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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks
the circus was in really fine form when the liberals changed their mind
about a conservative turncoat and allowed him to take on Higgy's pal
the former NDP leader N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/09/liberal-collapse-in-anglophone-ridings.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/liberal-collapse-sparks-reform-calls-1.5725537
Liberal collapse in anglophone ridings sparks calls for party reform
15 Liberal candidates finished 3rd or worse in their ridings Monday night
· CBC News · Posted: Sep 16, 2020 6:00 AM AT |
Kevin Vickers announced Monday night that he would step aside as Liberal leader. (Radio-Canada)
Last year Jen Smith was president of the provincial Liberal association in New Maryland-Sunbury and on Monday as a candidate she finished second in the election in that riding — for the Green party.
"I'm very very proud of myself and pleased for coming in second place," said Smith.
"It's sad in a way to see because I love that (Liberal) party and I love the people but I saw this happening last year."
Smith's defection is part of what turned out to be a widespread collapse of the Liberal machine in English New Brunswick on Monday night.
The party finished third or worse in 15 anglophone ridings and lost its last two central and southern New Brunswick footholds in the legislature with defeats in Saint John Harbour and Fredericton North and a key upper St. John River valley seat in Carleton-Victoria.
Vote totals for Liberal candidates in the eight ridings in and around Saint John fell to a combined 10,694, one third fewer than 2014, the last election Liberals won in New Brunswick.
In the eight ridings in and around Fredericton, three Liberal candidates finished third and three came fourth with the combined vote total of all eight candidates dwindling to 9,549, barely half the support of 2014.
Further south in the once firm Liberal stronghold of Charlotte County, it was even worse news for the party as it polled just 1,127 votes in the area's two ridings, down a stunning 85 per cent from six years earlier.
Liberal troubles in the area were exaggerated by the controversy surrounding its candidate John Wayne Gardner in Saint Croix. Gardner was disavowed by leader Kevin Vickers mid campaign for old Facebook posts about straight and rainbow flags and bilingualism, but he remained on the ballot as a Liberal choice for voters to the end.
In all, Liberals who won five of the 18 Saint John-, Fredericton- and Charlotte County-area seats in 2014, and two in 2018, took none this year and posted an historic low 15.7 per cent of the vote. That was third behind the PCs and Greens.
The area has become such a political desert for the party the nearest Liberal seat to St. Stephen is now 230 kilometres north in Grand Falls or 260 kilometres east in Moncton.
Alex Scholten, who ran provincially for Liberals in 2018 in New Maryland-Sunbury and won double the votes the party managed in the riding on Monday, said there are significant problems the party needs to overcome.
"It was a disappointing night," said Scholten in a message to CBC News about Liberal results all through central and southern New Brunswick.
"Obviously the party is not selling what the constituents in those areas are looking for."
Scholten blames a breakdown in internal party communications in recent years between ridings and central leadership for some of the problems but also believes the province itself is becoming increasingly fragmented.
"The wants and needs of various parts of the province are not homogeneous making it extremely difficult for a party to generate support province wide," wrote Scholten.
Has party learned from results?
Smith left the Liberal Party in a dispute over its treatment of René Ephestion, who she feels was pressured to abandon his bid for the party leadership in 2019 by insiders to clear the field for Vickers to be acclaimed leader.
Ephestion filed paperwork to run for the leadership but was convinced to withdraw in April 2019.
Smith feels Liberals need to become more democratic internally and avoid recruiting and anointing new leaders, like Vickers, who party members have no role in selecting.
"I hope they learn a lesson out of this," said Smith. "They treated him like a rootin' tootin' gun slinging hero that would save New Brunswick and obviously he couldn't even secure his own seat. I saw this coming."
'A tough evening'
The good news for Liberals is as poorly as it fared in southern New Brunswick, it was the opposite in francophone ridings.
The party piled up huge winning margins and added to past vote totals in a number of places from Edmundston in the northwest to Caraquet and Shippagan in the northeast.
