Innes barred from Liberal candidacy after complaints about bullying
OTTAWA Justin Trudeau is launching a pre-emptive strike to prevent federal Liberals from using upcoming nomination contests to resume the toxic infighting that almost destroyed the party.
His team has informed Christine Innes that she will not be allowed to run for a Liberal nomination in any riding after receiving complaints that her husband former MP and junior cabinet minister Tony Ianno has been using intimidation and bullying in a bid to pry support away from newly elected star recruit Chrystia Freeland.
Barring Innes is intended to send a message to all Liberals, Ontario campaign co-chair David MacNaughton said in an interview.
Were not going to go back to the days of the Hatfields and McCoys in the Liberal party.
The party had revived under Trudeau and his team is determined to nip any resumption of infighting in the bud.
Weve recruited thousands of new people to the party and if this is their first experience it will certainly turn them off, MacNaughton said.
MacNaughton informed Innes of the decision early Thursday morning, outlining the accusations against her campaign team.
Derogatory remarks were made to several young, enthusiastic Liberals about one of our leading MPs, he said in an email to Innes. Suggestions were made to volunteers that their future in the Liberal party would be in jeopardy if they were on the wrong side in a nomination battle.
He warned of the dangers this can pose:
We have all seen what Liberals fighting with Liberals can do, not only to the electoral chances of our party but to its soul. Our leader has made it clear that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable to him, nor to the thousands of people who have embraced the new way of doing politics under Justin Trudeaus leadership.
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Innes barred from Liberal candidacy after complaints about bullying