter cite social media posts from Koch telling elected officials to go back to Africa, suggesting that the “Khalistani crew” do not support Canadian Jews, suggesting that anti-Semites are most likely to be Pakistani, using derogatory slurs towards women and making other inappropriate suggestions online.
“This sort of behaviour is not only unacceptable for a person representing a political party, but it also fuels polarization at a time when Canadians need to come together,” the statement says. “These actions contradict Canadian values of equality, dignity and respect that are foundational to a just society.”
The letter is signed by a number of prominent groups, including the National Council for Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization, The BC Muslim Arab Professionals Society, and a number of Islamic Centres and Associations across BC.
The statement also criticizes the BC Conservatives’ silence in responding to media and other organizations in their attempt to hold members of their party accountable.
“Despite multiple attempts to reach out to John Rustad and the BC Conservative Party to address these concerns, there has unfortunately been no response. Therefore, we are now publicly urging the party to take immediate action,” the letter states.
Koch has a history of directing abusive and misogynistic statements at women.
Koch told Sarah Jama, a Black woman and an MPP in Ontario, to “go back to Somalia” and “stop occupying Canada.”
In another incident, Koch personally attacked Sarbjit Kaur, a political commentator and co-founder of Kapow Communications, with a vile misogynistic slur.
Kaur points out that Koch was brought on as spokesperson by the BC Conservatives after many of these exchanges had already taken place on social media.
“It’s shocking that only a short time after these very public online interactions with myself and others, Anthony Koch was hired to serve as an official spokesman and senior member of the BC Conservative Party,” Kaur told PressProgress.
“It’s a slap in the face to women and all the other communities that were subject to his abuse and toxic views. That John Rustad chose this person to be his public spokesperson and a key member of his campaign team raises many questions about his own judgment and values.”
Kaur isn’t the only woman Koch has gone after online. Journalist Rachel Gilmore is a frequent target that Koch mentions in his tweets unprovoked.
Koch has also previously publicly targeted journalists who have reached out to the BC Conservatives requesting comment.
In a statement Thursday, a BC Conservative spokesperson shared a statement in reference to tweets in which Koch called Kaur a misogynistic slur.
“Anthony apologized for his comments directed towards Ms. Kaur,” BC Conservative spokesperson Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney told PressProgress. “The individual who was on the receiving end of the comments accepted his apology publicly.”
When asked why a number of Koch’s tweets referenced in the joint letter have since been deleted, the spokesperson said Koch’s tweets “used to be deleted automatically.”
“Anthony’s tweets used to be deleted automatically, however the tweets related to Sarbjit Kaur were deleted the same day, prior to his apology,” Lecavalier-Kidney said.
Kaur says Koch’s apology rings hollow in retrospect because she feels he did not make a good faith effort to change his behaviour toward women and minorities.
“He apologized and I accepted because it seemed like he might have been going through something,” Kaur said. “But he continued to abuse other people and entire communities after the exchange with me.”
“He had many chances to change course and his online behaviour but did not.”
“Just because he apologized doesn’t mean he’s fit to be a spokesperson of a major political party. It’s interesting they chose him as a spokesperson — of all the people. But it starts to make sense when you see their candidates and other campaign team members are also mired in similar controversies.”
CBC News recently ended their working relationship with Koch who frequently appeared on CBC’s politics segment “Power and Politics” as a commentator.
According to a statement from CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau Chief said Koch’s behaviour fell short of CBC’s values and code of conduct.
“As a CBC contributor, Mr. Koch is expected to uphold CBC’s values and its Code of Conduct, including behaving in a manner that is respectful,” the statement said.
“Several of his recent social media posts fell far short of that standard. Accordingly, we informed Mr. Koch this week that he will not be appearing on our program for the foreseeable future.”
NEW: The CBC says @Anthony__Koch will no longer be a contributor to @PnPCBC after his recent social media outbursts.
For context, these posts include telling Sarah Jama to “go back to Somalia” and threatening to dox academics who express support for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/7zE3gboXe0
— Jeremy Appel (@JeremyAppel1025) October 13, 2023
Koch, who has strong ties to Canada’s right-wing conservative movement, has also previously worked as a spokesperson for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative leadership campaign.
Koch is also on the record stating that he would personally resign if his friend, BC Conservative Candidate Brian Breguet was ever “removed as a candidate,” for his sexist and misogynistic statements that suggest a constellation of resentments and problematic beliefs about women.
BC NDP Leader David Eby responded to the joint statement during a press conference Wednesday, calling it “concerning.”
“There used to be a consensus among political parties in B.C. If you have a candidate with these views, you kick them out. John Rustad has been silent on these candidates.”
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