Controversial Derek Sloan, a former Conservative MP, is taking another run at politics but will aim for a provincial seat in the Ontario Legislature.
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A lawyer by profession, Sloan confirmed he is vying to be elected in the June 2 election in Ontario as MPP for the riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington as the leader of a new political entity he calls the Ontario Party.
Voters will decide the next provincial government when they cast votes for candidates running in 124 ridings.
A far-right, populist politician, Sloan has drawn support primarily from social conservatives within the national Conservative party when he served from 2018-2021 in his former federal riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington.
A failed leadership contender for the Conservative Party of Canada who was defeated in 2020 by former leader Erin O’Toole, Sloan was eventually ousted from the party caucus by O’Toole following a string of controversial statements and for taking what the party deemed a questionable political donation during his quest to be leader.
“I am thrilled to announce my candidacy for the riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington, as part of the Ontario Party’s campaign to give authentically conservative voters a real option to the counterfeit conservative culture of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives,” Sloan said in his announcement.
In a press release, the Ontario Party said Sloan’s “refusal to go along with the ‘Liberal Lite’ direction of the CPC under Erin O’Toole saw him turfed from caucus, but he distinguished himself as an independent by continuing to stand for freedom and for truly conservative positions in everything from opposing legislation promoting radical gender ideology, to amassing a collection of citations for speaking at anti-lockdown freedom rallies.”
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Sloan also took aim at Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
“Doug Ford betrayed the trust of the conservative base who swept him into power believing he would bring sanity to the governance of Ontario. Instead he chose to turn his party into the provincial wing of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. The Ontario Party is here to take Ontario back, to defend Freedom, Family, and Faith from Doug Ford.”
Sloan said his new so-called Ontario Party is focused on “accountability for the authoritarian, unconstitutional lockdowns and mandates imposed by the Ford government, a parents’ first approach to education, and the protection of inalienable civil liberties for every citizen. The Ontario Party will be announcing more of its freedom-loving candidates in the near future.”
Sloan first made national headlines when he made controversial remarks about Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam born in Hong Kong.
Sloan queried whether Tam was “working for Canada or working for China” triggering a first attempt by Conservative MPs to remove him from caucus which he survived.
Those comments drew the ire of Hastings County officials who lambasted Sloan in an open letter.
Other political stances by Sloan included an anti-vaccine petition and his opposition to conversion therapy during his rookie MP year.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
