PC party in ‘crisis,’ Mulroney says
Leadership hopeful calls on Patrick Brown to ‘do the right thing’ and leave race
The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party is in “crisis,” leadership candidate Caroline Mulroney warned Friday as she called on Patrick Brown to do “the right thing” and leave the race amid new revelations his personal finances are being probed by the province’s integrity commissioner.
Brown, the discredited former leader of the party — who resigned hours after allegations of sexual misconduct against two young women surfaced — was turfed from the PC caucus but nonetheless given the goahead last week to seek his old job.
But Mulroney, speaking to reporters at her campaign headquarters in midtown Toronto, said the controversies are jeopardizing the party’s chances of winning the June election.
“It needs to be said. Our party is in crisis and this leadership is simply too important to Ontarians,” Mul- roney said.
“Our goal is to fire Kathleen Wynne and we’re losing sight of that . . . We need someone who will stand up for our values — with integrity.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen allegations of misconduct, wrongdoing and fighting within our party. Any candidate for leader — and for premier — needs to provide Ontarians with a way forward.
“(Thursday) night, I learned Patrick Brown is under investigation by the integrity commissioner, proving once again that these distractions have no place in the leadership race. I hope that he does the right thing for the party and steps aside.”
She called on the three other leadership hopefuls — Christine Elliott, Doug Ford and Tania Granic Allen — to urge Brown to stand down.
Integrity commissioner J. David Wake is demanding answers after a Brown staffer told the Star the former leader rented out his multimillion-dollar house on Lake Simcoe.
Earlier this month, Wake wrote to Brown asking for details following the Star story that raised questions about how the MPP could afford the five-bedroom house.
“I note that an article in the Toronto Star on February 9, 2018, an em- ployee in your constituency office is quoted saying that you receive rental income from your home,” Wake wrote Feb. 12.
“The act also requires that you disclose all sources of income to my office, and as such I ask that you provide me with confirmation of same.”
Wake’s letter, obtained by the Star, came a week prior to Conservative MPP Randy Hillier filing a complaint, asking for an investigation into Brown’s alleged financial irregularities to determine if they violate the Members’ Integrity Act.
Brown, now an independent MPP, spoke briefly to the Star on Thursday, saying “everything is in compliance with the integrity commissioner.”
Mulroney said the constant chaos is harming the party’s chances on June 7.
“This election is just too important to jeopardize by playing politics,” she said.
“This certainly isn’t the time to be distracted by one person’s problems. This is the time to unite the party.”
Candidates for the Progressive Conservative leadership will take part in a debate next Wednesday in Ottawa.