Those rising vote totals helped the party paper over some of the collapse it suffered in the south, and after Vickers announced his departure Monday night, a new leader will inherit the task of fixing whatever is wrong.
"It is a tough evening,"said Vickers. "Obviously we'll be in a building process.
"It's time for another leader to step up and take the party forward."
About the Author
253 Comments Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy's circus is over and the whining and crying of the fake left will continue until Trudeau "The Younger" has the writ dropped then they will talk tough again N'esy Pas?
David Amos Methinks the circus was in really fine form when the liberals changed their mind about a conservative turncoat and allowed him to take on Higgy's pal the former NDP leader N'esy Pas?
David Amos Reply to @David Amos: When I saw Higgy's pal featured in the news riding around the Hanwell on a silly new/old yellow bike I wondered if he bought it because it reminded him of his favourite butter tarts.
David Amos Reply
to @David Amos: Methinks Higgy's pal must recall teasing me about the
PC Party's concerns about running low on butter tarts while offering his
liberal opponent another party job if he quit challenging his old boss
and their buddies in the Carleton-York PC Association N'esy Pas?
Ryan Den It's wonderful that were Bringing Identity Politics to Canada just like the USA. So the results in New Brunswick was that not enough of the French speaking people voted Liberal (Required by Race) and that the English White Privilege people in the South voted conservative. It is obvious that peaceful protests(some Fires is OK) need to Happen to protest this outrage.
Lorne Amos The Liberal Party needs a new set of back room boys. The current ones blew it big time !!
Larry Larson This comment violates no guidelines - Acclimating Vickers, the fake hero, as leader was a joke from the start! He was trounced in his own riding so that was very telling!
Robert Langue The Liberals could run a farm animal in certain ridings, and still win (Shediac Beaubassin Cap-Pele for example).
Claude DeRoche Reply to @Robert Langue:
Spread the COR Party H8!
Al Borland Glad that this outlet is finally pointing this out. Just look at the complete collapse in rural anglophone ridings. In a lot of ridings it's a two way between the PCs and the PANB.
Agree they will enjoy their schools and hospitals shutting down! Karma!
Guy Richard Surprising that the English have put up with abuse from SANB for so long, the writing was on the wall.
Mack Leigh Reply to @Guy Richard:
All funding both federally and provincially to groups the likes of SANB
should cease and desist immediately. They have their own devious agenda
and it is not to " promote " their language and culture among Canadians.
Thomas Imber The
Liberals have essentially become the political wing of the Acadian
society, so it shouldn't be a surprise that their support in most parts
of NB has dropped.
A few terms in the political wilderness would do them good, and it would
also allow the Greens to replace the Liberals as the second main
political party in NB
Fred
Brewer Reply to @Al Borland: Ok, since you doubt me, I looked it up.
The Greens placed second in 12 ridings, eight anglophone constituencies
in the south and four francophone ridings in the north and east. So you
are dead wrong when you say they placed 2nd mostly in francophone
ridings. Remember your initial statement was , and I quote what you said
"The Greens are only second in francophone NB."
http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2018/01/yo-dominic-cardy-how-can-you.html
Friday, 12 January 2018
YO Dominic Cardy how can you Conservatives brag of buying Butter Tarts when CBC tells me you dudes have to sell your HQ? Yet you wackos want control of our provincial economy?
http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.ca/2017/10/methinks-if-blaine-higgs-had-two-clues.html
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
Methinks if Blaine Higgs had two clues between his ears he would not have hired the Arsehole Dominic Cardy in the first place
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Gallant,
Premier Brian (PO/CPM)" <Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca>
Date:
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 18:00:25 +0000
Subject: RE: YO Dominic Cardy how can you
Conservatives brag of buying Butter Tarts
when CBC tells me you dudes have to
sell your HQ? Yet you wackos want control of
our provincial
economy"
To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Thank
you for writing to the Premier of New Brunswick. Please be
assured that
your email will be reviewed.
