b***@gmail.com
2019-10-20 02:58:05 UTC
Or is there still time for you to "say you're sorry"? ^_^;
_________________________
https://election.ctvnews.ca/
Scheer won't say if Conservatives hired consultant to 'destroy' People's Party
TORONTO -- With election day less than 48 hours away, Andrew Scheer suddenly found himself in the hot seat Saturday as reports linked the Conservative party to a co-ordinated effort to smear former caucus colleague Maxime Bernier and his nascent populist People's Party of Canada.
The Globe and Mail reported that strategist Warren Kinsella and his firm Daisy Group were hired to "seek and destroy" Bernier's party and portray its supporters as racist. A source with direct knowledge of the project said the client was the Conservatives, the Globe reported.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Conservative leader, whom polls suggest is locked in a neck-and-neck duel with Liberal rival Justin Trudeau, refused to confirm, deny or even acknowledge the report during a news conference in Toronto that featured few questions about anything else.
"We don't offer comments on contracts that may or may not exist on vendors we may or may not have a relationship with," he said, repeatedly.
Bernier formed the People's Party of Canada -- a populist, libertarian movement steeped in nationalist sentiment and aimed at draining support from the right-wing flank of the Tories -- after he narrowly lost the Conservative leadership race to Scheer.
"This is the kind of dirty politics that fuels Canadians' cynicism about politics," Bernier told a news conference of his own, adding that he had filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Canada Elections, the office that enforces Canada's election laws.
"This secret campaign is an attack on the integrity of our democratic process. We had suspected for a long time that many of the supposed scandals of the last month had been fabricated by opponents."
He even suggested that Kinsella's so-called "seek-and-destroy" campaign might have had a hand in the satirical Rhinoceros party's decision to field a candidate also named Maxime Bernier in the leader's Quebec riding of Beauce in hopes of confusing voters.
Kinsella didn't confirm or deny the project to the Globe, but said generally his firm has worked on anti-racism campaigns. Later in the day, after his social media accounts vanished from the internet, he posted a statement on his website defending his work, which he said ended "many months ago."
"It was always going to be disclosed, by law. It was in no way inappropriate or wrong," Kinsella wrote. "Opposing organized bigotry is always appropriate and right. We were and are fiercely proud of the work we did."
In the statement, Kinsella implied that details about the campaign were leaked by a former employee -- a "hater" -- who "made anti-Semitic, intolerant remarks and stole from our company" before going on to assist Bernier's party, which he insisted is undeserving of sympathy.
"We don't help racists," he wrote.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the allegations are troubling and called on Scheer to address them directly.
"Canadians should expect transparency from leaders," Singh said during a campaign stop in B.C., where the New Democrat frontman is seeking to capitalize on momentum few observers would have anticipated at the start of the campaign.
"They should be able to answer those type of questions. If there's evidence to suggest he was involved in the hiring of someone for a certain task he should be able to answer those questions."
Justin Trudeau, for his part, used the report to buttress his now-familiar charge that the Conservatives are using dirty tricks and misinformation to propel their election effort.
"I think we've seen throughout this campaign that the Conservatives have had to use the politics of fear and division and indeed just make stuff up in order to try and get their message across," the Liberal leader said.
[---]
_________________________
https://election.ctvnews.ca/
Scheer won't say if Conservatives hired consultant to 'destroy' People's Party
TORONTO -- With election day less than 48 hours away, Andrew Scheer suddenly found himself in the hot seat Saturday as reports linked the Conservative party to a co-ordinated effort to smear former caucus colleague Maxime Bernier and his nascent populist People's Party of Canada.
The Globe and Mail reported that strategist Warren Kinsella and his firm Daisy Group were hired to "seek and destroy" Bernier's party and portray its supporters as racist. A source with direct knowledge of the project said the client was the Conservatives, the Globe reported.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Conservative leader, whom polls suggest is locked in a neck-and-neck duel with Liberal rival Justin Trudeau, refused to confirm, deny or even acknowledge the report during a news conference in Toronto that featured few questions about anything else.
"We don't offer comments on contracts that may or may not exist on vendors we may or may not have a relationship with," he said, repeatedly.
Bernier formed the People's Party of Canada -- a populist, libertarian movement steeped in nationalist sentiment and aimed at draining support from the right-wing flank of the Tories -- after he narrowly lost the Conservative leadership race to Scheer.
"This is the kind of dirty politics that fuels Canadians' cynicism about politics," Bernier told a news conference of his own, adding that he had filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Canada Elections, the office that enforces Canada's election laws.
"This secret campaign is an attack on the integrity of our democratic process. We had suspected for a long time that many of the supposed scandals of the last month had been fabricated by opponents."
He even suggested that Kinsella's so-called "seek-and-destroy" campaign might have had a hand in the satirical Rhinoceros party's decision to field a candidate also named Maxime Bernier in the leader's Quebec riding of Beauce in hopes of confusing voters.
Kinsella didn't confirm or deny the project to the Globe, but said generally his firm has worked on anti-racism campaigns. Later in the day, after his social media accounts vanished from the internet, he posted a statement on his website defending his work, which he said ended "many months ago."
"It was always going to be disclosed, by law. It was in no way inappropriate or wrong," Kinsella wrote. "Opposing organized bigotry is always appropriate and right. We were and are fiercely proud of the work we did."
In the statement, Kinsella implied that details about the campaign were leaked by a former employee -- a "hater" -- who "made anti-Semitic, intolerant remarks and stole from our company" before going on to assist Bernier's party, which he insisted is undeserving of sympathy.
"We don't help racists," he wrote.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the allegations are troubling and called on Scheer to address them directly.
"Canadians should expect transparency from leaders," Singh said during a campaign stop in B.C., where the New Democrat frontman is seeking to capitalize on momentum few observers would have anticipated at the start of the campaign.
"They should be able to answer those type of questions. If there's evidence to suggest he was involved in the hiring of someone for a certain task he should be able to answer those questions."
Justin Trudeau, for his part, used the report to buttress his now-familiar charge that the Conservatives are using dirty tricks and misinformation to propel their election effort.
"I think we've seen throughout this campaign that the Conservatives have had to use the politics of fear and division and indeed just make stuff up in order to try and get their message across," the Liberal leader said.
[---]
