Pubdate: Sat, 12 Sep 2015
Source: Niagara Falls Review, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Niagara Falls Review
Contact: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/letters
Website: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2907
Author: Anthony Furey
Page: A6

STANCE SHOWS JUSTIN TRUDEAU HAS LOW STANDARDS FOR CANDIDATES

Only days after Conservative Leader Stephen Harper booted two
candidates from his party for past indiscretions, Liberal Leader
Justin Trudeau declined to do the same.

Now-former B.C. Liberal candidate Joy Davies was interviewed by
HuffPost Thursday for comments she'd made prior to the election
concerning her marijuana advocacy.

"The children of the mothers who used (marijuana) during pregnancy had
higher IQs and were better socially established than the children
whose mothers didn't," Davies told the news site.

Whatever your perspective on pot, this is a half-baked view to say the
least.

It's also evidence that Davies would have been ill-suited to sit as a
legislator with a major political party.

Late Thursday, Davies announced her resignation, stating her "personal
opinion and past comments should not distract from what is most
important right now."

But her past comments weren't the main problem, the clarification she
made to HuffPost was most troubling.

While we don't know how influenced her "resignation" was by the
Liberal team, it would have looked like leadership on Trudeau's part
if he'd turfed her rather than let her step away.

Another Liberal facing a backlash is Chris Brown, running in the
Alberta riding of Peace River - Westlock.

Tweets were unearthed of Brown ranting "your mother was a whore" and
"you f---ing b----" along with a sexist comment directed at Ontario
politician Christine Elliott.

Trudeau has only said Brown was going through a difficult time in his
life when he wrote the tweets.

Why wasn't Brown's social media properly combed by the Liberal team?
Trolling through candidates' online comments is opposition research
101. Don't leave any ammo on the table for them.

Brown later apologized, chalking the statements up to "alcohol
dependency" following the tragic death of his partner.

Many people face such hardships, but they don't all respond the same
way.

That said, these tweets are from 2009. That's a while ago. People
certainly change.

Besides, anyone who went to high school or university after the
Internet was invented, even those of outstanding character, will
likely have a questionable picture or social media statement floating
around. The media and political war rooms will have to learn to let
some indiscretions pass (and likely already do).

But suggesting it's healthier to smoke pot while pregnant is just
shockingly poor judgment.

Likewise, while we can quibble over whether it's acceptable for
comedians or online loners to publicly voice sexist and
expletive-laden rants, it's a different matter when it comes to
someone who wants to be part of a team that hopes to govern a G7 nation.

Also, to Trudeau's point, what's to say Brown won't face another
difficult time in his life during a tenure as MP? Will he display the
same poor judgment then?

On Monday, the Conservative campaign booted Scarborough-Rouge Park
candidate Jerry Bance from its roster after video evidence revealed he
secretly peed in the cup of a customer he was assisting in his
capacity as a service technician.

The Conservatives also bid farewell to Toronto-Danforth candidate Tim
Dutaud after he was revealed to have made prank calls mocking the
mentally disabled.

Concerning Dutaud, Harper said he expects "the highest standards" from
his candidates. Fair enough.

The same clearly can't be said about the Liberals under Trudeau. He
should have booted Davies and Brown, but didn't.

His standards are clearly lower.
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MAP posted-by: Matt