Patrick Brown, a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, has been disqualified, according to a statement released by the party on Tuesday.
Brown currently serves as mayor of Brampton, Ontario.
In the statement, Ian Brodie, chairman of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), said Brown was disqualified after the returning director investigated allegations against Brown’s campaign to violate the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. .
Read more: Patrick Brown does not rule out the return of city politics if “Pierre was going to win”
The returning director asked Brown’s campaign for a written response and retained the list of interim members of his campaign, according to the statement.
“The information provided so far by Patrick Brown’s campaign did not meet concerns about compliance with our rules and procedures and / or the Canada Elections Act,” Brodie writes.
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“Therefore, the returning director has recommended to LEOC that LEOC disqualify Patrick Brown and tonight LEOC agreed to do so.”
Brodie added that the Conservatives will share information about Brown’s alleged violations with Elections Canada.
“During the investigation of these allegations, the returning director and I have done our best to be fair to Patrick Brown’s leadership campaign and give them the time to substantially refute these allegations,” Brodie says.
“We regret having to take these steps, but we have an obligation to ensure that both our Party rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams. None of these issues have any impact on the integrity of the vote. in itself “.
Brodie concluded that the Conservative Party “will no longer talk about the issue,” as the issue is “the subject of further investigation.”
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The current Conservative leadership race comes after former leader Erin O’Toole left office on February 2 after the majority of the caucus voted in favor of his removal.
8:10 Poilievre’s claims to sell 310,000 members are not credible: Patrick Brown Poilievre’s claims to sell 310,000 members are not credible: Patrick Brown – June 12, 2022
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Brown’s campaign posted a statement via spokesman Chisholm Pothier on Twitter.
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The campaign said they had just learned of the LEOC’s “secret meeting” and its decision to disqualify Brown through the media.
“We were not present at the meeting, nor were we given the opportunity to defend ourselves against the LEOC,” he says. “This decision is based on anonymous complaints. Our campaign never received all the details or evidence of these allegations, without an even basic requirement of due process.”
Brown Campaign Statement. pic.twitter.com/gzgpu1yeuB
– Chisholm Pothier (@chisholmp) July 6, 2022
The statement also alleges that the Conservative Party is “waiting for a coronation for Pierre Poilievre”.
Poilievre is one of five remaining candidates for the leadership race, who was a senior minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government and has been a member of Parliament for seven terms.
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“When the final membership numbers came in, it became clear that Poilievre didn’t have the points to win this race,” Brown’s campaign alleged. “Attempting to silence Canadians and avoid democratic values through this unfounded disqualification is the only way to ensure their victory.”
Brown’s campaign said he is consulting his legal team right now.
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