SAANICH (NEWS 1130) – There’s been more evidence of racism on the B.C. campaign trail, this time in Saanich where a candidate was targeted Saturday night.
BC Liberal candidate Rishi Sharma was putting up election signs when a car is said to have driven up with three Caucasian people inside. The vehicle occupants apparently started hurling racial insults at Sharma.
The candidate for Saanich-South took to Twitter shortly after the car drove away to share what had happened.
“It’s easy for me to come out and say this, and people might think that I’m lying. It’s not,” Sharma explains in the video.
Content warning: The following video contains language some viewers may find offensive.
A sad day in #SaanichSouth. We came out to have some sign and were racial accosted. I ignored at first but forget that. Here it is! Happy to be supported by a strong diverse team.@timescolonist @saanichnews @cfax1070 @jbj59 @Adam_Stirling @victoriabuzzes pic.twitter.com/aErJ2ks8g4
— Rishi Sharma (@Rishi_ss) October 18, 2020
Speaking alongside supporters, Sharma continues by saying he chose to post the video to “highlight the fact that it (racism) is real.”
“It’s embarrassing that we have to talk about this stuff right now. We stayed quiet, we kept doing what we were doing, we stood and [he] just yelled at us for a bit longer, and then put his mask on and eventually just ran away,” he recalls in a video posted to social media.
“We just said, ‘Thank you, we appreciate your comments and your thoughts,’ and I think that’s what calmed him down, because we’ve been through this many times before.”
Good morning #SaanichSouth! A great yesterday day ruined by 1 uninformed & racist individual. Wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all those respectfully participating in this #BCelxn2020@saanichnews @timescolonist @CHEK_News @CTVNewsVI @cfax1070 @CBContheisland @bcliberals pic.twitter.com/dAa4LwEKOV
— Rishi Sharma (@Rishi_ss) October 18, 2020
Earlier this month, NDP candidate for North Okanagan-Shuswap Harwinder Sandhu was the victim of racist and sexist remarks after someone defaced one of her election signs.
NDP leader John Horgan was asked about these two incidents on Monday, saying he’s “as appalled as the vast majority of British Columbians,” adding there’s no place for hate or racism in B.C.
“I was horrified to learn that here in my own community in the South Island that there were racist slurs being thrown at a Liberal candidate,” Horgan said of the incident involving Sharma.
The RCMP is investigating both incidents.
