Victoria Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas said she’s withdrawing from the federal-election race over past comments she made on social media about the conflict in the Middle East.
The Liberals won’t be able to replace Thomas, a business consultant who teaches at the University of Victoria’s business school, with another Victoria candidate because Monday’s nomination deadline has passed.
On Wednesday, the online publication True North Times shared a handful of Thomas’s Facebook posts from 2012, 2013 and 2014, including one in which she calls mosques “brainwashing stations.”
Thomas was not immediately available for an interview, but a party official confirmed her resignation.
She is the second Liberal candidate to step down on southern Vancouver Island in a week. Cowichan-Malahat-Langford Liberal candidate Maria Manna quit Friday over social-media posts in which she called the official account of how planes destroyed the Twin Towers in the 9-11 terrorist attacks “a lie.”
The Liberals found a candidate to run in Manna’s place before the nomination deadline.
On her website, Thomas said she apologizes unreservedly. “When looking back at them, I understand that they are offensive and have no place in our political discourse,” she said.
“I want to apologize particularly to the Jewish and Muslim communities for these insensitive statements. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have utmost respect for all religions and communities and those past comments do not truly reflect who I am.”
Thomas returned to Canada in 2012 after working for eight years running a master of business administration program in Iran. She teaches at the University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
In a July 2014 post, Thomas wrote about the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying, “We were fed the Israeli/British/American version of the conflict our whole lives — ‘the poor Israelis trying to build communes in the desert being attacked by those awful Arabs from all sides.’ ”
She describes meeting some Palestinians who were forced from their olive farms. “The oppressed of the Warsaw ghettos and the concentration camps have become the oppressors, keeping the Palestinians who are left in their ‘homeland’ in ghettos where they limit their access to education and stop most opportunities for them to make a living.”
A July 2013 post reads: “Yes, hundreds of years ago the mosques were used as gathering places for education. Unfortunately, now the mosques are used as brainwashing stations, desecrating those holy places.”
In a post from December 2012, Thomas says: “Santa has to be white!!! You can’t have a brown guy with a beard sneaking into your house in the middle of the night! You’d be calling the bomb squad!”
Thomas said in her resignation letter that as someone who has worked in the Middle East and interacted with the various communities, she knows her comments were “inappropriate.”
She said her past comments have become a distraction from the real issues of the federal election campaign. “For that reason, I will immediately cease my campaign. This includes closing my campaign office and ending all my political activities.”
Thomas, 60, had been door-knocking daily and taking part in candidate debates. She knew the Liberal party’s platform for infrastructure well and believed it was the best way to build the Canadian economy and increase jobs.
In an interview last week, she said she was in the race to win, even though 2012 byelection results showed a tight race between the NDP and Green Party, with the Liberals receiving just 13.1 per cent of the vote.
Elections Canada said Thomas’s name will remain on the ballot for the Oct. 19 election and the advance polls. The deadline for withdrawing was Monday at 5 p.m.
A spokeswoman said Elections Canada has consulted legal counsel as to what, if anything, could or should be done to indicate to voters that Thomas is no longer in the race.
“We just don’t remember the last time this happened,” Dorothy Sitek said. “This is so rare, we are consulting our legal department. We’re not entirely sure what would happen, as administrators of the election, what our role would be.”
To see Cheryl Thomas's Facebook posts: http://www.truenorthtimes.ca/2015/09/30/liberal-cheryl-thomas-called-mosques-brainwashing-stations/
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Earlier story:
Victoria Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas, a business consultant who teaches at the University of Victoria’s business school, has stepped down from the race over comments she made on social media.
Thomas said she apologizes unreservedly.
“When looking back at them, I understand that they are offensive and have no place in our political discourse,” says a message on Thomas’s website.
“I want to apologize particularly to the Jewish and Muslim communities for these insensitive statements. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have utmost respect for all religions and communities and those past comments do not truly reflect who I am. As someone who has worked in the Middle East and interacted with the various communities, I know firsthand that my comments were inappropriate.”
Thomas was not immediately available for an interview but a party official confirmed the message’s authenticity.
The True North Times shared a number of Facebook posts that appeared to be from Thomas, including one in which she called mosques “brainwashing stations.”
Thomas returned to Canada in 2012 after working for eight years running a master of business administration program in Iran.
“I understand that my past comments have become a distraction from the real issues of this campaign. For that reason, I will immediately cease my campaign,” says the message, which was posted to her campaign page on Wednesday. “This includes closing my campaign office and ending all my political activities.
“The last thing I want to do is distract from the incredible work Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada are undertaking. This election is too important and Canadians deserve better with a new government.”
