Pubdate: Fri, 11 Sep 2015
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Authors: Ben Spurr & Bruce Campion-Smith
Page: A1

WEB HISTORY CATCHES MORE CANDIDATES

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 spokesman 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
thinktank 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 Liberals 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 our
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. 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.
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MAP posted-by: Matt