The Conservative Party of Canada has voted to remove Hastings Lennox and Addington MP Derek Sloan from caucus.
Discussion began on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. Many MPs discussed concern about the situation, and that some voices requested that Sloan resign. The exact results are are not known at this time, however, there are 121 Conservative MPs in Canada, along with Conservative Senators. Leader Erin O’Toole and Sloan both had an opportunity to speak to caucus. The virtual secret vote did not get underway until after 2:00 p.m. The results did not come in until 3:30 p.m.
Here are Sloan’s comments to Quinte News.
“This is outrageous. Honestly the talk in caucus has nothing to do with this email. It turned into (pause) I just do not like how he operates. It had nothing to do with the donation. No one bought that this donation was an issue. This is astounding.”
“It is astounding that local Conservatives here, that selected me to be their nominee and that local people who voted for me to represent them had their democratic rights taken away.”
O’Toole announced Monday that he was seeking to expel Sloan for accepting money from a white nationalist named Paul Fromm. Fromm made the donation under the name Frederick P Fromm in August in the amount of $131 to Sloan’s leadership campaign.
Sloan argues that he received 13,000 individual donations, amounting to more than $1.3 million. He adds that when he learned of the donation, he reached out to party brass to have the money returned.
In a CBC article, CPC spokesperson Cory Hann indicated Fromm was sold the membership by the Sloan campaign, and the party was revoking Fromm’s membership and giving back the money. An unnamed leadership staffer of Sloan tells Quinte News Fromm purchased his membership online and no individual within the Sloan team sold the membership to Fromm.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has been calling for Sloan’s removal for months.
Sloan will still serve as a Member of Parliament however he will be an Independent.
O’Toole has also indicated he will not allow Sloan to run in any riding in the country as a Conservative Party of Canada member, something O’Toole does not need caucus approval for.
The local MP has garnered national attention since he announced he was running for the leadership last season. His slogan was “Conservative Without Apology” and he received just over 14% of the first round points allocated. His Social Conservative stance on several issues, and concerns of Canadian Medical Officer of Health Dr. Theresa Tam, put him in the spotlight on a number of occasions.
