Web history catches more candidates

Thestar.com
Sept. 10, 2015
By Bruce Campion-Smith and Ben Spurr

Three more candidates running in the federal election found themselves under fire over social media activity on Thursday, with profanity-laden rants, tips on how to spot “a latent homosexual,” and a defence of parents who expose their kids to marijuana the latest bits of online history to be unearthed.

Already this week, two Conservative candidates were booted after their bad behaviour went viral. This time, it was one Conservative and two Liberal nominees in the hot seat. One of the Liberals has already resigned.

Konstantin Toubis, the Conservative candidate for the GTA riding of King-Vaughan, admitted Thursday that he had shared a series of controversial Russian-language articles about sex and gender - which he said he did not write - on his personal Facebook page.

However, he said the articles didn’t reflect his views as “a married man with a daughter.” He said he linked to the material “because it was ridiculous.”

“Yes, it was reposted, and yes it was on my wall,” Toubis told the Star. “No, it’s not my values, it’s not who I am.”

Toubis said he has no intention of stepping down, and that he didn’t think the posts should interfere with him running for public office. “I don’t see any problem for me to be a candidate.”

In response to questions from the Star, Conservative spokesperson Stephen Lecce provided a quote from Toubis, in which he reiterated that the articles he shared “do not reflect how I feel or who I am.” Lecce declined to answer when asked whether the posts were appropriate, or if Toubis would still stand for the party in King-Vaughan.

The posts were first reported by Press Progress, a news website that describes itself as “a media project of the Broadbent Institute,” a think-tank chaired by former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent.

Toubis linked to the articles, between July 2014 and last March, according to Press Progress. One of them purports to give advice to men. “A man never raises his hand to a woman ... There are other body parts to raise for a woman,” reads a portion, according to the Press Progress translation. “If you catch your girlfriend with a woman, you have the right to silently undress and join them,” reads another.

One article Toubis shared asserted that if a man likes women with “bony behinds,” it is “a sign of a latent homosexual,” Press Progress said.

The Liberal party announced Thursday afternoon that Joy Davies, the Liberal candidate in the B.C. riding of South Surrey-White Rock, had resigned hours after her comments on Facebook about marijuana came to light.

Davies had suggested it’s OK for kids to be in a house with marijuana and endorsed the view that pot use can decrease domestic violence.

“Ms. Davies’ views in no way reflect the values or policies of the Liberal Party of Canada,” the party said in a statement, adding that a new candidate would be nominated “in due course.”

In her own Facebook posting, Davies said she stepped aside “after much consideration.”

“I believe in the work that the Liberal team is doing and my personal opinion and past comments should not distract from what is most important right now - ensuring all Canadians receive the real change and new leadership they deserve,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Trudeau, whose party supports the legalization of marijuana, sought to distance himself from Davies, declaring that the position of the Liberal party was on pot was “clear.”

“We need to control and regulate marijuana in order to protect out kids,” Trudeau said. “The views expressed by the individual in question do not reflect the views of the Liberal party of Canada and do not reflect my personal views.”

However, the party stuck by Chris Brown, the Liberal candidate in the Alberta riding of Peace River-Westlock, despite profane Twitter postings from 2009 littered with swear words, including “b ---- ” and “whore.”

Later Thursday, Brown issued an apology on his website, calling his comments “inappropriate.”

He said at the time he made the postings, he had just lost his partner in a car accident.

“This emotional anguish led to an alcohol dependency problem and a complete lack of judgment when posting on social media,” Brown said, adding that he has since “moved forward.”

Trudeau said later that the party had accepted Brown’s “heartfelt” apology.

Candidates facing scrutiny once their past misbehaviour is exposed online has become a trend this federal campaign.

Earlier this week the Conservatives cut ties with Scarborough-Rough Park candidate Jerry Bance, who was caught on a hidden camera urinating into a coffee mug in 2012, and Tim Dutaud, who reportedly posted videos of himself making offensive prank calls online.

On Tuesday, Shawn Dearn, a senior aide to New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair, apologized after two-year-old tweets surfaced in which he took aim at the Roman Catholic Church.
Party activists say that, in recent years, scouring social media to hunt for offside comments by other parties’ candidates has become a highly important function of federal party election war rooms, with the aim of airing the comments publicly.