If this is a media request, please forward
your email to
media-medias@gnb.camed
*************************************
Nous vous
remercions d’avoir communiqué avec le premier ministre du
Nouveau-Brunswick.
Soyez assuré(e) que votre courriel sera examiné.
Si ceci est une demande
médiatique, prière de la transmettre à
media-medias@gnb.camedia-medias@gnb.ca>.
Merci!
---------- Forwarded message
----------
From: "Cardy, Dominic (LEG)" <Dominic.Cardy@gnb.ca>
Date:
Fri, 12 Jan 2018 17:22:47 +0000
Subject: Hamish's birthday
To: David Amos
<motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Cc:
"Wright, Hamish (LEG)" <Hamish.Wright@gnb.ca>
Dear
Mr. Amos,
As a regular correspondent I thought you would like to know
that it's
Hamish's 20th birthday! We even gave him some butter tarts in
your
honour! I'm sure he'd appreciate a note.
Have a good weekend,
best wishes,
Dominic
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/
David
Amos
Strange just today Dominic Cardy was bragging to me they have lots
of
money to spend on Butter Tarts
Methinks the PCs are gonna lose the
electin bitime with him as Mr
Higgs' Chief of Staff N'esy Pas?
(Piss
Poor spelling a grammer I know but the real question is will CBC
even allow
the comment o stand the test of time EH Jacques Poitras and
Hubby
Lacroix?)
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2017 14:57:57 -0400
Subject:
Yo Brucey Baby is that your signature I see on the note with the treats
from Mr Higgs that your buddy Dominic Cardy sent?
To:
kelly@lamrockslaw.com, david@lutz.nb.ca, David.Coon@gnb.ca,
blaine.higgs@gnb.ca, brian.gallant@gnb.ca, briangallant10@gmail.com,
bruce.fitch@gnb.ca, Brian.kenny@gnb.ca, Dale.Morgan@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
kirk.macdonald@gnb.ca, postur@for.is, newsroom@globeandmail.ca,
Bill.Morneau@canada.ca, bill.pentney@justice.gc.ca,
jan.jensen@justice.gc.ca
Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, bruce.northrup@gnb.ca, Dominic.Cardy@gnb.ca
http://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.ca/2017/11/yo-blaine-higgs-i-just-called-and-tried.html
Thursday, 2 November 2017
Yo Blaine Higgs I just called and tried to talk to your buddy Hamish
Wright Trust that I don't care that Dominic Cardy is concerned about
his fondness for butter tarts
Yo Mr Cardy Do Ya Think This Dude Cares About Your Dumb Puffin?
---------- Original message ----------
From: Póstur FOR postur@for.is
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2017 16:16:32 +0000
Subject: Re: Yo Mr Higgs I updated the blog for the benefit of your
mindless assistant, your pal Chucky "The Welfare Bum" Leblanc and his
many LIEbrano buddies for obvious reasons N'esy Pas David Coon?
To: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com
Erindi þitt hefur verið móttekið / Your request has been received
Kveðja / Best regards
Forsætisráðuneytið / Prime Minister's Office
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-chris-duffie-dominic-cardy-1.5664736
Once rejected by 2 political parties, Chris Duffie set to take on Dominic Cardy for Liberals
The Liberal candidate will run in Fredericton West-Hanwell
· CBC News · Posted: Jul 28, 2020 5:00 AM AT
After being rejected as a candidate by the PCs and the Liberals in the last provincial election, Chris Duffie will run for the Liberals in the riding now held by Education Minister Dominic Cardy. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
New Brunswick Liberals are turning to a candidate they rejected less than three years ago to take on Education Minister Dominic Cardy in his Fredericton-area riding.
Chris Duffie was nominated by acclamation to run for the Liberals in Fredericton West-Hanwell, the third time he has tried to get on the ballot.
