Tuesday, September 17, 2019

People's Party loses a candidate

B.C. candidate expelled from PPC asks Maxime Bernier to denounce racism | Globalnews.ca:

September 11, 2019 - "Brian Misera was the PPC candidate for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam until Wednesday, when he received an email explaining that his status as an approved candidate has been revoked. His name no longer appears on the party’s website, which no longer links to his Twitter and Facebook profiles.

"Misera tells Global News the email came as a shock, and believes it was sent after he called out Bernier and the party for not disavowing the support of racists and far-right groups. He says he sent an email to Bernier directly, asking him to 'please do more to help us disassociate from far-right groups that really have no place in our society.' 'I wanted him to do more to make it very, very clear that we don’t represent them, we don’t want their support,” he said.

"Soon afterwards, he says he received the email from the party, which Misera shared with Global News. 'You will not be allowed to participate further in the electoral process as the PPC Candidate for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam,' the email reads. 'We hope you will continue to support the People’s Party of Canada.'

"Misera, who has a business degree from Simon Fraser University, says he ... supported Bernier’s platform and ideas.... But he says he regularly heard from people on the campaign trail who called him a 'Nazi' and 'racist' when they found out he was a PPC candidate. He received similar comments after becoming more active on social media, posting videos of his time meeting with voters. He became further troubled after seeing people with ties to far-right groups and ideologies either express support for the party or become members themselves, to which commenters also alerted him....

"After following up on the comments and doing his own research, Misera said he wanted to ensure the party he was running for didn’t support people with views to which he says he’s very much opposed....

"In an email to Global News, PPC executive director Johanne Mennie said Misera’s candidacy was revoked after he admitted to acting as his own financial agent, a violation of Elections Canada rules. Misera says that’s not true, arguing he doesn’t have any team at all to help him collect donations.... Further questions to the PPC, including why those issues weren’t addressed before Misera was acclaimed as the candidate for the riding, have not been answered. The party has also not responded to whether Bernier received a message from Misera, or if the party leader has a response to Misera’s criticisms.

"[I]n Edmonton in July ... Bernier said people who don’t share the PPC’s values aren’t welcome. 'People who are racist and anti-Semitic, they’re not welcome in our party,' he said. Also in July, five Winnipeg PPC members left the party over allegations the federal party is harbouring racists, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists."

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/5897441/bc-ppc-candidate-expelled/
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