Campbell River

People keep threatening to sue us over this particular page. Perhaps we should have been more explicit in explaining that a group of Campbell River candidates was set to speak at a meet and greet organized by Campbell River Freedom, ostensibly with the goal of seeking votes from Campbell River Freedom membership. (Hot tip: if you want to hide affiliations, the phone number on your event poster shouldn’t match the publicly visible phone number on your Facebook page.) The event was cancelled about a week before it was set to take place.

Public figures bullying activists into submission is a tale as old as time, but ultimately we have neither the time nor the patience to put our faith and wallets into BC’s fancy new anti-SLAPP legislation.

So that’s why this page has changed considerably. Funny that it’s ostensibly okay for groups like local Action4Canada chapters to promote and endorse candidates, but suddenly it’s defamation when we point out what’s going on in public Telegram and Facebook groups. The photo that used to be at the top of this page was never “our” photo or “our” list. It was an image passed around a hate group. Asking why candidates’ names appear in hate groups is simply part of informed votership.

From Campbell River Freedom:

Mayor

Saron Gebresellassi ❌ not elected

Kermit Dahl ✅ elected

School trustee (SD 72)

Alaina Kelly ❌ not elected

Mayor

Saron Gebresellassi

Saron is deep in the convoy/freedom movement and all of the resulting disinformation and hate that comes with said movement. Saron is a lawyer for The United People of Canada (TUPOC), the convoy/freedom group that squatted in a deconsecrated church in Ottawa until they were finally evicted from the former St. Brigid’s.

Back in BC, Saron was a lawyer for the convoy/freedom hangout spot Lambda Cabaret nightclub in Prince George, which spent all pandemic refusing to follow public health orders until they were finally temporarily shut down by Northern Health. The following is from the Prince George freedom group, so I won’t link it directly:

Saron was endorsed by Colin “Big Bear” Ross, who was active in the Ottawa convoy and spends a lot of time complaining about the usual convoy/freedom things on social media and far-right podcasts. Colin also founded the Big Bear Movement and styled himself as a spiritual healer, which some have pointed out as a little cult-ish.

Saron was allegedly nominated by Lori Woodruff, an early organizer in the Campbell River convoy/freedom movement.

PLOT TWIST!

School trustee (SD 72)

Alaina Kelly

Pofoundly and proudly homophobic and transphobic. Supports Italy’s new nationalist leader.

Taunya Holland is Alaina Kelly’s financial agent.

Alaina is associated with Living Waters Fellowship Church in Black Creek, a church that promotes Action4Canada to its members and holds Action4Canada events.

This is Action4Canada

Action4Canada promotes far-right extremism based in religious fundamentalism. From their website: “Our mission is to protect Canada’s rich heritage which is founded on Judeo-Christian biblical principles. Inherited through our British Commonwealth and embedded in the Magna Carta, these principles form our laws and values and are the basis of a system of governance that sets us apart from totalitarian, extremist and communist regimes.” (Others might describe that as “white supremacist-flavoured Christofascism.”) They rally against SOGI education, LGBT2S+ rights, Islam, abortions, climate change science, immigration, and 5G. Action4Canada predates the pandemic, but quickly began rallying against public health mandates, vaccines, and basic medical science.