The local Conservative riding association has sent a letter to the federal party saying it wants to ensure all rules are followed in determining a candidate for the new riding of Milton East-Halton Hills South in the next election.
“We want assurances of a democratic and open nomination meeting as laid out in the CPC (Conservative Party of Canada) constitution,” John Lamberink, president of the Wellington-Halton Hills Electoral District Association (EDA), said in an email.
The riding association became concerned after Parm Gill, who resigned as the MPP for Milton Jan. 25, was appointed as the federal candidate for the Milton riding.
The Milton riding will be split for the next election - set to take place on or before October 2025 - as will Wellington-Halton Hills. Part of each will be combined to form the Milton East-Halton Hills South riding.
Current Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong, an Elora resident, will run in the new Wellington-Halton Hills North riding. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of the current riding will become part of the new Milton East-Halton Hills South riding.
The riding association’s fear is that if Gill is appointed to Milton East-Halton Hills, the party’s local members will have no say in their representative.
The letter from the riding association’s board of directors says, “We believe this appointment would not be in the best interest of the community or the Conservative Party of Canada. Indeed, it would be both unfair and undemocratic.”
Sarah Fischer, the CPC’s director of communications, said no decision has been made on which of the new Milton ridings Gill will seek election.
“New ridings technically do not exist, so it would be impossible to comment," she said.
Lamberink said since the letter, dated Feb. 7, was sent, “there have been only verbal assurances from the party that there will be an open nomination race for Milton East-Halton Hills South.”
Fischer said she doesn’t know why the Wellington-Halton Hills EDA is concerned about what's happening in another riding.
“It is bizarre that (Chong’s) EDA board would be writing the party about a nomination in another riding – one that is currently not held by a Conservative,” she said in an email.
The letter from the EDA board goes on to say, “We plan to establish a new EDA and conduct a candidate selection process in a fair, open and transparent manner.”
