Scheer, Khanna avoid controversy in Brampton North, offer no specifics on local issues

Standing on the bed of a dark blue Ford F-150 pickup decorated with “Arpan Khanna” and Conservative Party decals, Leader Andrew Scheer addressed a crowd of supporters outside Khanna’s campaign offices on Friday night — with no reference to specific issues in the riding, or the controversy wrapping itself around the young candidate for Brampton North.

The event at Heart Lake Town Centre unfolded as calls were growing for Khanna to step out of the race, following revelations earlier in the day (by the riding’s Liberal incumbent, Ruby Sahota) of a 2010 social media post by Khanna that used a deeply offensive homophobic slur. Scheer’s campaign had long planned the visit to the riding, which has been targeted as a possible steal for the Conservatives after the Liberals took it from them in 2015 — the first time it was contested after parts of three former ridings, all won by the Conservatives in 2011, were folded into the new one. 

Khanna introduced his party’s leader and stood next to him on the truck. “Each and every one of you, on Oct. 21, we’re not only going to turn Brampton North blue, we’re going to make sure that this man, Andrew Scheer, is our prime minister,” Khanna said as the crowd of supporters burst into applause. As the sky darkened, the candidate was coming off a tumultuous 12 hours, facing mounting scrutiny and calls to abandon his bid to represent the riding in Ottawa, after details surfaced that morning of the slur that appeared on his personal Facebook page nine years ago. 

Khanna had earlier issued an apology for the offensive post via Twitter. “I deeply regret the offensive language I used when I was a teenager,” he wrote. “I have come to understand that creating safer and more inclusive spaces LGBTQ+ people in Canada happens in our homes, workplaces, on social media, and in the conversations we have every day. I apologize unequivocally.”

Like Khanna, Conservative candidate for Mississauga-Streetsville, Ghada Melek, was in hot water back in August, when allegations were raised about her appearing to have retweeted a post that blamed Detroit’s “economic hell” on Islamist extremism in 2013, according to the National Post. Additionally, in an August Vice article, Melek was accused of supporting an expert who was a proponent of LGBTQ2 conversion therapy.

Neither Khanna nor Scheer referenced the Brampton North candidate's offensive 2010 post in their remarks to the crowd, and The Pointer was informed they would not be taking questions from the media. Khanna called Scheer a “very, very special guest,” before stepping aside for the leader.

When it was Scheer’s time to speak, he referenced common Conservative Party platform points, but nothing specific to the riding of Brampton North. Unlike NDP leader Jagmeet Singh - who, on Thursday, pledged funds to construct a new hospital in Brampton - Scheer didn’t even broach the subject.

“I just want to ask you: Are we going to win Brampton North?” Scheer asked the crowd, which erupted in cheers and outbursts of “Yes.” Scheer added: “I was thinking that was the case, but I’m glad to hear you say it. I know we’re going to win Brampton North, because I know we’re going to win seats all across the GTA, all across Ontario. Because everywhere I go, people are telling me the same thing, that under Justin Trudeau, life keeps getting more and more expensive.” 

The Conservatives are targeting many of the 32 seats across the 905 area code, regarded as crucial to winning power, and it’s expected that Scheer will be a fixture in the GTA over the next five weeks.

Scheer said Trudeau’s “massive deficits” are “threatening our social programs,” and that the crowd’s “hard-earned tax dollars” are going towards paying the interest on that debt. According to Ministry of Finance budget estimates announced in March, the deficit for the past fiscal year dropped to $14.9 billion, down from $19 billion in the previous year. However, in 2019-2020, the deficit is expected to rise to $19.8 billion, decreasing only slightly, to $19.7 billion, the following year, before declining to $9.8 billion by 2023-2024. All that could change, depending on the future government’s priorities. 

“Remember, this is 2019. This is the year he promised the budget would balance itself,” Scheer told the crowd, as they responded with boos and groans. “It’s not balanced … billions and billions of new debt, making sure that your taxes will go up after the election, when he doesn’t need your vote but he still needs your money. So the ballot question in this campaign is coming down to one, simple test: Who do you trust to make life more affordable, to help you get ahead?” 

Scheer extolled the Conservative commitment to repeal the federal carbon tax, if elected. He noted another party policy idea of removing the HST on home hydro and heating bills, a point that has been raised numerous times on the campaign trail so far. 

The only somewhat local reference Scheer made Friday evening was talk of bringing back the public transit tax credit, which was announced while at a GO bus works depot in Mississauga during the morning. The 15% credit on transit passes, which would give a tax break to thousands of Peel residents who commute to Toronto via GO trains and buses, would be similar to one that was available to transit users for several years before it was cancelled in the 2017 budget. Some experts concluded it was expensive and minimally effective in increasing transit use. 

“We are only a few days into this campaign, and we are already unveiling new ideas to make sure that you keep more of your hard-earned money so that you can get ahead,” Scheer said. “Because that’s what this election is all about — making life more affordable.” 

One of the things that brought Brampton North resident Nicole Cedrone to Friday night’s event was concern about Canada’s youth criminal justice system, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and her belief that Khanna, Scheer and the rest of the Conservative Party will be tougher on crime. “I don’t understand why people who have been charged with attempted murder are allowed out,” she said, in reference to a 2018 incident in the city involving a man with a checkered past who allegedly nearly killed a 5-year-old child. “I have a real issue with our youth justice act and our whole judicial system as a whole. I think it needs to be changed and basically brought down to the foundation and built up again.”

Asked if she thinks Scheer and the Conservatives can succeed at that, she responded: “Yes, I do … I’ve talked to Arpan a lot and yes, they can, they absolutely can, and they will be tougher on crime.” 

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Twitter: @dancalabrett