B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has hired former Juno News Editor Cosmin Dzsurdzsa as Director of Communications, despite the outlet’s record of promoting racist voices that have targeted South Asian Canadians, the BC NDP said on Wednesday.
Dzsurdzsa has published and defended Daniel Tyrie, who has called for the mass deportation of between five and nine million people, including Canadian citizens and legal permanent residents. Tyrie has described “visible minorities” in Surrey as a “problem” and said Canada “has always been a White majority country and it should stay that way.”
Former Alberta Conservative Premier Jason Kenney has said “Daniel Tyrie is a racist. Racism is immoral. It is poison. It is not ‘vitality.’ It is not conservative.”
“Time and again, the B.C. Conservatives ask for the support of South Asian communities, but their actions tell a different story,” said Rohini Arora, MLA for Burnaby East. “Kerry-Lynne Findlay is choosing senior advisors who think it’s ok to target Canadian citizens because they’re not white.”
The hiring comes as Findlay has largely avoided questions from journalists since becoming leader, including questions about her staffing decisions and the direction of the B.C. Conservative Party.
“Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s choices show she’s more focused on importing Trump-style culture wars that divide people by ethnicity than on the real issues facing people in our province,” said Arora. “Blaming Brown and Black people does not put healthier food in the fridge, provide more education, childcare, healthcare, or help families with costs. Rather than bringing forward ideas that would tackle these issues, the B.C. Conservatives are pushing a far-right, extremist vision for the province.”
While Findlay tries to divide people like U.S. President Donald Trump, Premier David Eby and the B.C. NDP are recruiting thousands of healthcare workers from the U.S., opening the new medical school at SFU Surrey, and steadily bringing down the cost of housing, the BC NDP said.
“People want leaders focused on priorities like the cost of living, strengthening healthcare, and creating jobs,” said Arora. “David Eby’s plan is making a difference by bringing down housing costs and hiring thousands more healthcare workers, and our B.C. NDP team will keep working every day to make progress for people.”