"There's lots of good work to be done out in the riding," he said. "It's exciting and I'm looking forward to doing it."
Premier Blaine Higgs has been dropping hints that he may call an early election by this fall.
In 2017 Duffie, a Progressive Conservative supporter at the time, took the party to court,
arguing it tried to prevent him from challenging incumbent PC MLA Carl
Urquhart for the party nomination in the riding of Carleton-York.
Duffie
had missed the deadline to file his paperwork but argued it was because
the party didn't properly publicize that the nomination was coming up.
After a judge ruled that the PC party hadn't broken any of its rules, Duffie decided to run for the Liberals.
But the Liberals also rejected him, refusing to let him seek their nomination.
New leader helped
This year Duffie got the green light to run from the party's vetting process, but in a different riding.
He also said a new Liberal leader, Kevin Vickers, "goes a long way" toward him being able to run.
In 2017 the Liberals said they disqualified Duffie because, as a PC member, he had criticized then-Premier Brian Gallant and his government only months before.
He said it was because it would "generally not be appropriate for someone who runs for another party's nomination to run for the Liberal nomination in the same election."
Because Duffie has remained involved with the Liberals since 2018, "we have no further concerns in this regard," he said.
Duffie doesn't live in Fredericton West-Hanwell but says he did in the past, for about 15 years, and has "a great footprint" in the area.
Chances are 'pretty good'
Chris Duffie said he isn't nervous about taking on Education Minister Dominic Cardy in the next provincial election. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
He isn't nervous about taking on Cardy, one of the most high-profile ministers in the government of Premier Blaine Higgs. "I think my chances are pretty good or I wouldn't be doing this."
In 2018, Cardy won the riding with 31.8 percent of the vote, with Liberal Cindy Miles close behind with 27.9 percent.
"I believe my record will speak for itself, as will Mr. Duffie's," Cardy said in an emailed statement.
"Whenever the election is called, I hope we can have a conversation based on our parties' contrasting visions for the future of the people of Fredericton West-Hanwell, and for our province."
The Cardy-Duffie race won't be the first time they have crossed paths. During his 2017 court challenge, Duffie presented evidence that Higgs and Cardy had promised him a job if he stayed out of the PC nomination race.
Both the PCs and Liberals have started nominating candidates, or scheduling nominations, ahead of a possible campaign this year.
The PCs have 13 nominating conventions scheduled so far in the coming weeks, 12 for ridings they hold and one in Tracadie-Sheila, held by the Liberals.
The Liberals have already nominated four candidates, including three sitting MLAs. Duffie is the first candidate nominated in a riding held by another party.
About the Author
46 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
David Amos
"I believe my record will speak for itself, as will Mr. Duffie's," Cardy said in an emailed statement.
Heres hoping that is true
Ray Oliver
You could run a fire hydrant against Cardy. Itll win. Heck. Vote Amos!!
How So???
Jos Allaire
The other three opposition parties do not ant election. New Brunswickers do not want elections. But Higgs wants an election. It is sure to blow up in his ugly face.
David Amos
Lou Bell
Liberals sure diggin at the bottom of the barrel looking for cndidates outside their SANB controlled ridings. First Vickers, and now Duffie . Add to that Arsenault and Gauvin, who never really were committed to the parties they supposedly represented until their true colours showed , an election looks bleak for the Liberlas . Melanson is scrambling to prevent one happening , grasping at any straws he can get his fingers on .
Reply to @Jos Allaire: Methinks you write a lot like Marguerite of old because you are like a moth to a flame N'esy Pas?
Lou Bell
Perhaps the Anglophone Liberal MLA's should disclose to their constituents what they knew about the UNDISCLOSED " Phonie Games " giveaway ! Were they also involved or were they OUT OF THE LOOP ??? Doesn't look good either way !!
Jos Allaire
Reply to @Lou Bell: Methinks you should be able to get the same info from your MLA No doubt you voted for the dude who sent me butter tarts as Higgy's chief of staff before the last election N'esy Pas?
