The Conservative candidate for Saanichsa国际传媒揋ulf Islands has apologized for past comments he made about the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that followed the murder of George Floyd.

Video clips of David Busch show him speculating that racial-justice protesters wanted the officers involved in Floydsa国际传媒檚 killing to be sa国际传媒渓ynched.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲hat type of justice exactly are these people looking for? Do they want the accused to be handed over to the mob and lynched?sa国际传媒� the Tory candidate said.

Taleeb Noormohamed, the Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Granville, posted the compilation of clips of Busch on Twitter. Itsa国际传媒檚 not clear where the selfie-style videos were originally posted.

Buschsa国际传媒檚 campaign didnsa国际传媒檛 accept an interview request and said they have nothing more to add after he posted an apology on Aug. 20. The campaign then declined a second request for comment.

In the videos, the candidate also said: sa国际传媒淗ow many people (were) assaulted or killed during those riots during this past summer?sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淭he criminals who are using as an excuse, this tragic event, to loot and to burn, they need to be brought to justice every bit as much as the four thugs who ended Mr. Floydsa国际传媒檚 life need be brought to justice,sa国际传媒� he said in another.

Busch apologized for his sa国际传媒渋nsensitive remarkssa国际传媒� in an Aug. 20 tweet.

sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 not who I am as a person,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淐onservative Party candidates strive to be respectful and inclusive of others. To those who I offended, please accept my sincere apology.sa国际传媒�

Pamphinette Buisa sa国际传媒� organizer of a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in Victoria attended by thousands last summer sa国际传媒� said it was frightening to see Busch use language like sa国际传媒渢hese people,sa国际传媒� as she said that promotes an us-and-them mentality.

sa国际传媒淪eeing that this person wants to be in office and wants to advocate and be a representative is quite concerning,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淲e just want to be a part of the conversation, we just want to be seen as human, and to deter the conversation in any other direction apart from that is missing the movement as a whole.sa国际传媒�

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Movements pushing for more equality sa国际传媒� especially racial equality sa国际传媒� often face people trying to hyper-focus on violence, Buisa said. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project called the

Itsa国际传媒檚 important, Busia said, for those wanting to hold positions of power to engage with different perspectives - especially with those who have historically been left out of the conversation. She said leaders should ask themselves who theysa国际传媒檙e accountable to, speaking for and where theysa国际传媒檙e coming from.

As for Buschsa国际传媒檚 comment about lynching, she said, sa国际传媒淚 cansa国际传媒檛 even comment on that because itsa国际传媒檚 just very disturbing.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淭his is an opportunity for him to learn and I think thatsa国际传媒檚 a positive thing,sa国际传媒� Buisa said. sa国际传媒淲ith a lot of peoplesa国际传媒檚 engagement with various movements, yousa国际传媒檙e not going to get it right the first time, yousa国际传媒檙e going to make mistakes.sa国际传媒�

Given the opportunity to talk with Busch, Buisa said she would first check-in on his well-being, before trying to see where hesa国际传媒檚 coming from and why he feels the way he does.

sa国际传媒淚nstead of that us-and-them conversation, itsa国际传媒檚 us, and how can we all engage moving forward.sa国际传媒�

When asked if he stands by Busch and if the views expressed in the video reflect those of his party, Conservative leader Erin Osa国际传媒橳oole didnsa国际传媒檛 mention his candidate while answering, but said sa国际传媒渨e all have a role in stamping out racism, intolerance, anti-Semitism.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲e must and will have conversations in a responsible and informed way to tackle inequalities in our society,sa国际传媒� he said during a Winnipeg campaign stop.

Erin Osa国际传媒橳oole didn't mention racism even once in his platform, yet he supports candidates like David Busch in BC.

There is no place for this in Canada. We must all speak out against the Conservative's efforts to drive us apart.

sa国际传媒� Taleeb Noormohamed (@Taleeb)

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