The president of Campaign Life Coalition says Erin O’Toole’s attempts to kick pro-life MP Derek Sloan out of the Conservative Caucus shows he can’t be trusted by socially conservative voters and should resign..Jeff Gunnarson made the comment in a Tuesday interview with The Western Standard..“When I heard what O’Toole had done, I just rolled my eyes and said ‘here we go,'” said Gunnarson..“But when the aftershocks have gone, you can see this has been in the works for months, years. It’s any excuse to get rid of him [Sloan].”.A Western Standard source said the main reason O’Toole is trying to get rid of Sloan is that he, along with Campaign Life, are trying to stack slates of pro-life delegates for March’s virtual Conservative convention..If successful, the pro-life slate could have a say in future party policy and the election of the National Council..Gunnarson admitted his group was, in fact, trying to do that at some level..“We don’t want to take over the party, we just want to be a part of it,” Gunnarson told the Western Standard, adding recruitment has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.. Mossleigh pub briefly opens before authorities move in .“But I don’t want people to have the impression we have hundreds of people doing this – it’s one phone call at a time. Our mission is not to take over the Conservative party.”.“We are seeing some people decide not to be delegates because of what O’Toole has done so far to drive socially conservatives out of the party.”.He said O’Toole should resign now, but expecially so if the Tory caucus rebukes his demand to have Sloan expelled..And he warned the March virtual convention could “be manipulated” by Tory power brokers..Asked whether he considered the O’Toole move a “purge” against prolifers, Gunnarson responded: “It appears that is the case. I hope I’m wrong, we have some strong pro-life MPs as it is now.”.Gunnarson said all the decisions like the proposed expulsion of Sloan “come from the top. That’s whose calling the shots..“They don’t like it when it’s not a ‘yes man.'”.Gunnarson said if the Conservatives ever want to win an election, they have to have a broad range of supporters, including those on the right that have a socially conservative viewpoint..“If they manage to punt Sloan, we would perhaps start to look to independent candidates, as long as they are pro-life and wouldn’t succumb to the tyranny of a leader.”.“I have no confidence in O’Toole. I never did.”.He said the move against Sloan may become a “stumbling block for pro-life people to support the Conservatives..“It will cause some people to back away.”.He noted the ranks of Tory MPs already have 50 who are on the record as being pro-life..“What are they going to do, get rid of all of them?” Gunnarson asked..Just one day before O’Toole announced that he wanted Sloan out of the party’s caucus, he issued a statement emphasizing he is pro-choice and that there was no place for the “far-right” in his party..O’Toole is asking his MPs to expel Sloan out of the Tory caucus after he accepted a $131 leadership donation from what he says is a “well-known” Canadian neo-Nazi..Paul Fromm made the donation to Sloan’s leadership campaign in August under the name ‘Frederick P Fromm’. The donation constituted approximately 0.01 per cent of the total raised by Sloan during the campaign..Sloan, the MP for Hastings—Lennox and Addington, came in fourth place in the Tory leadership campaign..He was eliminated after the first round of voting in the four-person race getting 27,278 votes, almost 16 per cent of the total..There have been calls in the past to remove him from caucus over his comments on gay rights..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
The president of Campaign Life Coalition says Erin O’Toole’s attempts to kick pro-life MP Derek Sloan out of the Conservative Caucus shows he can’t be trusted by socially conservative voters and should resign..Jeff Gunnarson made the comment in a Tuesday interview with The Western Standard..“When I heard what O’Toole had done, I just rolled my eyes and said ‘here we go,'” said Gunnarson..“But when the aftershocks have gone, you can see this has been in the works for months, years. It’s any excuse to get rid of him [Sloan].”.A Western Standard source said the main reason O’Toole is trying to get rid of Sloan is that he, along with Campaign Life, are trying to stack slates of pro-life delegates for March’s virtual Conservative convention..If successful, the pro-life slate could have a say in future party policy and the election of the National Council..Gunnarson admitted his group was, in fact, trying to do that at some level..“We don’t want to take over the party, we just want to be a part of it,” Gunnarson told the Western Standard, adding recruitment has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.. Mossleigh pub briefly opens before authorities move in .“But I don’t want people to have the impression we have hundreds of people doing this – it’s one phone call at a time. Our mission is not to take over the Conservative party.”.“We are seeing some people decide not to be delegates because of what O’Toole has done so far to drive socially conservatives out of the party.”.He said O’Toole should resign now, but expecially so if the Tory caucus rebukes his demand to have Sloan expelled..And he warned the March virtual convention could “be manipulated” by Tory power brokers..Asked whether he considered the O’Toole move a “purge” against prolifers, Gunnarson responded: “It appears that is the case. I hope I’m wrong, we have some strong pro-life MPs as it is now.”.Gunnarson said all the decisions like the proposed expulsion of Sloan “come from the top. That’s whose calling the shots..“They don’t like it when it’s not a ‘yes man.'”.Gunnarson said if the Conservatives ever want to win an election, they have to have a broad range of supporters, including those on the right that have a socially conservative viewpoint..“If they manage to punt Sloan, we would perhaps start to look to independent candidates, as long as they are pro-life and wouldn’t succumb to the tyranny of a leader.”.“I have no confidence in O’Toole. I never did.”.He said the move against Sloan may become a “stumbling block for pro-life people to support the Conservatives..“It will cause some people to back away.”.He noted the ranks of Tory MPs already have 50 who are on the record as being pro-life..“What are they going to do, get rid of all of them?” Gunnarson asked..Just one day before O’Toole announced that he wanted Sloan out of the party’s caucus, he issued a statement emphasizing he is pro-choice and that there was no place for the “far-right” in his party..O’Toole is asking his MPs to expel Sloan out of the Tory caucus after he accepted a $131 leadership donation from what he says is a “well-known” Canadian neo-Nazi..Paul Fromm made the donation to Sloan’s leadership campaign in August under the name ‘Frederick P Fromm’. The donation constituted approximately 0.01 per cent of the total raised by Sloan during the campaign..Sloan, the MP for Hastings—Lennox and Addington, came in fourth place in the Tory leadership campaign..He was eliminated after the first round of voting in the four-person race getting 27,278 votes, almost 16 per cent of the total..There have been calls in the past to remove him from caucus over his comments on gay rights..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
