Hastings—Lennox and Addington MP Derek Sloan has been removed from the Conservative Party of Canada after news emerged that Paul Fromm, widely considered a white supremacist, had contributed $131 to his 2020 leadership campaign.
By James Tubb
BELLEVILLE – Conservative MPs voted Wednesday to expel Derek Sloan from caucus after the Hastings—Lennox and Addington MP accepted a donation from Paul Fromm, who is widely considered to be a white supremacist.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole started Sloan’s removal earlier this week after the website Press Progress broke the news that Fromm had donated $131 to Sloan’s leadership campaign.
The Conservatives voted by secret ballot on Wednesday, with the majority of MPs voting to remove Sloan from their benches.
Sloan fought the vote, saying that he was unaware of the source of the donation because Fromm used his full name, Frederick P. Fromm and that his team could not vet every donation his candidacy received.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, O’Toole called the donation the “last straw.”
“The Conservative caucus voted to remove Derek Sloan not because of one specific event, but because of a pattern of destructive behaviour involving multiple incidents and disrespect towards the Conservative team for over a year,” he said.
My statement on today’s caucus meeting: pic.twitter.com/iXjwf3RSov
— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) January 20, 2021
Once the news broke of his removal from the caucus, Sloan began issuing his own statements on his Facebook and Twitter platforms.
“My ejection from caucus shows an absolute cowardice and failure to address real issues that animate much of our base,” he said on Twitter.
I remain the same real conservative and I will be here to stand against the crazy government overreach we’re seeing now, and the absolute vapid response we’ve seen from the opposition in Ottawa. This is OUR party and we will take it back. 7/7 #cdnpoli
— Derek Sloan (@TrueDerekSloan) January 21, 2021
Sloan has regularly been a talking point in Canadian politics, generating controversy with his socially conservative views.
In April, he posted a message and video on Facebook and Twitter claiming Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam had “failed Canadians” during the pandemic and asked if she works “for Canada or for China.”
(The video has since been removed but there is a posted email Sloan issued being critical of Dr. Tam that can be found here)
“As politicians in Canada, we must hold ourselves to the highest of standards. Canadians deserve nothing less,” O’Toole said.
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