Kanata-Carleton Tory candidate an Islamophobe, Liberals allege
Kanata-Carleton Progressive Conservative candidate Merrilee Fullerton is an Islamophobe who ought to be dumped from the Tory roster, the Ontario Liberals alleged Wednesday, citing online statements from 2015 criticizing face-coverings some Muslim women wear.
“Fullerton does not meet the standard to be a candidate for a mainstream political party,” the Liberals said in a news release. “Her Islamophobic comments are unacceptable.”
They produced as evidence tweets criticizing niqabs and burkas — different forms of clothing that cover the face — as anti-feminist and oppressive.
“Imagine sending your 4 year old child to school for the first time under the authority of a masked teacher. Comfortable? #niqab,” one said.
Almost all the tweets were from Oct. 8, 2015. At the time, facecoverings were a live issue in the federal election campaign, particularly because of Quebec’s struggle to decide whether to permit or ban them in government settings. Polls have consistently shown that most Canadians want legal restrictions on religious veils, but when Quebec imposed one last year a judge almost immediately suspended it pending a constitutional challenge.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Fullerton rejected the allegation she’s Islamophobic in her response to the second Liberal attack on her in a week. The last was about arguments she’s made, as a former doctor, in favour of more privately funded health care. Both Fullerton and Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford promptly avowed their support for public health care.
“Today, the Wynne Liberals again attempted to distract from their abysmal record of mismanagement and waste, by attacking my character,” she wrote. “As a physician, I have served people in our community from all walks of life, religions and cultures for 26 years. My core values have always been to serve and respect all people.”
She’s been to Muslim prayers and community events, she wrote. “I have profound respect for all faiths and cultures, and I am deeply disappointed, but not surprised, that the Liberals have sought to distract from their 15year record of scandal.”
Fullerton has since made her longstanding @doctorfullerton Twitter account private, though her @votemerrilee campaign account is open. The Liberals obviously have an archive of the private account.
A couple of other Fullerton tweets they cited were on other subjects. One from 2011 linked to a Globe and Mail editorial arguing that gay public figures don’t have an obligation to be open about their sexual orientations. (Kanata teen Jamie Hubley, who was gay and bullied over it, had died by suicide that month.)
Another criticized advocates for better health care for refugee claimants. “Medical students are encouraged to join protests over refugee care,” it said. “Meanwhile single payer can’t meet demand. Diversion works. Ask Putin.”
The party separately called on Ford to dismiss London candidate Andrew Lawton, a former talkradio host and contributor to The Rebel, over comments on the superiority of Christianity over other faiths, high crime rates among black and Hispanic groups in the United States, and the wisdom of banning Islam.
On Tuesday, the Tory candidate in the new riding of Kiiwetinoong in northern Ontario fired his campaign manager over a tweet calling for Muslims to be eradicated.
“There is no place for disrespectful or hateful comments in our party,” the candidate, Clifford Bull, said.
Earlier this month, Ford dismissed former leadership rival Tanya Granic Allen as the Tory candidate in Mississauga Centre over a 2014 speech condemning “radical sexual education” and gay marriage in Croatia, the country from which her father immigrated.