By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 17, 2015
Chris Austin, Liberal candidate, pulled for views ‘irreconcilable’ with party values
The Liberal Party has removed another Alberta candidate for expressing views that it says don’t conform to the party’s values.
In a statement Wednesday, the party said Chris Austin is no longer a candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland.
“New information was brought to our attention which led to the revocation of his green light status, ending his candidacy,” the party said.
“Some of Chris Austin`s views, as articulated in past comments, are irreconcilable with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada.”
Facebook posts still visible on Chris Austin’s page include comments made after the Oct. 22 shootings in Ottawa that said “Harper has turned our Nation’s Capital into a War Zone as his thirst for War,” and suggest the RCMP was the “Canadian Gestapo.”
This riding will be the party’s second nomination do-over in this campaign.
- Liberal candidate Chris Brown apologizes for offensive booze-fuelled tweets
- Tim Dutaud 2nd Conservative candidate dropped over embarrassing videos
- Joy Davies resigns as Liberal candidate over pro-pot Facebook post
- NDP candidate Morgan Wheeldon resigns over Israel comments
The Liberal candidate in Calgary–Nose Hill, Ala Buzreba, apologized and resigned earlier in the campaign for things she said on Twitter when she was 16.
A third Alberta candidate fingered for off-colour remarks, Chris Brown in Peace River-Westlock, apologized for making profanity-laced remarks on Twitter, attributing them to booze-fuelled anger over the death of his partner in an accident involving a drunk driver. He remains on the ballot.
All three parties have had similar candidate controversies in recent weeks, in a growing list of social media trip-ups.
The deadline for all parties to nominate their slates of candidates in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election is Sept. 28. (Source: CBC News)