Liberal rebuked for ‘insulting’ reference to Vanier
Russell Township Mayor and area Liberal candidate Pierre Leroux removed a campaign video hours after it was posted Tuesday following backlash over its depiction of his former Vanier home as a crimeridden neighbourhood.
“It has come to my attention, that some persons have misconstrued a portion of my video, as an attack on the residents of Vanier. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Leroux wrote on Facebook Tuesday afternoon, hours after the video was published.
Leroux was elected as Russell Township mayor in 2015 and is now the Liberal nominee vying for the Glengarry-Prescott-Russell seat vacated by Grant Crack, the Liberal MPP who announced his retirement last month.
“I take full responsibility for the video — which has now been taken down,” Leroux wrote.
The video caused a stir on Twitter, with several local politicians voicing their outrage over a segment of Leroux’s “get-to-knowme” video, which shows an animated cityscape littered with broken windows and smoke while a pair of cartoon bandits grin near a vehicle.
It is suggested the neighbourhood crime rate was the reason Leroux and his wife left the city in 2001 in favour of Embrun, where, Leroux says in the video, he operated a video store and served as a volunteer firefighter before turning to politics in 2010.
The video was replaced late Tuesday evening with a re-edited version that removes the offending segment.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury called the message in the original video “unfair.
“It’s not appropriate for anyone, let alone a candidate,” Fleury said, suggesting “a lot of things have changed” in Vanier since Leroux moved away.
“It has stigmatized unfairly my community again and for no reason. I don’t think it’s productive or helpful.”
Fleury pointed to a recent drop in the crime rate, several notable revitalization projects and the influx of young families to the neighbourhood.
“I’d like to invite him to come back and rediscover the neighbourhood,” Fleury said.
Lyra Evans, NDP candidate for the Ottawa-Vanier riding, shot back at Leroux’s “half-hearted” apology, dismissing it as “lip service.
“This characterization of Vanier is insulting,” Evans wrote. “Our communities are tired of being ignored and stepped on. The people of Vanier deserve a real and sincere apology.”
Fellow Liberal Nathalie Des Rosiers, the incumbent in OttawaVanier, said in a statement she is “proud” of the “vibrant and inclusive community.
“I’ve had the opportunity to speak to Pierre and accept his apology and am focused on moving forward to keep working for my community,” she said.
When reached Tuesday evening, Leroux referred back to his statement, saying, “I have nothing more to add.”