Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jun 2014
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Joan Bryden
Page: 18

BYELECTION ATTACK AD FOCUSES ON MARIJUANA

OTTAWA - The Conservatives are pulling out all the stops in a bid to 
steal Scarborough-Agincourt away from the Liberals, including giving 
the Toronto riding's former Liberal MP a starring role in their 
latest attack against Justin Trudeau and his plan to legalize marijuana.

The governing party has blanketed the riding with a flyer that 
features a photo of Jim Karygiannis and a quote from him: "This is 
not the same Liberal party we knew. The party has changed."

The flyer attributes the quote to "your former Liberal MP of 25 
years" explaining why he decided to resign last April, triggering a 
byelection on June 30.

The flip side shows a photo of an unsavoury-looking Trudeau, sporting 
a goatee, superimposed on a picture of young boy lighting up a joint. 
Trudeau appears to be standing in a haze of smoke.

"Trudeau wants marijuana in local stores, just like alcohol and 
cigarettes," the flyer claims.

In fact, Trudeau argues that legalizing, regulating and taxing pot 
would help keep it out of the hands of children and starve organized 
crime of its lucrative marijuana trade.

Microscopic print reveals that the flyer was "authorized by the 
registered agent of the Conservative Party of Canada." But 
Karygiannis believes it was intended to appear as though it came from him.

"This is an all-time low for the Conservatives," he said in an 
interview, calling the flyer a "very low and distasteful attack" that 
misrepresents him and his reason for leaving federal politics.

Karygiannis said he's still a member of the Liberal party and has 
endorsed Arnold Chan, the Liberal candidate in the riding. He's been 
trying to stay out of the byelection contest but said the 
Conservative flyer has "made me want to go vote for Arnold twice 
because of what they did."

When he announced his resignation in April, Karygiannis said he 
wanted to be closer to his family and that he intends to run for a 
spot on city council.

The quote used in the flyer comes from an interview Karygiannis gave 
the Globe and Mail some weeks later and had nothing to do with 
Trudeau's marijuana policy. He was reminiscing about his reputation 
as a bareknuckle political organizer, particularly among ethnic 
communities, and bemoaning what he sees as the current tendency to 
eschew hardball tactics and take ethnic groups for granted.

Scarborough-Agincourt is one of the most ethnically diverse ridings 
in the country and has been a Karygiannis fiefdom since 1988, 
although his margin of victory in the last election slipped to less 
than 5,000 votes ahead of the Conservative.

While he insisted he's fully behind Chan, Karygiannis said Trudeau's 
marijuana policy and his recent decree that all Liberal candidates 
must be willing to support a woman's right to choose in any vote on 
abortion "doesn't sit well" with many constituents in the riding.

"You've got to remember this area where I'm in is very traditional 
families, pro-life, heterosexual marriage, you know husband and wife, 
and there's a lot of churches... This is a law and order community," he said.

So, while the Conservative flyer was "very low," Karygiannis said, 
"It has the possibility of hurting Arnold."

The Conservatives have been playing down their chances of stealing 
the riding, going so far as to suggest their candidate, elementary 
school teacher Trevor Ellis, will be lucky to get his deposit back. 
But they've been flooding the riding with high-profile party emissaries.

Among those who've put in appearances are Labour Minister Kellie 
Leitch, former minister Stockwell Day and Employment Minister Jason 
Kenney, the Tory's wooer-in-chief of ethnic communities.

Scarborough-Agincourt is one of four federal ridings up for grabs in 
byelections on June 30. Another Toronto riding, Trinity-Spadina, and 
two in Alberta, Fort McMurray-Athabasca and Macleod, are also in play.

The Conservatives are widely expected to easily hang on to their two 
Alberta seats. Trinity-Spadina, left vacant when New Democrat Olivia 
Chow resigned to join the race for Toronto mayor, is a fight between 
the NDP and Liberals.

The Conservatives have targeted Trudeau's marijuana stance before.

During a tight byelection in Manitoba's Brandon-Souris riding late 
last year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally waded in to the 
fray just days before the vote with a letter to constituents which, 
among other things, asserted that "Justin Trudeau's plan to legalize 
marijuana will make it more accessible to our kids and encourage 
recreational drug use." A Tory flyer distributed in that campaign 
claimed the Liberals would make marijuana "more available to minors."

The Tories ultimately hung onto BrandonSouris, a longtime 
Conservative fortress, but just barely eked out a win over the Liberals.

The Conservatives have also run radio and television ads making 
similar claims about Trudeau's plan making pot more accessible to kids.

The Scarborough-Agincourt flyer takes the attack a step further, 
directly accusing Trudeau of wanting to sell marijuana in local stores.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom