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Won't resign from police board, Lougheed says

Calls by Ontario's Progressive Conservatives for him to be suspended from Sudbury's police services board are “political,” and he won't be resigning, Gerry Lougheed Jr. said Friday. “I think it's all about politics,” Lougheed said.
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Calls by Ontario's Progressive Conservatives for him to be suspended from Sudbury's police services board are “political,” and he won't be resigning, Gerry Lougheed Jr. said Friday.
Calls by Ontario's Progressive Conservatives for him to be suspended from Sudbury's police services board are “political,” and he won't be resigning, Gerry Lougheed Jr. said Friday.

“I think it's all about politics,” Lougheed said. “I have no intention of stepping down. If there's any wrongdoing found, I will voluntarily step down at that time.”

He was reacting to a call from Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls, who says Lougheed is implicated in recordings released Thursday by Andrew Olivier, an independent candidate in the city's Feb. 5 byelection.

Olivier, a former Liberal candidate, alleges he was offered a job or an appointment in exchange for withdrawing his candidacy and endorsing Glenn Thibeault, the former NDP MP who crossed the floor and was appointed the party's candidate by Premier Kathleen Wynne.

In the recording, Lougheed appears to suggest the possibility of a reward if Olivier withdrew.

“So I come to you, on behalf of the premier, and on behalf of, yes, Thibeault, more indirectly, to ask you if you would consider stepping down, even more than that Andrew, nominating him,” Lougheed says in the recording. “In the course of that deliberation, the premier wants to talk to you. They would like to present to you options in terms of appointments, jobs, whatever, that you and her and (Liberal campaign director) Pat Sorbara could talk about it.”

Elections Ontario is investigating whether the act was violated in light of the release of the recordings. Nicholls wrote to Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Yasir Naqvi on Thursday urging him to suspend Lougheed's position on the police board.

“Mr. Lougheed was appointed to the Sudbury Police Services Board by your government,” Nicholls wrote. “The disturbing allegations made by Mr. Olivier, as evidenced by the recordings of his conversation with Mr. Lougheed, certainly brings into question the appropriateness of Mr. Lougheed's current position on the Sudbury Police Services Board.”

But Lougheed said he has done nothing wrong, and only spoke to Olivier out of friendship. He wanted Olivier to know Thibeault would be appointed before it became public knowledge.

“I did it as a friend to him,” Lougheed said. “Unfortunately, it has kind of become very negative and I think the Tories are trying to exploit that a little bit. And the police services board is one of those opportunities.”

He had no idea the conversation was being recorded, and was under the impression it would remain confidential, Lougheed said.

“I think there's a part in the tape when Andrew says, 'Nothing will leave these four walls,' ” he said. “I felt I went in friendship, as a supporter of his. I had absolutely no authority to offer jobs. I did not offer any specific job. I was trying to keep Andrew as part of the team. I felt I was being a friend and supporter.”

While his reputation has been damaged as a result, Lougheed said he doesn't feel betrayed by the fact Olivier made the conversation public.

“No, I think Andrew did what he felt he should be doing,” he said.

Earlier this week, the OPP concluded that there was no wrongdoing and considered the matter closed. But in light of the public release of their conversation, and one Olivier had with Liberal strategist Pat Sorbara, Elections Ontario is again reviewing the case, as is the OPP.

If they find the Election Act has been broken, Lougheed said he would step down from the police board.

“Elections Ontario will do their procedure,” he said. “If I did do something wrong, I would be the first to step down. At this point and time, there is no wrongdoing and I will maintain my position.”

Since the story first broke in December, and then gained new steam this week, Lougheed said he and his family have been subject of vicious attacks on social media, something that has taken a toll.

“It's certainly been very unpleasant for me, there's no doubt about that,” he said. “Some of the negative things that have been said about myself and my family are very hurtful. And I do feel bad about that. But we do live in a democratic society and everyone has a chance to say what they want to say.”

However, those attacks have been balanced by the encouragement of friends and supporters who have reached out to him since the story broke.

“Your friends support you, and the people who don't give you a good kick in the pants,” he said. “It hasn't been a very good month for me and I think some people have taken some things out of context. It's been tough.”

“(But) I've been supported by many other people, by friends and people in the community. So there's always a balance, good things and bad things.”

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Darren MacDonald

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