Tuesday April 30, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated May 1, 2024]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Today in the BC Legislature the leader of the Conservative Party of BC stood up for fairness in women’s sport.
John Rustad introduced a motion to introduce a Fairness in Womens’ and Girls’ Sports Act that would require recognition of an athlete’s gender at birth, citing distinct differences in chromosomes and hormones. Rustad said in introducing the motion that dignity of persons born female would be respected in his party’s motion.
The bill limits participants in publicly-funded sporting events to only compete according to their biological gender, to prevent trans women from competing in women’s sports.
“Fairness in women’s and girls’ sports is not too much to ask for,” the Conservative Party of BC posted later in social media. He arrived at the BC Legislature today accompanied by Conservatives of BC Candidate Gwen O’Mahony and Team Canada power-lifter April Hutchinson.
This motion was seen as being against the NDP Government’s proactive stance in support of gender diversity and trans-gender persons.
Given that the NDP MP’s have a majority in the Legislative Assembly, acceptance of the motion was defeated.
The motion was supported by BC United MLAs in addition to the two Conservative MLAs.
Election direction:
The Conservative Party of BC is pursuing a theme of ‘common sense’ in their appeal to voters as the next provincial election looms.
Likely expecting the introduction of the motion to fail (due to seat numbers in the legislature), the exercise was about stating the party’s position for the attention of those who are following the conservative movement in BC.
The next BC provincial election is scheduled for October 20, 2024.
===== RELATED:
Transwoman Elite Athletes: Their Extra Percentage Relative to Female Physiology (July 26, 2022)
Participation of Trans-Gender Athletes in Women’s Sport (Women’s Sport Foundation)
Gender Equality in Sport (Olympics.com)
===== FOLLOWING THE 2024 BC ELECTION:
- BC Election 2024: news archive
- Election tracker [Scroll down to October 19, 2024 in the Island Social Trends Calendar for various links and voting dates]
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Island Social Trends Editor Mary P Brooke has lived in Langford since 2017. Her series of news publications that started in 2008 has included a focus on following community growth and development in the west shore region.
Island Social Trends was launched online at IslandSocialTrends.ca in 2020, having morphed from the previous publication West Shore Voice News (weekly print/PDF 2014-2020) and Sooke Voice News (weekly print 2011-2013) before that. In 2008-2010 it was the colour quarterly MapleLine Magazine that rolled off Mary’s pen.
Since the daily coverage of COVID news in 2020-2002, Ms Brooke has reported along with the BC Legislative Press Gallery with a more provincial angle on the news, always with a socioeconomic lens and a view to analyzing the impacts of political decisions.
In 2022 Ms Brooke ran for school trustee in the west shore (SD62). In 2023 she was nominated for a Jack Webster Foundation journalism award that recognizes professional women journalists for their contribution to community through journalism. In 2024 Ms Brooke has launched Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society to guide urban decision-makers in the creation of food-growing spaces in urban communities.