Calgary-area dentist faces political heat in Ontario
Campaign team abandons PC hopeful, accuses her of being parachute candidate
A Calgary-area dentist seen as the front-runner to win the Progressive Conservative provincial nomination in a southern Ontario riding is being accused of being a parachute candidate by senior members of her own campaign team, who’ve since abandoned her.
Tanya Khattra, who’s listed on the staff directory of an Airdrie dental office, filed her papers last September to run for the PC nomination in the riding of Cambridge-North Dumfries, soon becoming the leading candidate in the field of three despite being dogged by allegations that she didn’t live in the area.
She has continued to deny suggestions she isn’t a resident, including in an emailed response Tuesday to Postmedia in which she insisted she lives in Cambridge.
But last week, two senior members of her team — campaign manager Prakash Venkataraman and communications consultant Mar- garet Barr — publicly announced they were breaking with Khattra after claiming she had not been living in the furnished house she had been renting in Cambridge, a city of 134,000 about 100 kilometres southwest of Toronto, despite insisting to them she was.
“She had rented a house here in Cambridge, which all of us at one time or another had visited — it was furnished and beautiful,” Barr told Postmedia on Tuesday.
“But through various happenstance, we came to know very recently that she does not live here, and continues to reside in Calgary. We gave her the opportunity to resign gracefully but, when she didn’t, both Prakash and I decided to resign to preserve our own integrity.”
Under Ontario’s Election Act, a candidate for provincial office must live in the province for at least six months prior to an election. Ontario voters go to the polls June 7.
Ron Dancey, vice-president of the Cambridge PCs’ riding association, said they’re waiting to hear from the central party about whether Khattra’s name will be allowed to stand, but noted it might be moot if it’s proven she’s not a resident of the community.
“She wouldn’t be able to stand as a candidate if that’s the case,” he said. “I don’t think Cambridge is the kind of community that would take a parachute candidate anyway.”
An email exchange Tuesday with a person purporting to be Khattra declined to be interviewed by phone, suggesting instead for a face-to-face meeting next week. The person added that despite operating a campaign website, putting together a team and attending events in Cambridge, Khattra was not necessarily a candidate for the post.
“PC party is encouraging women candidates and I have strong family and friends in Greater Toronto Area,” read the emailed response, which also suggested expecting an immediate response was unreasonable.
“I’m not a declared candidate for the nomination in Cambridge. Unless and until I become one, I’m a private citizen and I’d prefer not to comment.”
She didn’t respond to a question about whether she lived in both Calgary and Cambridge.
Last October, she addressed questions about her candidacy in a post on her website.
“I lived in Ontario until 2012. As a small-business owner, I decided to move to Alberta with my family where the business environment was better under conservative government compared to Ontario, where the liberal policies were choking small business owners and professionals,” she wrote, but never stated where exactly she lived.
“I have always kept my ties to Ontario and currently in the process of building dental practices in Ontario.”
Dancey said the riding association has scheduled a nomination meeting March 24, and he’s not sure if Khattra will remain on the ballot.