‘Rhetorical question’
Rookie MP rejects call to apologize for Dr. Tam attack
OTTAWA — Conservative MP and leadership candidate Derek Sloan has rejected a demand from the Conservative party’s Ontario MPs to apologize for his attack on Canada’s chief medical officer in which he asked whether she worked for Canada or China.
Instead, Sloan issued a statement Wednesday evening insisting he was only asking a “rhetorical question” about Dr. Theresa Tam, who was born in Hong Kong. Sloan said he could have instead phrased it as whether she was working for Canada or the World Health Organization.
“I did not — and I am not — questioning Dr. Tam’s loyalty to Canada,” his statement said. “There was no intention to question it. In addition, I never once mentioned Dr. Tam’s race or sex.”
The party’s Ontario caucus met on Tuesday and passed a motion demanding Sloan apologize for or retract his comment, which many MPs believe went too far. Conservative sources say some in the party are prepared to try to eject Sloan from caucus if he doesn’t apologize to Tam.
Sloan’s statement attempts to clarify his comments, but does not contain any form of apology — a move that is on brand for the 35-year-old Ontario MP whose leadership slogan is “Conservative without apology.”
“Obviously, Dr. Tam is employed by Canada, and not China,” Sloan’s statement said. “I am not even doubting her intentions — I am sure that she wants what she thinks is best for Canada. However she is responsible for relying on the flawed data of both the WHO and the (People’s Republic of China) for her decision making. This has literally cost lives.”
Conservative MPs will now have to consider their next move, which could have deep consequences for the leadership race.
The Reform Act, created by Conservative MP Michael Chong, allows parties to opt into a clause that lets them eject an MP with a majority vote on a secret ballot. The Conservatives opted into that clause following the 2019 election, as they did in the previous parliamentary session. The vote is triggered if 20 per cent of caucus members call for it.
Sloan is one of four candidates who has qualified for the leadership’s final ballot, along with Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole and Leslyn Lewis. Sloan is heavily supported by the social conservative movement. His campaign has also targeted support from Chinese social conservatives and anticommunists who are deeply opposed to China’s government; Sloan’s website even has an entire Chinese-language section. One source pointed out this partly explains why Sloan has hit the anti-China message so hard, and doesn’t want to back down.
Ultimately, Sloan’s standing in the race will be decided by the leadership election organizing committee (LEOC), not the Conservative Party caucus. But LEOC would be highly unlikely to disqualify a sitting Conservative MP from the leadership race, so the caucus’ decision plays an influential role. LEOC has already eliminated candidates Richard Decarie and Jim Karahalios from the race. Karahalios is now challenging his ouster in court.
The Campaign Life Coalition, a social conservative network that has been a key source of support for Sloan, circulated an email on Wednesday with the subject line “Save Derek Sloan,” and called on its members to email the Ontario caucus and the members of the Conservative Party’s national council in support of Sloan.