Sturko refuses to meet ousted police board vice-chair, defying Rustad [Video]

John Rustad says he expects a spirit of defiance and for free speech to reign in his British Columbia Conservative Party caucus — even if it involves pitting team members against each other, including himself.

But he said there’s no rift in the upstart party, despite differences about its core values that have publicly played out in the aftermath of Vancouver Police Board member Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba’s resignation last month.

Conservative public safety critic Elenore Sturko had endorsed Sakoma-Fadugba’s exit over social media posts about multiculturalism and gender, while 13 fellow MLAs called on Sturko to make a written apology and meet Sakoma-Fadugba, citing an opposition to “cancel culture.”

They called for the matter to be discussed at a caucus meeting.

That meeting of the 44-member caucus was held behind closed doors at the legislature on Tuesday and while Rustad wouldn’t talk about the agenda, he said members were free to …