Chris Shaw, candidate for Cowichan Bay area director on the Cowichan Valley Regional District board, is no stranger to politics and controversy.

But he seems to be doubling down with his choice of Cowichan Tribes member Gary Drouillard as his alternate director.

According to the province, "each regional district electoral area director representing an electoral area must appoint an alternate to carry out their responsibilities in their absence. "

On social media (https://www.chrisshawforcowbay.com/blog/values-wy27j ), Shaw has described Drouillard as someone “who tirelessly seeks to hold the Chief and Council of the Cowichan Tribes accountable to the people.

“It is this dedication that I feel is the same as my own: to hold elected officials in the Cowichan Valley accountable to all citizens.”

Shaw also said: "...if we get elected, watch out those in the 'old boy/old girl' club.... your time is done."

Drouillard is known for posting YouTube videos highly critical of Cowichan Tribes administration on a wide range of issues, framing his comments with the words “freedom of expression without prejudice.”

In one video, the RCMP order him to leave a Tribes community event. “You’re not welcome here because there is a certain protocol that you were supposed to follow.…” Drouillard repeatedly challenges the decision, but is eventually escorted out.

In another video, he expresses concern about “this whole gay pride day, month, rainbow month…painting sidewalks,” saying it is not consistent with Indigenous history and that he worries about the impact on children.

“This is not from a place of hate. This is from a place of history and facts.”

Hilary Abbott, the current Cowichan Bay area director, plans to seek re-election.

"Areas that I plan to build upon include making more affordable housing available throughout Area D, which demands improvements and upgrades to our water and sewer infrastructure.

"Moreover, communities that offer pragmatic connectivity, through timely, accessible and affordable public transit, walkable communities and sound investment in active transportation, allow residents to continue to live in their community longer while accessing the services they need.

"Residents’ ability to access goods and services close to home also benefits our business community, both in the seaside village of Cowichan Bay and Koksilah Village.

"Of utmost importance is keeping the rivers that flow through Area D and the estuary they flow into healthy, both in terms of the quality and quantity of water. This demands a multi-level government approach that works in a collaborative and respectful manner to ensure that the health of the estuary is restored and that it is ready to contend with sea level rise."

Shaw was a leading opponent of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

He ran unsuccessfully twice for a seat on 
Vancouver city council — in 2008 with the Work Less Party and in 2011 under the Degrowth banner. (https://thetyee.ca/News/2011/12/12/Degrowth-Party/ )

In 2017 Shaw made the news over a controversial research paper: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/ubc-vaccine-study/article36611348/

In 2000 he ran for the Canadian Action Party in the federal election in Vancouver Quadra and scored 0.79 per cent of the vote.

In 2021 he wrote a book, Dispatches From the Vaccine Wars: Fighting for Human Freedom During the Great Reset, with a forward by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is currently Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration.

In 2022 Shaw ran unsuccessfully for North Cowichan council along with Adrienne Richards and Joseph Enslow under the banner, United Independents.

They called for less government in citizens’ lives and asserted that North Cowichan had become a “testing ground for multiple international environmental projects, without public consultation.”

Recently, Richards and Enslow have been giving Drouillard a publicity boost on social media. (Enslow owns Valley Wise Exteriors.)

Richards has also mocked people who continue to get covid shots or wear masks. "You are being conditioned — stay home stay safe," she wrote on social media. "Stay in your 15 min cities. You are a human so a parasite on the earth. The government is here for your safety."