Looks like the fine folks of Fredericton West-Hanwell are expected to hold their noses and vote.
You do realize who you are talking about? Clam up? Right.
David Amos
Reply to @Terry Tibbs: Methinks they just did it to me N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
I saw that earlier..............
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Nobody cares who you call.. You a a legend in your mind only.
Reply to @Eric Fowler: You think? Dave makes a great effort to keep us unformed on all the bee ess going on " in this place ", and he also runs in almost every election. If he was in my riding he would get my vote. I wish him the very best in all his political endeavors.
Reply to @David Amos: So much krap going on, it's hard to keep all the important stuff on the front burner. Good luck in the next election, if you throw your hat in.
Reply to @Ben Haroldson: "unformed" - did you mean informed or uninformed?
Reply to @Michel Forgeron: What letter is beside the u? Figure it out.
Reply to @David Amos: I don't care if you mention my name as long as you don't say that I am your friend.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-chris-duffie-reject-run-liberals-1.4295262
Liberals reject disgruntled former PC Chris Duffie as candidate
Liberal committee that reviews potential candidates says Duffie worked to defeat Liberals for last 3 years
· Posted: Sep 18, 2017 5:01 PM AT
The New Brunswick Liberal Party has rejected Chris Duffie's application to run as Liberal candidate in next year's election. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
A former Progressive Conservative who was blocked from running for the party has now been vetoed from becoming a Liberal candidate in next year's provincial election.
Chris Duffie took the PC Party to court in the spring after he was disqualified from seeking the nomination in the riding of Carleton-York.
He recently applied to run for the Liberals in the same riding, but a party committee that reviews potential candidates has rejected him.
- Disqualified PC candidate considers independent run in 2018
- Judge stops PC nomination after barred candidate files protest
The committee, which checks on the backgrounds of potential candidates before clearing them to contest a nomination, decided Duffie's public statements criticizing the Liberals earlier this year are too recent for him to run as a candidate for them now.
"The candidate for nominee has been, until last year, volunteering for three years in an effort to defeat the Liberal government," Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé MLA Victor Boudreau said in a written statement.
'Demonstrate support'
Boudreau, a member of the committee, pointed out that Duffie's social media posts from earlier this year "demonstrate support for the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick … and demonstrate opposition to Premier Gallant and his government."
Boudreau said applicants who want to become Liberal candidates must disclose their previous support for other parties in their forms, which he says Duffie didn't do.
The rejection is the second for Duffie, who once worked as an assistant to Carleton-York PC MLA Carl Urquhart.
In the spring, Duffie accused Urquhart of going back on his decision to retire from politics and clear the way for Duffie to run for the PCs to replace him in 2018.
Duffie said the party didn't give proper notice of its convention to pick a candidate in Carleton-York, causing him to miss the deadline to file his papers.
Judge denies claim
He took the PC Party to court, but a judge ultimately ruled the party had not broken any rules and was within its right to disqualify Duffie.
The day of the ruling, Duffie said he would consider running as an independent.
Duffie said Monday morning it was too soon to comment on his political future.
After the Liberal Party released its statement to CBC News Monday afternoon, Duffie couldn't be reached for comment.
About the Author
Disqualified PC candidate considers independent run in 2018
After losing court decision, Chris Duffie says he'll reflect on running in Carleton-York anyway
· CBC News · Posted: May 29, 2017 6:46 PM AT
Chris
Duffie wants to run for the nomination in the provincial riding of
Carleton-York but argues the party made it difficult for him to file his
documents on time. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
A Progressive Conservative member who was disqualified from seeking his party's nomination says he'll now look at running as an independent candidate in next year's election.
Chris Duffie was hoping that Justice Judy Clendening would order the PC party to put him on the ballot for the nomination in Carleton-York.
But Clendening ruled that the way the party notified party members of the May 19 convention, though "restrictive" in timing, did not break any rules.
