Ban Eve Adams from Oakville nomination, opponent says - Action News
Home WebMail Saturday, November 23, 2024, 06:39 AM | Calgary | -12.2°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Politics

Ban Eve Adams from Oakville nomination, opponent says

Conservative MP Eve Adams should be banned from running in Oakville North-Burlington because of her behaviour, her opponent in the bitter nomination battle says.

Natalia Lishchyna says Conservative MP should stick with Mississauga Brampton-South in bitter battle

The Oakville North-Burlington riding association has complained about the behaviour of Tory MP Eve Adams to the Conservative Party's national council. An investigation is now underway. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Conservative MP Eve Adamsshould be banned from running in Oakville North-Burlington because of her behaviour, her opponent inthe bitter nomination battle says.

Adams should represent her current riding of Mississauga Brampton-South, Natalia Lishchyna told Evan Solomon, host of CBC News Network's Power & Politics.

"If these things are true, that is definitely an unfair advantage, that people were taking advantage of certain positions and that should not happen in an open and fair nomination race," she said.

Earlier this week,the president of theOakvilleNorth-Burlington riding association alleged Adamsimproperly usedprivate information from the party's database to help her win the nomination battle.MarkFedakalso allegedAdams was verbally abusive ata March 19 riding meeting.

Fedak sent a letter detailing the allegations to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and copied it to all Ontario ConservativeMPs.

Fedakis supportingLishchynafor the nomination.

Lishchynasays it doesn't matter that Adams has already moved toOakvillewith herfianc,DimitriSoudas, who was fired Sunday as executive director of the Conservative Party because he breached his contract in helping Adams with her nomination bid.

"I think it would be a good thing for her to represent that riding [Mississauga Brampton-South]for the next election,"Lishchynasaid.

Adams fights back

As more and more cracks formin the thin ice underAdams,CBC news has learned that she is fighting back for her political life. Pressure is mounting from within the Conservative Party ranks to block her from running for the nomination in Oakville North-Burlington.

The prime minister asked the party's top brasson Wednesday to look intocomplaints made about Adams'behaviour.

The party's national council immediately began its investigation and Adams' volunteer chair, StephenSparling, is preparing an official writtenresponse to the accusations made against her.

Sparling says they have done everything "by the book" andwill respond to each of the points raised in Fedak'sletter.

"I do not believe in any way, shape or form that the party is going to bar our candidate and it would be groundless to do so," Sparlingtold the CBC's Chris Hall.

Sparlingsays that Adams showed up at the riding meeting in March because she wanted to offer to be "helpful," but never got the opportunity after an "unpleasantreception" from the board members where Adamswas asked to leave.He believes she was told to gobecause"nomination races can be heated at times and it got out of hand."

Sparlingalso responds to the accusation that Adams misused the party's voter database.

"At no time were they provided information they weren't supposed to have," he said.

Sparlingsays he doesn't know how quickly the national council will resolve the issue.

No comment from Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he won't comment on whetherConservative MP Eve Adamsbroke party rules in a nomination battle for anewly formed riding.

Harper was answeringquestions from reporters Thursday afterannouncing new justice legislation in Mississauga, Ont.

He also wouldn't comment on the dismissal of Adams'fianc,DimitriSoudas, Harper's former director of communications who most recently had been the Conservative Party's executive director.

"In terms of the member of Parliament, as you know, there's a nomination process in place," he said. "To the extent there are disputes around nomination processes, these things are referred to the national council of the party. In our party, the leader doesn't appoint candidates and he doesn't run the nomination process. These things are run by the elected national council of the party."