A party source told the Star that Toronto-Danforth candidate Tim Dutaud was dismissed Monday morning, as the party had determined that reports on social media of his activities were accurate.
The Conservative party also dismissed Jerry Bance, candidate for Scarborough-Rouge Park, on Monday, just as leader Stephen Harper was departing Ottawa to head to ridings in Scarborough and Mississauga for campaign events.
“There's an expectation that candidates are truthful and complete when going through the candidate screening process, and that wasn't the case,” said Conservative party spokesman Kory Teneycke about the situation with Bance.
Asked about the dismissal of the two candidates, Harper answered briefly. “What this says is we keep the highest standards for candidates and these two individuals are no longer candidates.”
“You will see new candidates,” he later added.
Dutaud's LinkedIn profile states he worked at CBC television in “production” from 1995 to February 2001, then worked as a radio host with “score media group” for nine years. His online profile says he was a real estate sales representative from 2013 to now, and became the Conservative candidate for Toronto-Danforth in February 2015.
Bance, the former candidate for Scarborough-Rouge Park, had previously run and lost twice in 2008 and 2006 for the Conservatives. He owns an appliance repair company called XPress Appliance Service, according to the CBC.
Bance could not be reached for comment Monday.
When the urination incident was originally broadcast in a March 2012 episode of Marketplace, the CBC did not identify him either as a past candidate or by his last name.
The CBC identified him Sunday, reporting that Bance was caught by hidden camera when he was called to a home to repair a sink. He was videotaped while urinating in a mug and emptying it down the sink drain.
A statement from Bance released by the Conservative campaign Sunday night said he "deeply regrets" his actions on the day he was caught on the hidden cameras.
Teneycke told the Star that Bance never disclosed the incident during routine party screening, which also includes a general question about whether the candidate is aware of anything that could arise to embarrass the party, as well as standard media reviews. He noted the CBC never disclosed Bance's last name in the original report in 2012. But when confronted with the CBC story Sunday, Bance did not dispute the allegation.
“We were unaware of this incident, it didn't come up in a candidate interview,” said Teneycke. “There's no dispute as to whether it was him or not.
“When questioned on it, he indicated that was in fact him. Surprise,” said Teneycke wryly.
Teneycke would not say whose decision it was, only that “He's no longer a candidate. People can read into that what they will.” He said “a decision was taken this morning.”
Speaking to reporters before the Labour Day parade in downtown Toronto, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair made light of the incident.
Source: thestar.com/
Author: Tonda MacCharles
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