Evidence filed in court "does not allow me to conclude" that the party was in the wrong, she said, dismissing Duffie's motion.
- Judge stops PC nomination after barred candidate files protest
- People's Alliance set to welcome unhappy PC party members
That means the party can reschedule the convention, which Clendening had ordered suspended, with sitting PC MLA Carl Urquhart as the only candidate.
Considering independent run
The party's lawyer, Kelly Lamrock, argued in court that Duffie had filed his legal action without exhausting the party's own appeal mechanisms, including asking Blaine Higgs,the party's leader, to disqualify Urquhart to get the riding association to start over.
Duffie told reporters after the hearing that he will "reflect" on whether to run in Carleton-York anyway.
"This may just be the beginning of looking at independent — of voting for a candidate, versus a party," he said.
But he also said he would ask Higgs to intervene.
Duffie said he didn't want to make a snap decision based on his emotions, and though it's "highly improbable" Higgs will step in, he planned to call the Tory leader by the end of the day.
"He may or may not give me a call back," Duffie said. "He hasn't called me back yet."
There was no immediate comment Monday afternoon from Higgs on whether he'd consider the move.
Higgs would have already signed his approval of Urquhart as a candidate for the nomination.
Missed deadline
Duffie had alleged that the party didn't follow its rules requiring riding associations to make "every effort" to notify all members of the May 19 convention.
That notice also set the clock ticking on a May 5 deadline for candidates wanting to run for the nomination to file their paperwork. Duffie said he missed that deadline because the party didn't send out proper notifications.
The convention was listed on the PC website but Duffie's lawyer, Kevin Toner, argued it was "buried" and required several clicks to find.
That got a skeptical response from the judge.
"If you were going to run, wouldn't you be reading that website backwards, forward, upside down, morning, noon & night?" she asked.
Lamrock, the party lawyer, cited several court precedents in which judges have been reluctant to interfere in internal disputes of political parties and other organizations with their own rules and mechanisms.
In fact, he said, if the party had let Duffie file his paperwork late, it would have been breaking rules approved by a vote of the membership.
"That is really the heart of it," Lamrock said.
The ruling means the PC convention can go ahead and Duffie remains disqualified.
The party hasn't set a new date for the event yet.
People's Alliance set to welcome unhappy PC party members
Disqualification of Tory who hoped to run for Carleton-York nomination called unfair
· CBC News · Posted: May 26, 2017 6:00 AM AT
Kris Austin says the People's Alliance says New Brunswick Tories who aren't happy with the handling of the party's Carleton-York nomination can join his party. (CBC)
The People's Alliance of New Brunswick says it's ready to capitalize on a nomination battle within the Progressive Conservative party.
Leader Kris Austin says he's already hearing from Tory members in the riding of Carleton-York who aren't happy with the disqualification of a party member who wanted to run in the next provincial election.
Chris Duffie is challenging his disqualification in court. The next hearing is scheduled for Monday.
"We've had a couple of phones from some people in that area that are certainly looking our way," Austin said. "Our door's open and we welcome people to check out our message and what we're saying, and the way we do politics."
Missed deadline
Duffie missed a May 5 deadline to submit his paperwork to run for the nomination against PC Carl Urquhart, who is the sitting MLA.
The nomination was scheduled for May 19 but Justice Judy Clendening ordered it postponed until Duffie's case is decided.
The party argues it followed all its own rules, and says the courts should not get involved in an internal dispute.
Austin said the PC party's actions have struck some members as old-fashioned politics and those voters are welcome in the People's Alliance.
Do things differently
"If people are not happy with the way the Progressive Conservatives are doing business, like I said, our door's always open," he said. "We do things differently.
"We don't hide anything. We don't try to squeak anything through unknowingly. We want people to participate in the functioning of the party."
