In the letter, Loewenberg likens the Sudbury byelection scandal to the Senate scandal involving Mike Duffy, the political-commentator-turned-senator.
"The parallels between the Harper-Novak-Duffy scandal and the Wynne-Sorbara-Lougheed scandal cannot be ignored," Loewenberg wrote.
Referring to Trudeau's demand that money raised by Duffy for the Conservatives be paid back, Loewenberg asks if the Liberal leader will call on Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to do the same.
"Will you apply the same ethical standard to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and call on her to fire her deputy chief of staff, Pat Sorbara, in the wake of her alleged involvement in the events that led
to the criminal charges facing Gerry Lougheed?
"Will you also heed your party’s own call, and repay the donations that were brought in by Mr. Lougheed, both to your leadership bid and the Liberal Party of Canada?"
In January 2015, Liberal hopeful Andrew Olivier released a taped conversation between himself and Lougheed, in which the latter allegedly offered him a government job or appointment if he agreed to step down from the Liberal nomination race for the Sudbury provincial byelection in favour of now Liberal MPP Glenn Thibeault.
Lougheed is charged with one count of Counselling an Offence Not Committed [Section 464 (a) of the Criminal Code] and one count of Unlawfully Influencing or Negotiating Appointments [Section 125 (b) of the Criminal Code]. Lougheed is expected to appear in Sudbury court on Nov. 18.
Lougheed has said that he committed no crime and will fight the charges.
The full text of the letter is below:
Mr. Justin TrudeauLiberal Party of Canada
350 Albert Street, suite 920
Ottawa, ON K1P 6M8
October 1, 2015
Dear Mr. Trudeau,
I’m writing today to ask you to back up your ‘principled’ words on political corruption with clear action.
When Ray Novak was implicated in the secret deals offered to Mike Duffy, you called on Stephen Harper to fire him. Your party also called for Conservatives to repay the “Duffy-dollars” that were raised by Senator Duffy who is now facing criminal charges in relation to his travel expenses for that work.
The parallels between the Harper-Novak-Duffy scandal and the Wynne-Sorbara-Lougheed scandal cannot be ignored.
Will you apply the same ethical standard to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and call on her to fire her deputy chief of staff, Pat Sorbara, in the wake of her alleged involvement in the events that led
to the criminal charges facing Gerry Lougheed?
Of course you also personally know the work of Mr. Lougheed. As a supporter and donor, Mr. Lougheed held a high-dollar fundraiser in Sudbury, which raised $115,000 for your national campaign. The irony, of course, is that you may now be using money raised by Mr. Lougheed to attack Mr. Harper’s record on the Duffy scandal.
Will you also heed your party’s own call, and repay the donations that were brought in by Mr. Lougheed, both to your leadership bid and the Liberal Party of Canada?
Mr. Lougheed has been criminally charged in relation to his role as a Liberal fixer in the Sudbury by-election earlier this year, and Pat Sorbara’s alleged involvement is highlighted in the recorded conversation between Lougheed and the potential candidate in question.
You campaigned aggressively with Kathleen Wynne just a few weeks ago, while things were going relatively well for her. But today, in the face of criminal charges laid after an investigation that also focussed on the Premier’s deputy chief of staff, and the betrayal of the people of Ontario with the attempted sale of Hydro One, you seem to be downplaying your close connections to Premier Wynne and the political operatives you both have in common.
You are campaigning to replace Stephen Harper. You are telling Canadians you will be different. But so far your approach seems to be the same cynical politics over which Canadians have grown so weary.
I urge you to do the right thing by returning money raised by Mr. Lougheed, and to join the New Democratic Party to call on both Harper and Wynne to do the right thing by asking Novak and Sorbara to step aside.
Signed,
Paul LoewenbergNDP candidate for the Sudbury riding
