`In it to win it,' says ex-liberal Throness

Laurie Throness, the Chilliwack politician who stepped down Thursday from the B.C. Liberal Party after his latest controversial comments, says he will sit as an Independent if elected, since his name is still on the ballot.

In a statement on Facebook Friday, Throness apologized for the damage done to his MLA colleagues and to Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson. Throness' name will remain on the ballot in Chilliwack-kent and listed under the B.C. Liberals, since the deadline for candidate registrations has passed. “I'm in it to win it,” he said. During a virtual all-candidates meeting in his constituency Wednesday, Throness said he didn't feel free prescriptions for contraception, as promised by the NDP, was a priority, and made a comparison to eugenics.

Throness has also been criticized for advertising in a religious publication considered homophobic and transphobic by the LGBTQ community.