B.C. NDP leader calls on Conservative to remove campaign chief over Islam comments

David Eby, leader of the B.C. NDP, is calling on Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson to fire Katy Merrifeld, the party's campaign director, over social media comments made in June that called Islam an "abhorrent ideology" requiring expulsion.

Merrifeld's post, which included an expletive before the word Islam, was framed as a response to the "Rape Gang Inquiry" report published by Rupert Lowe, who leads the anti-immigration Restore Britain party. Lowe's privately funded report examined organized grooming gangs. In her post, Merrifeld called on her audience to defend "Western civilization."

Within hours of the posts surfacing, Merrifeld removed them from social media. In a follow-up statement, she said she was "heartbroken, horrified, and angry" and was criticizing "the extremism used to justify these horrific crimes, not at Muslims or their faith." Merrifeld identifies as a woman and rape survivor.

Eby made his call for Merrifeld's removal Saturday at an unrelated campaign announcement on Vancouver Island. When asked why he was demanding the removal of a party staffer rather than a candidate, Eby said: "Either he removes her, or he very clearly would only remove a candidate, where they didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning."

Doerkson has previously fired Conservative candidate Joachim Agou for making comments about Muslims; Agou has since apologized. As of Saturday, there is no confirmation that Doerkson has responded to Eby's call, and Merrifeld has not stated whether she will resign.