Commentary
Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ont., was recently disqualified from running in the Conservative Party leadership race. Some party members, including most of his supporters, immediately cried foul at the manner in which he was removed. While the process was far from perfect, the Conservatives actually handled this difficult matter in the proper fashion.
Let’s examine why.
Ian Brodie, chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), released a statement on July 5. The first two paragraphs state:
“In recent weeks, our Party became aware of serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Patrick Brown campaign that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. Following our Rules and Procedures for the 2022 Leadership, the Chief Returning Officer notified the Patrick Brown campaign of the allegations and asked for a written response. He also withheld the interim membership list from the Patrick Brown campaign….