Nelson-Creston MLA 'harassed' at rest stop over vaccinations
By The Nelson Daily Staff
Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson shared on Twitter that she was “aggressively harassed” Friday during a trip back to the Heritage City from Creston.
Anderson, in her first term as MLA for Nelson-Creston, said the incident occurred at a highway rest stop following a trip to meet with constituents in the Creston Valley.
“In this case, the man involved screamed at us about vaccinations,” Anderson said on Twitter that was posted Saturday morning.
“His actions became so aggressive, and subsequently so did those of his passenger, that we had to run for our car to remove ourselves from this situation.”
This is the second incident involving a sitting NDP member of the BC Legislature.
Earlier this month Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy was assaulted while walking home from the BC Legislature.
The Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Operations and Rural Development, was injured and taken to hospital for medical treatment before being released.
The file is being investigated by Victoria Police.
Anderson said MLA’s have recently dealt with extreme behaviours of people opposed to public health orders.
She said people against vaccines have had an impact on the ability for MLAs to keep an open-door policy with members of their respective ridings.
“Hospitals, schools, and clinics were targeted by similar groups of people and resulted in our government introducing bubble zones around those spaces to keep those workers, patients, and students safe,” Anderson explained.
“And members of the media have faced similarly aggressive tactics.”
As a member of the governing NDP party, Anderson said vaccinations and following public health orders and restrictions, is the best way to fight against COVID-19 and keep communities safe.
“This kind of behaviour is not okay,” Anderson said.
“It does nothing to further the civil, respective conversations that we need to be having as community members to move our province forward in the best way.”
Anderson said the incident has been reported to the authorities and will allow police to continue their investigation.
Friday, the Provincial Government introduce new measures to curb the rise of COVID-19 numbers due to the Omicron variant.
Anderson’s Nelson office has been the target of numerous protests since she was elected to office in November 2020.
People against vaccinations have staged numerous protests outside the office of Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson on Josephine Street in Nelson. — The Nelson Daily file photo
