Clement scales back role, admits he sent explicit texts
Tory MP resigns some duties, says RCMP probing ‘extortion’ attempt
OTTAWA— A Conservative MP is stepping down from Canada’s fledgling National Security Committee after he says he sent sexually explicit messages and a video to an unknown source.
Tony Clement informed the Privy Council Office, the department that supports the prime minister, days ago that he had sent inappropriate text messages to someone he believed to be a consenting adult. Both the Prime Minister’s Office and the RCMP have been informed of the issue.
Clement released a statement Tuesday night saying he was stepping down as the Conservatives’ justice critic.
He was also leaving his role on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and other committee work.
“Over the last three weeks, I have shared sexually explicit images and a video of myself to someone who I believed was a consenting female recipient,” Clement wrote in the statement.
“The recipient was, in fact, an individual or party who targeted me for the purpose of financial extortion. The RCMP are currently investigating the matter to determine the identity of the party responsible for the extortion attempt.” The RCMP confirmed they were investigating Clement’s claims, but would offer no further comment Tuesday night. A message to Clement was not returned. He has asked for privacy.
A message to Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s office was not returned.
Clement, who held several posts in Stephen Harper’s cabinet, remains in the Conservative caucus. In a statement Tuesday, Scheer said deputy leader Lisa Raitt will be assuming his committee roles.
It’s unclear if Raitt will sit on the National Security Committee, a brand new and tightlyguarded body to provide civilian oversight of Canada’s national security apparatus.
“While I’m greatly disappointed with Mr. Clement’s actions, I am encouraged that he has decided to seek help and I wish him all the best in doing so,” Scheer wrote in a statement.
It’s unclear what Clement is seeking help for. He’s known in Ottawa as a straitlaced, teetotalling MP.
Under Harper, he served as Treasury Board president, industry minister, and economic minister for northern Ontario.
Clement found himself in controversy in 2010 after the Conservative government invested some $50 million in infrastructure in his Muskoka riding, ostensibly for the G20 meeting. Critics argued that the projects, such as a particularly expensive gazebo, seemed to have little to do with the summit.
Still, Clement has been a stalwart of Ontario Progressive Conservative and federal Conservative politics for decades.
He ran against Stephen Harper to lead the new Conservative Party back in 2004, and remains highly regarded at Queen’s Park, where he was a PC MPP from 1995 to 2003. He helped Premier Doug Ford’s successful election campaign this year.
Federally, while he joined Maxime Bernier’s leadership campaign in 2017, he still received a plum appointment to Scheer’s shadow cabinet.
Clement’s statement said he would stay on as MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka.
“First and foremost, I apologize to my family for the needless pain and humiliation my actions have caused,” Clement’s statement read. “I also apologize to my colleagues and my constituents for letting them down.”