Mayoral candidate Clive Doucet posted and deleted a video on Friday in which he can be seen among the wreckage from last Friday’s tornadoes criticizing incumbent Jim Watson.
The short video begins with Doucet standing in the middle of Greenbank Road while chainsaws can be heard in the background. Doucet then criticizes Watson for not showing up to an ecology debate that was held shortly after the tornadoes hit.
“We’re a city that never used to see tornadoes,” says Doucet in the video as he points to the surrounding damage.
“We’re a city that never used to have Lyme disease — we have Lyme disease. We have a city that didn’t used to have summers like Louisiana — we have summers like Louisiana. And we have a mayor that won’t come to a debate on the environment.”
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The video received backlash on social media and was taken down from Youtube. A viewer saved a version and uploaded a mirrored version to another site.
According to Doucet’s campaign, the video was recorded while he was upset after seeing the devastation from the tornadoes.
“Clive was obviously very upset by the devastation caused by the tornadoes when the video was shot,” said Stephanie Johnson, who works scheduling and community outreach for Doucet’s campaign. “That being said, it was not an official campaign video, and should not have been posted, this is why it was taken down.”
“As our city faces the effects of climate change, our campaign, and many others in the city will agree that it is quite alarming to see the incumbent mayor refuse to participate in the Ecology Ottawa debates and engage in a meaningful discussion about how our city can respond to the most pressing issue of our time.”