B.C. Conservatives lose second MLA in two days as Rosalyn Bird leaves caucus

For the second time in as many days, the B.C. Conservatives have lost a member of their caucus, with Prince George-Valemount MLA Rosalyn Bird announcing she will now sit as an Independent.

In a statement sent to media, Bird said the decision came after “considerable reflection” and that the “decision was not made lightly.”

“Political parties play an important role in our democracy, but they are vehicles for our values; they cannot become substitutes for them,” she said.

“I believe British Columbians are tired of political infighting, name-calling and division. They expect their elected representatives to disagree respectfully, work collaboratively where possible, and remain focused on the challenges facing families, communities and our province.”

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Bird’s announcement comes the day after Delta South MLA Ian Paton announced he was resigning from caucus and would be forming a new centre-right party with Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar.

Milobar left the Conservative caucus on Aug. 14, mere months after losing on the first ballot in the leadership race that crowned Kerry-Lynne Findlay as the new party leader.

Along with Paton and West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Lynne Block, Bird was one of three MLAs to publicly confirm they had been asked by Findlay to resign so she could run in a byelection.

Paton said he had been offered an agricultural adviser role by Findlay’s chief of staff Chris Delaney that would pay him the same amount he currently makes as an MLA, $122,043, a claim that Findlay denied.

“I was told that I would stay on as a staffer, which I guess there’s nothing wrong with that. I mean, if I step down, I’m no longer an MLA, and they said, ‘you could come on as a staffer, a party staffer, and act as an adviser for agricultural issues,’ and I would get paid the same as I’m getting paid now as an MLA.”

Reann Gasper, until recently the MLA for Abbotsford-Mission, was named Findlay’s deputy chief of staff after stepping down Saturday to give her party leader a seat to run in.