OTTAWA -- The co-chair of the Conservative Party's leadership organizing committee says the party will consider candidates' comments ā on social issues or otherwise ā to assess whether they align with party principles.
Former deputy leader Lisa Raitt said there is a section requiring a declaration of personal views in the rules published by the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) on Jan. 13.
"It says very clearly, that there's going to be a questionnaire that you have to fill out. That questionnaire will be tested by a panel of LEOC who will then interview the potential candidate," Raitt said in an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday.
"Questions will be put to them about what theyāve said in the past, what theyāve said in their questionnaire."
Earlier this week, during an interview on CTV's Power Play, prospective Conservative candidate Richard Decarie caused an uproar when he shared his "social conservative" stance on abortion and same-sex marriage.
He said being gay is "a choice" and that marriage should be reserved for a woman and a man, among other statements that were condemned by a number of high-profile Tories on social media.
MPs have questioned whether Decarie should be able to run for leadership if he formally registers, suggesting his views donāt support party values.
In a statement to Ā鶹“«Ć½ following Decarieās remarks, the director of communications for the party said he would encourage "ā¦all potential candidates to carefully read our Leadership rules and our partyās principles to ensure they support them as itās not just a preference but rather a requirement in the rules, and a failure to support these amounts to being ineligible for the race."
The first openly gay Conservative MP, Eric Duncan, who responded to Decarieās comments on Twitter, told Question Period host Evan Solomon that he was "disappointed" by the remarks but remains hopeful that the party is moving in the right direction.
"Over the course of the last couple of days since these initial comments were made, it has been wonderful to see the support from all different parts of our party, from MPs, to volunteers, to front line volunteers just reject this and say weāre not going back, weāre not going back down this road again."
He said his sexual identity has been a non-issue, particularly during the federal election campaign as he was working to secure his seat in the riding of StormontāDundasāSouth Glengarry.
"My message is, it didnāt matter and people have moved on, Canadians have moved on, theyāve been accepting," said Duncan. "This leadership race is an exciting opportunity for our party. Weāre going to have a lot of great candidates and a discussion about going forward."
