The chair of Hikma, a local Muslim advocacy group says he needs an explanation from Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford.
Nawaz Tahir is speaking out after past comments made by London-West PC candidate Andrew Lawton came to light this week, one of them targeting Muslims.
Lawton was one of 11 candidates appointed by Ford. He was chosen over Thames Valley District School Board trustee Jake Skinner who campaigned for the nomination for two years before Lawton was chosen.
“I think it’s internally inconsistent. Particularly when Andrew Lawton was hand-picked by Doug Ford. He was appointed, there was no nomination process, and they knew — or ought to have known — about these troubling remarks before that selection process,” said Tahir.
Tahir feels keeping Lawton on as a candidate will make people question what Ford is really about.
“I think people are concerned in terms of, what does this mean about Doug Ford?” said Tahir.
“What does this mean about the kind of people Doug Ford has advising him?”
“It runs sort of counter to the Conservative mantra of ‘We want to be more inclusive,'” he said.
Lawton, who is a former 980 CFPL talk show host, took to social media earlier this week, seeking “compassion and trust” from voters after admitting to controversial actions between 2005 and 2013.
He says an eight-year battle with an unspecified mental illness caused him to be “reckless” in nearly all areas of his life.
Lawton worked for Corus Entertainment from 2013 until 2018.
— With files from Jake Jeffrey and Jaclyn Carbone