O'toole wants Sloan out of caucus
Mp took donation from white supremacist
OTTAWA • Conservative Leader erin O’toole says he wants Ontario MP derek Sloan kicked out of the party caucus over a donation to his leadership campaign from a white supremacist.
O’toole says his former leadership rival’s acceptance of the contribution is “far worse than a gross error of judgment or failure of due diligence.”
It’s up to Conservative MPS whether to eject Sloan from their number, but O’toole says he’ll use his power as party leader to keep the first-term Hastings-lennox and Addington MP from running again as a Tory in the next election.
Sloan says his leadership team processed the $131 donation from Paul Fromm without recognizing his name amid thousands of other donors.
Freelance journalist Justin Ling tweeted out that the donation was made in the name of Frederick P. Fromm.
Fromm has been a fixture in right-wing politics for decades, including participating in events with the neo-nazi Heritage Front.
Sloan says when he learned of the donation Monday, he contacted the Conservative party and asked that Fromm’s money be returned.
In a statement Monday night, O’toole said, "derek Sloan’s acceptance of a donation from a well-known white supremacist is far worse than a gross error of judgment or failure of due diligence.
“In accordance with the reform Act, I have initiated the process to remove Mr. Sloan from the Conservative Party of Canada caucus. I expect this to be done as quickly as possible. Moreover, as Leader of Canada’s Conservatives, I will not allow Mr. Sloan to run as a candidate for our party.
“racism is a disease of the soul, repugnant to our core values. It has no place in our country. It has no place in the Conservative Party of Canada. I won’t tolerate it.”
In a statement on Sunday, O’toole pushed back against attempts to link his party to Trump-style politics, saying there is “no place for the far right” in the Tories.
The unusual statement follows the riot on Capitol Hill, which u.s. President donald Trump has been accused of inciting.
It also comes on the heels of a Liberal party fundraising letter sent to members last week that accused the Conservatives under O’toole of “continuing a worrisome pattern of divisive politics and catering to the extreme right.”