MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Justin Trudeau is trying to find the silver lining in the Dan Gagnier controversy, insisting that his campaign co-chairman’s swift departure shows the Liberals are serious about political ethics.
The Liberal leader faced more questions Friday about Gagnier, who resigned from the campaign earlier this week after an email surfaced that showed he was advising TransCanada Corp. on how to lobby a new government.
Gagnier, a member of Trudeau’s inner circle, quit the campaign after the revelations surfaced – but not before the party initially expressed support for him.
Trudeau said it’s important that he have advisers and officials around him from a wide variety of careers and industries, and that Gagnier’s links to the oil industry have been public knowledge for months.
“We ensured from the very beginning of our campaign that we were compliant with all rules and regulations involving consultants and people of that sort, across a spectrum,” he said at a campaign stop in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, where he was joined by former mayor Hazel McCallion.
“And when it came to light that one of our volunteers – a senior volunteer, obviously -had engaged in an inappropriate activity, we took responsibility for it.
“He acknowledged and assumed the consequences of his actions and stepped down from our campaign.”
Trudeau didn’t, however, acknowledge or explain the party’s initial declaration of support for Gagnier in the hours after the story broke.
He also dodged two questions on whether he would further investigate Gagnier and other members of his team for inappropriate actions.
It remains to be seen how the Gagnier email could affect Trudeau’s campaign. Recent polls have suggested his party was enjoying momentum going into the critical final week of the campaign prior to Monday’s vote.
Smelling blood, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair have been attacking the Liberals with ferocity.
Both say controversy will remind voters that little has changed inside the party since the Chretien-era sponsorship scandal – a huge liability for the Liberals, particularly in all-important Quebec.
Trudeau was introduced at a seniors residence by McCallion, who stars in the party’s latest campaign ad. The ad makes an effort to remind seniors that the Liberals don’t intend to do away with income splitting for pensioners.
The Liberal leader repeated that message to residents who attended his speech at the residence.
Trudeau said the relentless Conservative effort to say otherwise is evidence of that party’s willingness to go for a “low blow” because they can’t win a fair fight.
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