The past week has seen a veritable flurry of candidates stepping down in the federal election—most of them hoisted by their own social media petards. The tally as of Monday morning was two Liberals, five Conservatives—no NDP (although they had to sever connections with a social media influencer over her online remarks about the Holocaust).
The balance might be better skewed if one were to look back at the number of nominees who were set down over the previous three months due to revelations that their party due to a variety of “indiscretions” from drunk driving to domestic violence charges (that were later dropped).
What is going on?
The answer likely lies in the vetting processes administered by committees of the federal parties and the challenges they face in these times of social media avalanche. Although in some cases the key lies in lies.
It was once revealed to The Expositor by one federal party that the only way to really be disqualified from running by their Green Light committee was to lie on the vetting forms the candidates submit to the party. This is probably not the only way these days—but it is still high on the list. It also explains how, in the case of a sudden election call, so many candidates wind up being dropped well into the actual campaign.
Pity the party researchers working for their respective green light committees who must filter through literally millions of social media posts made by the more than 450 candidates (let alone those seeking the honour of party banner carrier), many of those posts being deleted prior to submitting a prospective candidate’s information to the party. Theirs is an unenviable task.
Complicating matters even further is that the submissions to green light committees have often been less than forthcoming when it comes to past indiscretions.
Political candidates of all partisan flavours and predilections have often been outspoken advocates in the past for positions deemed unpalatable in today’s political waters. Even the most forthcoming of wannabe MPs and MPPs can forget something posted or said in the heat of the moment made years ago.
The best suggestion for someone contemplating running for office someday down the line is to totally eschew social media platforms and/or commenting on controversial subjects in public. Keep your comments “lily white” (oh, oh, that could be taken as a racist meme itself).
Criticisms have been lobbed at Prime Minister Mark Carney for taking so long to drop a candidate (an incumbent and duly nominated MP) for suggesting a Conservative candidate should be turned over to the Chinese Consulate to collect a bounty offered by the Chinese government. Such statements are no longer to be taken as a joking matter as the candidate claimed—or the suggestion made by a Conservative candidate that then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should be executed along with pedophiles and drug dealers for that matter.
The answer to why the Liberal leader would dither so long probably lies in the tradition of loyalty that permeates partisan politics—loyalty is a highly coveted attribute in those waters, and that loyalty is a two-way street between leader and the troops. There is little doubt the context of the alleged crime in the case of Mr. Cheung (it is being investigated by the RCMP) will result in that investigation being eventually dropped, but not before ballots go into the box—and therein lies the rub.
The flurry of Conservative bloodletting that followed the revelation of the Liberal candidate’s dismissal stands in contrast to that of the Liberal leader—heads rolled with little to no hesitation. Their due process is a lot faster (or perhaps more reactive).
What is more surprising is that more candidates have not been turfed, given the bar that now stands in the way of successfully obtaining that coveted green light…and likely there have been plenty in all camps who did not pass the vetting process. Who among us has not sinned against the public’s often shifting perceptions?
It is impossible to really tell what those numbers of dismissed potential nominees might be as the green light deliberations, given all of their privacy invasive tools and tactics, are held in close secret by their respective parties.
While unpalatable indiscretions might not be a challenge south of the border these days, witness the current POTUS and his felony convictions, his female groping declarations and his degrading imitation of a disabled person made during a nationally televised event, Canada’s political parties still cling to a sense of propriety that would pass any given Sunday school teacher’s criteria.
It will remain to be seen how many successful candidates will find themselves sitting in the independent chairs in Parliament once the election dust has settled by the time this editorial is published the deadline will have passed along with it the chance to substitute another candidate in their place (deadline for submitting nomination papers to Elections Canada is 2 pm, 21 days before April 28).
So for those keyboard warriors hoping to one day ascend the steps of power—be cautious where your fingers take you.
The internet is watching.
