by Brian Peckford
May 4, 2022
Of course, that’s one of the many reasons I left the Party, and joined the Peoples Party of Canada.
They just can’t get anything right any more.
Like, keeping silent through most of the draconian , unconstitutional, unscientific, Government mandates of the last two years.
Then pretending to be against all the Government measures when it is convenient— crase political theatre.
Has the once great party reformed ?
Former leader Andrew Sheer is still around even though he took party money and used it so help pay for the private education of his children .
The Party does not carry its financial statements on their website . That’s transparency for you.
The Party has no policy to introduce legislation to ban MP’s who break the law?
The Party makes it difficult for ordinary earning citizens to run for the leadership of the Party given its $300,000 registration fee.
And now during their leadership campaign there are questions from candidates about their disqualification with no clear answers and transparency from the Party.
Here is the Epoch Times story on the issue:
Tory Leadership Candidates Claim Wrongful Disqualification as Party Reveals List of Six Contenders
By Noé Chartier May 3, 2022 Updated: May 3, 2022
The Conservative Party has announced the six verified candidates that will appear on the ballot in the upcoming leadership race, but three disqualified candidates are seeking answers for their rejection, saying they met all the requirements.
Joel Etienne, Joseph Bourgault, and Grant Abraham were disqualified, but say they provided the required $300,000 and 500 nomination signatures before the deadline.
The Conservative Party announced on May 2 that Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Patrick Brown, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis, and Pierre Poilievre made the cut.
“It is with great disappointment that we were advised by the Conservative Party of Canada last evening that we were ineligible to advance in the Leadership Campaign,” said Bourgault, a business owner from Saskatchewan, on social media on May 2.
“They stated that our team did not meet the registration fees and compliance deposit of $300,000. Our team submitted $367,453 before the deadline of April 29th at 5:00PM Eastern Time.”
Bourgault’s campaign chair Ryan Olson told The Epoch Times they’ve asked for clarification and appealed the decision, mentioning that “many Canadians who are very upset with this news [are] calling and asking for answers.”
Abraham’s campaign says it is also engaging the party to seek clarification.
“We have yet to receive any explanation,” spokesperson David Benjatschek told The Epoch Times in an email on May 3.
“There has been so much energy and enthusiasm behind our campaign. We owe our supporters a truthful and transparent look at the decision and their process to arrive at it.”
Abraham, who is from B.C. and works as an international consultant, sent a “Call to Action” to his supporters to help pressure the party to revisit the decision.
“Demand an inquiry and proof that the campaign did not meet both financial goals that were set,” says the communication, which quotes an email from Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) about its efforts to get pro-life candidates on the ballot.
The CLC says it was “pretty excited” that three out of four endorsed candidates would appear on the ballot, but the excitement “turned to outrage” when it was announced Abraham was disqualified. The CLC endorsed Lewis, Abraham, Bourgault, and MP Marc Dalton, but the latter didn’t collect the required amount.
According to the CLC, it was told by the party that Abraham didn’t pay the 15 percent “administration fee,” which would raise the required amount to $345,000, but points out that Bourgault did surpass that amount yet he was also disqualified.
The CLC perceives this as an attack on the social conservatives within the party and says it will throw all its weight behind Lewis if she’s the only “socon” left on the ballot.
The campaign team of Etienne, a Toronto-based lawyer who has represented The Epoch Times Canada in the past, said they are currently communicating with the CPC to repeal the decision, as they say they met all requirements, and would not comment further.
Two verified candidates commented on the party’s decision and said the disqualified candidates should be allowed to run if they met the requirements.
“We want a fair race. I’m not afraid of a hard fight, and the Conservative party is not one that should be cancelling legitimate contestants,” wrote Lewis on Twitter.
Brown also commented on the issue, saying on Twitter, “A party that stands for free speech should be about open exchange of ideas, not gatekeeping. I’m prepared to defend my ideas to become leader.”
A request for comment from the Conservative Party was unanswered by publication time.
“Final verification was based on the requirements set out under the rules, not any prospective candidate’s political beliefs,” Conservative Party executive director Wayne Benson told The Globe and Mail.
The approved candidates have until June 3 to sign up new members, and the vote will take place late in the summer, with the results to be announced on Sept. 10.
Noé Chartier is an Epoch Times reporter based in Montreal.
