VANCOUVER — BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins has booted his candidate in Vancouver-False Creek over comments he posted on social media.
On Wednesday, the Vancouver Sun reported that on his Twitter account last October, Ian Tootill asked: “Who’s really to blame? Hitler or the people who acted on his words?”
Responding to another user in 2011, he made the comment, ” … We men love sluts …”
And this January, he wrote: “Call me simplistic but I agree with Ron Paul. Drugs should be legalized. All drugs, not just pot. No slope then.”
In a statement today, Cummins said he had dismissed Tootill as a candidate over the revelation.
“Mr. Tootill’s comments are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the BC Conservative party,” he said.
“We are a party that believes in a respectful airing of views. Mr. Tootill’s statements are unacceptable and downright shameful. He has been fired as a candidate.”
Tootill, a co-founder of SENSE BC, a citizens’ advocacy group on road-safety issues, said Tuesday he left the remarks on his account because he does not want to hide what he has said.
“I told my party when I was being vetted that I happened to have a bit of an edgy sense of humour,” he said Tuesday. “I think there’s not enough sense of humour in the legislature. I think that sometimes people are way too stiff, way too hard on politicians.”
Of the Hitler remark, Tootill said: “I feel that in B.C., in fact in North America in general, people pay a lot more attention to words than they probably should.
“There’s a collective responsibility there. It’s not just the person who led the charge, it’s the people who decide to follow.”
The “sluts” remark, he said was tongue-in-cheek. “It was really kind of an offhanded remark.”
And he stood by his assertion that all drugs should be legal. “I’m not here to run on that platform, but it’s a personal belief of mine and I’ve tweeted it before.”
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