Conservatives turf Toronto-area candidate

[spaminator]

Conservatives turf Toronto-area candidate
OTTAWA — The Conservative party says a candidate who defended therapies that attempt to turn gays straight is no longer their official representative in a suburban Toronto riding, although it is too late to remove him from the ballot. Jagdish Grewal, who is running in Mississauga-Malton, wrote an editorial entitled "Is it wrong for a homosexual to become a normal person?" that referred to homosexuality as "unnatural behaviour" and heterosexuals as "normal."
A party spokeswoman said Tuesday night that Grewal's comments "are not reflective of the views of the Conservative Party of Canada."
"We believe that all Canadians — regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation — deserve to be treated with respect and dignity," Megan Murdoch said in an email.
Because the deadline has passed for candidates to withdraw or be put on a ballot, Grewal's name will continue to appear as a candidate for the Conservative Party. He will not be able to participate in official party events, but his signs can stay up since they were paid for by his campaign. A party source said he would not be a caucus member if he won.
Grewal is running in a region where there is a particularly fierce battle between the Liberals and Conservatives for seats.
In the Punjabi Post editorial earlier this year, Grewal describes an NDP private member's bill passed in the Ontario legislature in June that removed public funding for services designed to "change or direct the sexual orientation or gender identity of a patient."
Grewal writes in the piece that some psychologists blame a "shock" during childhood for causing a person to become gay, but that the change "can be corrected."
"The political competition of today raises the question of whether any person's wish to become a normal person is wrong?" Grewal wrote in Punjabi.
"If it is a parent's right to set guidelines for their children in terms of their education, career and health, then why is it illegal for them to strengthen their natural heterosexuality?"
Grewal said in an interview Tuesday that he was attempting to educate readers about an issue in the news and lay out the positions taken by the provincial parties and psychologists. He said he did not recall the names of the psychologists he mentioned.
In the editorial, he points to the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity, an American group that offers therapies to people who have "unwanted homosexual attractions."
"Yes, there's children who have tendencies, who are attracted," Grewal said in the interview. "If that child wants to come back or tell the parents that he wants to get out of this life, then parents should have the right to bring them back to their straight life."
Grewal's editorial does not address professional criticism of so-called reparative or conversion therapies. The Canadian Pediatric Society's position on adolescent sexual orientation states that such treatments "should not be provided because they do not work and have the potential to heighten guilt and anxiety."
High-profile Ontario Progressive Conservatives supported the private member's bill when it came to a vote.
In Surrey, B.C., NDP Leader Tom Mulcair held a unscheduled media availability late Tuesday to call for Grewal’s removal as a candidate.
"That type of statement is so totally inadmissible there's only one possible outcome: Mr. Harper has to fire that candidate," said Mulcair, who had earlier taken to Twitter to denounce Grewal's "homophobic" comments.
Last week, the NDP campaign stood by Scarborough-Rouge Park candidate Rev. KM Shantihikumar who said he opposes abortion and same-sex marriage on biblical grounds. Shantihikumar said those were his personal views, not the party's.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau also called for Grewal's removal.
"There is no place for offensive and homophobic statements. The Conservatives should apologize and Stephen Harper needs to remove this candidate," Trudeau said in a statement issued by the party.
Grewal is running against Liberal Navdeep Bains, a former MP who is also an organizer for the party in the Toronto area. Dianne Douglas, a former municipal executive assistant, is running for the NDP.
A campaign pamphlet recently spotted in the riding — with the fine print, "Authorized by the official agent for Jagdish Grewal" — features a picture of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne at the Toronto Pride parade. The slogan reads, "Are these the priorities of your family?"
In another picture, a piece of paper is superimposed onto Bains' hand. The paper reads "Liberal priorities: Sex Education, Gay Marriage, Legalize Marijuana and Prostitution."
Grewal says the flyer is not from his campaign.
There has been opposition to the Ontario government's new sexual education curriculum from within some ethnic communities. The new content addresses sexual orientation and gender identity and homophobia. Children in Grade 1 will be taught the correct names of body parts.
Earlier this year, Wynne said she believed the federal Conservatives were using sex ed as a political wedge issue in the province in advance of the election.
Grewal says he's been getting an earful from people in the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities upset by the curriculum.
"There are families who are keeping their kids at home, they're not sending them to school they're so frustrated with this," said Grewal. "They don't talk about any other issues. This is their biggest issue at the time at the door."
Bains disagrees, saying people understand that a federal MP has no power to shape a provincial education plan.
"Unemployment is high, higher than the national average, youth unemployment is high and people are worried about the economy, worried about jobs," Bains said of the riding. "Those are the issues that matter."
By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press
Conservatives turf Toronto-area candidate-Image1
The Canadian Press, 2015
Conservative candidate Jagdish Grewal (Mississauga-Malton) is shown in a handout photo.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

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Jagdish Grewal | Committed to Community Jagdish Grewal- Committed to Community

 

[spaminator]

