Chilliwack MLA Heather Maahs invited homophobic anti-choice Christian nationalist group to legislature then hid when asked to defend them
Supposedly free-voting BC Conservatives whipped into inaction as Rustad forces caucus to skip vote on NDP motion to condemn Association for Reformed Political Action
Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs was loud and proud when she invited a Christian nationalist hate group into the B.C. legislature in May.
When asked to stand up to defend the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) this week, however, she and all her BC Conservatives colleagues scattered like rats when the lights are turned on, running to hidey holes as directed.
One of the first orders of business this week as politicians returned to Victoria was a motion to condemn ARPA put forward by NDP MLA Rohini Arora. Her motion:
“That this House condemns the intolerant views of the Association for Reformed Political Action, including its harmful discrimination against transgender people, its belief that homosexuality is ‘immoral’ and its explicit policy goal of restricting abortion access in British Columbia.”
ARPA’s campaign of homophobia and misogyny is notorious in B.C.. The well-funded Christian nationalists regularly lobby politicians and intervene in court cases, such as when a handful of conservative Christian churches decided to defy COVID rules.
ARPA doesn’t just oppose LGBTQ2S+ rights, and abortion, they spend hundreds of thousands of church dollars to fight medical assistance in dying, in-vitro fertilization, and even goes as far as to support corporal punishment of children.
Maahs and ARPA fight hard for the lives of those who are suffering in pain near death or who haven’t even been born. As for humans who are already born, working hard and living lives of poverty in need of a social safety net? Not so much.
ARPA Canada campaigns elected officials everywhere to come on side with their agenda of adopting a biblical perspective in government. The organization even offers a 12-step action plan to “build a relationship of trust and respect with your local government official.”
The NDP motion this week served as yet another landmine to show the hypocrisy of the BC Conservatives, a party whose candidates were promised by party leader John Rustad they would have free votes in the legislature.
The motion was in response to Maahs inviting ARPA to an event in the legislature’s “Hall of Honour” in May, lauding the group for their Christian values that “align with our common sense approach as the Conservative Party of B.C.”
Clearly she is a vocal supporter of ARPA. Rustad also attended the event along with several party members.
BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko – since kicked out of caucus, sitting now as an independent – was not impressed.
"To see a group that, in my opinion, actively works against the rights of other British Columbians, is not in line with what I want to see in the Hall of Honour," Sturko, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, said in May.
So one would have expected Maahs and others on the far right of the party to stand up for their Christian right to support biblical ideals in government and vote against the NDP motion. But no, they were whipped into inaction by the newly paranoid Rustad trying to hold together a fractious right-wing party as, one by one, those deemed too controversially conservative (e.g. Dallas Brodie) or not socially conservative enough (e.g. Sturko) are kicked out.
How would Maahs attempt to square that circle? She posted on Twitter/X that the NDP motion was somehow “intolerant and discriminatory,” an ironic statement from someone expressing intolerance and discrimination against the 2LGBTQS+ community and women.
“The Conservative Party caucus chose not to give oxygen to this nasty bit of vitriol and did not attend for the vote,” she wrote.
“What have we come to as a province or nation, if we will not support freedom of speech or freedom of religion, and defend the rights of our citizens to uphold their christian [sic] values anymore?”
The motion passed by a vote of 48 to three. With Conservative MLAs forbidden from attending, only the even more right wing OneBC party members Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong along with independent Jordan Kealy voted “nay.”
“While the motion itself was purely symbolic, it's reassuring to see many MLAs speak out against the bigotry and threats to our human rights posed by Christian nationalist groups like ARPA,” said Ian Bushfield, executive director of the B.C. Humanist Association in a statement,
On Monday, MLAs voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Christian nationalist group ARPA for its transphobia, homophobia and opposition to abortion. www.bchumanist.ca/bc_legislatu...
— BC Humanist Association (@bchumanist.ca) October 9, 2025 at 10:22 AM
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Bushfield also quoted what Rohini Arora said in her speech:
“I’d like to say something directly to everyone out there who is affected by these hateful views – every member of the trans community, every person who loves whoever they love, no matter the gender, and every woman trying to make a difficult choice on whether to have a child or not: I’m with you, and the members of my caucus are with you. When hate and intolerance surfaces, we will speak out against it.”
After the motion passed, surprise, ARPA doubled down saying that it was “disappointing” but not surprising, and they will continue to bring a “biblical witness to our civil authorities.”
Many members in the legislature spoke in favour of the motion and condemned ARPA from the floor. You can read the full transcript of the debates in Hansard starting at 11:10 a.m.
A few examples:
Independent MLA Elenore Sturko:
“But what isn’t okay is discrimination, using those concerns as a veil to deny dignity, safety or rights to British Columbians. ARPA doesn’t just advocate for their own views. They actively campaign against the fundamental rights of others. They oppose same-sex marriage, seek to restrict abortion access and undermine the dignity of transgender individuals.
“When a political caucus invites such a group into the heart of our government not as private citizens but as influencers in a public forum, it sends a concerning message and elevates voices that aim to erode the equality and protections guaranteed under the law. In a democracy like ours, the Hall of Honour isn’t a private clubhouse. It’s a symbol of representation for every citizen.”
Green MLA Rob Botterell:
“I respect the right of all members of this House to have their own religious beliefs. I do not respect the right of any member to seek to enshrine their beliefs into law or to use them as a tool for spreading hate and disinformation.
“We must recognize the very real human harm caused by beliefs such as the ones perpetrated by ARPA that reinforce stigma and fuel discrimination. When an organization denies the humanity of others, it crosses the line and becomes a matter of public safety and public harm. A compassionate society cannot remain silent while harmful rhetoric seeks to erase the reality of others. These views are outdated, dangerous and do not uplift or unite us. They only divide us, and we do not need division. We need unity.”
NDP MLA Steve Morissette:
“I was raised Christian. I recognize the many positive contributions of Christianity that have bettered the fabric of our province. But I also know the fallibility of religious institutions of all kinds, and I know the sometimes appalling paths that they have taken.
“Let me be clear. I support Christians, I support Buddhists, I support Muslims, I support Hindus, I support Sikhs – whatever faith or belief system people choose. But I draw the line when religion is used as a shield for hatred. I will call out hatred every single time. And this is one of those times.”
Additionally, MLAs took to social media to support the motion. For example, NDP MLA and Minister of Housing Christine Boyle posted to X:
I'm a person of faith and an ordained minister. ARPA's views are incredibly harmful and don't represent most Christians.
— Christine Boyle (@christineeboyle) October 6, 2025
I stand with queer and trans folks, and for reproductive justice, and I hope every MLA does the same today. https://t.co/8UjVlbOMkL
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