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Local MP speaks to caucus member’s expulsion
Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison today addressed Conservative Party of Canada Leader Erin O’Toole’s decision to remove a fellow member from the party caucus.
The Conservative Party Caucus Jan. 20 voted to ouster Hastings—Lennox and Addington MP Derek Sloan (pictured above) for having accepted a $131 campaign donation from a well-known white nationalist/neo Nazi Paul Fromm.
O’Toole stated in a media release that Sloan’s acceptance of the donation was “far worse than a gross error of judgment or failure of due diligence. Racism is a disease of the soul, repugnant to our core values. It has no place in our country. It has no place in the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). I won’t tolerate it.”
The vote to remove Sloan from the caucus came after a lively debate among the 121 sitting party members.
O’Toole’s decision to remove the MP came one day after he declared there’s no room in his party for far-right extremism or racism.
Local MP Morrison today released the following statement.
“We have members of the Conservative Party in Kootenay-Columbia who are filled with deep-rooted compassion and unmatched character, who like many Canadians, draw strength from their faith. I affirm, and they agree, that there is no place for racism in our party and no room for it in our riding. The source of the issue with MP Sloan is not about social conservatism. This was about leadership, poor judgement, accountability and trust. This was not an attack on social Conservatism nor would I stand for such an attack,” he said.
“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords all Canadians the right to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression. We must not marginalize law-abiding Kootenay-Columbians with whom we disagree, be they from the left or right. It is the sum total of our collective ideas and opinions that make us Canadian. Conservatives are an open-minded party, which means we have members from all walks of life brought together by common values like fiscal accountability and job creation. At their core they are proudly Canadian and I stand with them.”
Morrison concluded his office is open to everyone and “my focus remains Kootenay-Columbians and addressing the volume of need that this health and economic crisis has created.”
Sloan will now sit as an Independent.
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