Former MP Karygiannis says Conservatives have misrepresented his views on the Liberal Party in campaign flyer

A flyer in the resulting byelection campaign, "Trudeau’s pot plan," quotes Karygiannis as saying the Liberal party has changed. "This is not the same Liberal party we knew," it says.

The flipside of the flyer shows Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau beside a boy appearing to smoke marijuana, and says, "Trudeau wants marijuana in local stores, just like alcohol and cigarettes."

"It’s low, mean. It is totally out of context," Karygiannis said Wednesday in an interview with The Scarborough Mirror.

He doesn’t deny making the statement about the party in a newspaper interview, but said the flyer misuses it. "The way that they did it, they’re trying to say (the flyer is) something I put out."

Karygiannis said he’s encouraging riding residents to read the fine print, which states Conservatives paid for the flyer, adding he thinks it wasn’t put out by the local campaign, but Conservative bylection candidate Trevor Ellis must have known the flyer was being mailed to local homes.

Ellis could not be reached to comment on the flyer, but it was not one of those displayed in Ellis’s campaign office at the Agincourt Mall Wednesday.

You might be interested in

{{type}}

{{title}}

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

{{type}}

{{title}}

• Dec 31, 1969
• Comments

In statements written to The Scarborough Mirror on the byelection, Ellis, a teacher, presented himself as the candidate who will "keep drugs out of the hands of our children," and said, "Unlike Justin Trudeau, I don’t believe marijuana should be legalized - we need it off our streets and away from our playgrounds."

During an interview, he said the Liberal leader’s stance on legalization seemed to be the "Number One issue that concerns parents" he has spoken to while canvassing.

"That really does raise eyebrows and it gets parents concerned," Ellis said.

Asked what would happen in the riding if marijuana were legal, he refused to speculate. "I can’t really make predictions on these kinds of things," he said, but added, "As a teacher, I’m not convinced of the benefits of legalizing marijuana."

On Thursday, June 19, Arnold Chan, the Liberal candidate, said the flyer could potentially cause "some voter confusion" and that it "feeds into the broader cynicism about politics in general," though the attack is consistent with Conservative advertising targeting Trudeau.

"I’m just disappointed, saddened my opponent would support this type of campaign," Chan said.

The flyer refers to a Liberal party resolution stating marijuana should be legalized because current enforcement policy "is not working." R

esources spent on enforcement haven’t stopped young people from getting access to the drug, so the party believes it’s best to focus resources on regulation and education, as is done with tobacco, to try to discourage marijuana use, said Chan, a lawyer.

Sales of marijuana to young people would still be illegal, as would trafficking, under the Liberal plan.

"This is about taking the criminal element out" of the marijuana business, said Chan, insisting he would not encourage people to smoke marijuana, a drug with "serious health repercussions."

Karygiannis, meanwhile, said he’s still a member of the federal Liberal party, as well as a donor. "I’m voting Liberal (in the bylection). I’m encouraging people to vote Liberal," he added.

The former MP said his remarks about changes in the party were not about its marijuana policy.

"If the party doesn’t move on, the party stagnates. The issue of abortion is something I feel very strongly about. Mister Trudeau has a different opinion (on abortion)," he said.