Austin himself founded the new party after he lost a bid to be nominated as the PC candidate in Grand Lake-Gagetown. His party has never elected an MLA but Austin came within 26 votes of winning Fredericton-Grand Lake in 2014.
Duffie said he's not ready to think about running for another party if his legal challenge fails.
"I'm not looking at that as a consideration at this time," he said. "At this stage the answer is no."
He said other parties have contacted him about running for them. Asked if he'd rule it out, Duffie said, "Why don't you consider asking me that question after our court date?"
No comment
Don Moore, the PC party president, said that so far, no one else has applied to challenge a sitting Tory MLA for the nomination in any other riding.
Moore said everything about the Carleton-York nominating convention followed the PC party constitution and the party encourages open nominations, including in ridings now held by Tory MLAs.
He said PC leader Blaine Higgs wants to make sure the party has "an open nomination process that is fair and accessible to any member of the party."
The party has two nominating conventions coming on the weekend, in Fredericton-York and Saint John East. Sitting PC MLAs Kirk MacDonald and Glen Savoie are running unopposed.
The next provincial election is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2018.
About the Author
Judge stops PC nomination after barred candidate files protest
Judge wants more time to consider challenge from Tory prevented from running against sitting MLA
· CBC News · Posted: May 18, 2017 6:01 PM AT
New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative party has been ordered by a judge to scrap what would have been its first candidate nominating convention leading up to the 2018 provincial election.
Justice Judy Clendening ruled Thursday afternoon the party cannot go ahead with the nomination scheduled for Friday in Carleton-York after a would-be candidate who missed the deadline filed a legal challenge.
Chris Duffie wants to run for the nomination but argues the party made it difficult for him to file his documents on time. He says the party wants to protect current PC MLA Carl Urquhart from facing a challenge.
Without Duffie on the ballot, Urquhart would be acclaimed.
More time to file arguments
Clendening emphasized Thursday she was not ruling on whether Duffie had a case.
Rather, she said, she wanted to give the party more time to file arguments. The party's lawyer, Kelly Lamrock, took on the case only Wednesday afternoon.
The two sides will be back in court May 29.
Duffie's lawyer, Kevin Toner, argued in court that the Carleton-York PC association didn't use its usual email system to notify members that the convention had been scheduled for Friday.
"The system was in place," he said. "It was not used."
No proper effort, challenger says
As a result, Duffie missed the May 5 deadline to file his papers and the signatures of 15 party members.
Even though the party officials followed the timelines in the party constitution, they only did "the minimum they could get by with" in order to thwart Duffie.
"They didn't make 'every effort,'" Toner said, quoting a section of the party rules, "and that's mandatory."
Don Moore, the PC party president, argued in an affidavit that the Tories had made "every effort" by placing an advertisement in a local newspaper, as required, and by putting the meeting in a calendar on a party website.
But Toner said the calendar was "buried" on the site and took several clicks to find.
Evidence of 'party job' offer
Toner also presented evidence that PC Leader Blaine Higgs and his chief of staff, Dominic Cardy, had offered Duffie a party job if he agreed to stay out of the race.
Lamrock argued that Duffie's lawyer had presented evidence that was "intriguing and politically salacious but not relevant" under the law.
He said the party has rules and Duffie failed to follow them. Duffie could have submitted his papers long ago but chose to wait to avoid political financing rules that would kick in once he filed, Lamrock said.
Regardless, he said, the courts have traditionally not interfered with rules disputes within political parties.
"The right of the party to make the rules and interpret the rules that its members freely voted for is not to be tampered with lightly," he said.
Doesn't expect ill will
Duffie said that after the decision he was happy he'd won more time to make his case.
He said if Clendening eventually rules in his favour and he's allowed to run for the nomination and wins it, he can still work with Higgs.
"When we get on the other side of this, absolutely," he said. "He may not want to work with me, but I'm definitely open to those conversations, because I want to make this party strong."
But Duffie wouldn't rule out running for another party if he loses.
"We'll have to take that consideration at the time."
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