Derek Sloan, the Conservative MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington, may be removed from the Conservative caucus for accepting a donation from a white supremacist.
By Laural Samson [1]
BELLEVILLE – Federal Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole is taking aim at Hastings-Lennox and Addington MP Derek Sloan after finding out that he accepted a campaign donation from someone widely considered to be a white supremacist.
In a statement posted to Twitter Monday night, O’Toole condemned the actions of Sloan and his acceptance of the donation in the first place.
O’Toole said the Conservative party does not stand for racism in any form, and that he will do his best to block Sloan from running again.
“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,” the statement said.
He also said he is working on removing Sloan from the Conservative caucus.
A Toronto Star report Tuesday morning said that more than 26 MPs have already put their names on a letter asking that Sloan be removed.
Racism has no place in the Conservative Party of Canada. My statement: pic.twitter.com/TP6uATWOi3 [2]
— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) January 18, 2021 [3]
Sloan said on Twitter that the $131 donation to his failed campaign for leadership of the party from Frederick P. Fromm was processed normally, as the name was not recognized when the donation was made.
QNet News reached out to Sloan on Tuesday but have not received a call back by end of day.
The website Press Progress [4] broke the news on Monday that Paul Fromm (as he is more well-known) had donated money to Sloan’s leadership bid.
Sloan’s Twitter post says that when he learned about the origins of the donation on Monday afternoon, he contacted the Conservative party and asked that the money be returned.
Sloan also said that the Conservative Party of Canada accepted Fromm as a member when Fromm applied last summer. “Therefore the Party, and the O’Toole campaign, failed to uphold the same standards which they are now applying to me,” he said.
pic.twitter.com/AJDnyQFPv6 [5]
— Derek Sloan (@TrueDerekSloan) January 19, 2021 [6]
On Sunday, before this news broke, O’Toole issued a statement condemning the recent riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying that the Conservative party does not stand for right-wing racism.
“There is no place for the far right in our party,” O’Toole said.