Ousted Tory candidate asks to delay Malton riding debate
Mississauga News By Nouman Khalil
Jagdish Grewal, who was ousted by the Conservative Party of Canada for defending homosexual conversion therapy, asked to delay a candidates’ debate in Mississauga’s hotly-contested Malton riding on Tuesday.
Grewal was scheduled to participate in last night’s Mississauga-Malton riding debate at Morning Star Middle School alongside Liberal Navdeep Bains and Dianne Douglas of the NDP.
Organizers announced that Grewal asked to start the debate a little late because he was busy campaigning in the riding. Organizers said they couldn't delay and proceeded as scheduled without Grewal.
The hosts, however, were not aware Grewal was no longer an official Tory candidate and didn't mention his change in status during the debate.
Earlier that day, the Conservative Party of Canada announced Grewal was no longer an official candidate. The announcement came after reports that Grewal referred to homosexuality as ‘unnatural behaviour’ in a Punjabi language editorial in his Punjabi Post newspaper.
In a later interview with The Mississauga News, Grewal said the editorial was taken out of context and he is still running as a Tory candidate. He said he couldn’t attend the debate because he was busy dealing with the issue.
The controversy didn't come up at the debate. The two candidates present instead faced off on issues such as citizenship, seniors and job creation in Peel region and Bill C-51, which expands the powers of the government for the purpose of fighting terrorism.
“Bill C-51 targets people and threatens the rights of everyone in this country. Amnesty International has condemned it. It’s very concerning that it targets us,” said Douglas.
“The Conservatives think that terrorists are around every corner,” added Bains. “We put forward a balanced approach. Security matters, so do civil liberties, and that’s why we are seeking meaningful amendments in Bill C-51.”
Bains also spoke out against what he termed two-tier citizenship.
“Canadian is a Canadian. The Liberal Party has opposed Bill C-24 and we will repeal this bill,” said Bains, referring to the controversial provision in the bill that allows the government to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual citizens who are convicted of terrorism, high treason and several other serious offences.
Douglas said people are concerned about losing their citizenship, which is something all Canadians celebrate.
She said it is possible an innocent could be stripped of his citizenship.
“It’s not right to send them back where all the nests of terrorists started. I don’t think that makes sense. We can put them in prison here and make sure that our borders are protected,” Douglas said.
The debate was hosted by the Malton Black Development Association, Four Corners Health Centre, MCBP Gavel Club and the Malton BIA.
Ousted Tory candidate asks to delay Malton riding debate

Grewal no longer Conservative candidate in Mississauga-Malton
Mississauga News By Chris Clay
A Conservative candidate running in the Mississauga-Malton riding says he was told the party has “cut ties” with him after a controversial editorial he penned earlier this year recently resurfaced.
Jagdish Grewal told The News that, although he is no longer running as the Conservative candidate, he will continue to campaign. His name will appear on the ballot as the Conservative candidate for the riding because it's past the date that candidates can either register to run or withdraw.
Grewal says he wrote the editorial for the Punjabi Post in March as part of his duties as chief editor and publisher of the publication.
The News had the article translated from Punjabi to English.
He argues that some of what he wrote has been mistranslated and misconstrued. He said he asked some colleagues what the word straight would translate into in Punjabi and that, when it was translated back into English from Punjabi, it was mistranslated as normal instead of straight.
Grewal said the editorial was looking at NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo’s Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act bill, which prevents doctors from using conversion therapy on LGBT youth. The therapy is highly controversial and has been widely discredited.
The bill had its first reading in March and received Royal Assent in June.
In the editorial, Grewal writes that psychologists “do not differ on the theory” that people are gay due to “a very bad experience (or trauma) during childhood.”
Grewal said the editorial was going to explain what the bill is, what the various political parties thought about it and the response it was receiving from religious leaders.
“With some variations amongst different religious groups, the issue of homosexuality has more or less been seen as non-natural or against nature,” wrote Grewal in the editorial. “Some of the human rights group has gone into the extent of saying that if homosexuals have rights to showcase their homosexuality why are straight(s) restricted on showcasing their rights for being straight. Organizations like Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity which fights for the cause of common people have reiterated this.”
“These days when there is a rat race going, the question arises that is it bad to be a normal person?” he wrote. “If parents care and have rights about their children’s education, career and health, why is their intervention on making them a straight normal person is not being taken positively.”
Grewal said he doesn’t believe homosexuality is abnormal.
Navdeep Bains, who is running against Grewal, said his campaign is focusing on the issues that matter to the people of Mississauga-Malton such as jobs and the economy, infrastructure investment and immigration. However, he added that the comments Grewal made in the editorial “have no place in Canadian society.”
The News called the Mississauga-Malton Conservative Riding Association for comment. A person who answered the phone said “no thanks” and hung up when the reporter identified themselves as a journalist with The News.
Late Tuesday, the Conservative party issued a statement saying Grewal’s comments weren’t reflective of the party’s views.
Jagdish Grewal

Grewal no longer Conservative candidate in Mississauga-Malton

 

[relic]

Oh, a problem with the translation, that's like when they get caught lying, it's "I miss spoke". Doesn't matter, he's still on the tory ballot, and dollars to Tim Bits, if he wins, he will be forgiven and welcomed back into the fold.