VICTORIA – BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson has failed British Columbians by choosing to keep Laurie Throness as critic for Children and Family Development and Childcare despite public comments he has made that are out of step on reproductive choice, LGBTQ2+ rights and universal child care.

When he shuffled his shadow cabinet today, Wilkinson had an opportunity to distance himself from Throness and his extremist views. Instead, Throness remains in his position even though:

• He has attended anti-choice rallies and has spoken out against reproductive rights on social media;
• He spoke out against his own party’s 2016 legislation that included gender identity or expression in the B.C. Human Rights Code;
• During that same speech, he suggested that the LGBTQ2+ community is a special interest group that discriminates against Christians; and
• He opposes universal child care and instead believes that parents should stay at home to look after their children.

Because he continues to stand with Throness, Wilkinson’s commitment to these fundamental human rights must also be called into question.