Olivia Chow’s mayoral candidacy has an unintended consequence: a lawsuit against Justin Trudeau

29 thoughts on “Olivia Chow’s mayoral candidacy has an unintended consequence: a lawsuit against Justin Trudeau”

1. ‘That’s about nine years’ worth of salary for a backbench MP.’
   What’s the salary for an unsuccessful candidate in a nomination race?

   For Innes to impact Freeland in 2015 she’d have to win the LPC nomination in the Trinity-Spadina byelection, win the byelection, then win the riding nomination for University-Rosedale prior to the 2015 federal election.

   Innes is 0 for 2 in Trinity-Spadina to this point in her federal career why does she think she’s now a winner?

2. These recent actions by Innes clearly demonstrate that Trudeau made the right decision.

3. Christine Innes, you are not helping.

4. How is this Innes’ fault? If what she’s saying is true, the LPC basically made up allegations to slam her and her husband in order to not have to admit that they basically gifted Univ-Rosedale to Freeland?

5. It’s always a good day for Conservatives when the Liberals and NDP fight each other; even better when Liberals sue other liberals. I’ve been Liberal or NDP all of my voting life but getting a bit fed up with the stupidity.

6. The CPC has 0% of winning this riding, and they have their own nomination battle issues. Unclear how this really helps the CPC.

7. First, she’s an idiot. She’s burning all of her political bridges. For someone aspiring to public office, this is a dumb thing to do.

   Second, it’s up to the party itself who runs under its banner. If Trudeau slandered Innes or her husband (although even Innes apologists, like Mitch Wolfe in Huff Post, all but admit Ianno’s actions were likely just as Trudeau described them), then the court will decide that. And what will Innes accomplish? Nothing, except to destroy her nascent political career. There is no legal remedy that would force the Liberals to let her be their candidate.

   Third, this is a fault of her own making. The one who is doing the most to “gift” University-Rosedale to Freeland is Innes, by suing her own party.

8. and every single liberal ignores the fact that Trudeau pledged not to interfere with riding nominations. He is a liar.

9. Well, that’s clearly not what he said. And Harper, who also pledged open nomination races, is having the same discussions with Eve Adams out in Halton Region that Trudeau had with Innes.

   But thanks for coming by to grind your political axes.

10. I disagree. It’s very possible that behind closed door negotiations might get Christine back her chance to run. She has huge support in the riding and she is likely to win the bi-election as her team has already gotten all their ducks in a row. The publicity the case garners will draw in many volunteers outside of the riding and she will do very well both in the bi-election and in the University-Rosedale nomination. Chystia Freeland is politically inexperienced and it shows. Why did she dash off to the Ukraine to interview people there as the Crimea situation was coming to a head? She is no longer a journalist. She is an MP. There was no Parliamentary reason for her to spend time over there but to get some emotional satisfaction over it and to visit relatives.
    Christine’s grassroots approach to politics is refreshing and well-informed. Her knowledge about the riding has developed over at least 2 decades of being politically active in the riding and she has been involved in the Liberal Party for over 3 decades. She’s an ideal candidate but Justin and his top campaign people are too green politically and administratively – both inside the party and in their approach to the media – to think clearly and to recognize that there will be some painful losses along the way and perhaps Innes beating out Freeland in a nomination is one of those painful losses – albeit a very temporarily painful one.
    The political fallout (ie large numbers of party members cancelling their memberships) will do more damage to Justin’s leadership than any perceived comfort zone they might think they have created for themselves. Wait and see!

11. ‘(large numbers of party members cancelling their memberships) will do more damage to Justin’s leadership’
    I can’t see too many memberships being cancelled in support of
    Innes a two time loser in Trinity-Spadina.

    “Despite the party leadership’s public attempts to destroy my reputation I have been encouraged by a number of people from different political stripes to fight against this unfair and undemocratic action,” Innes said Monday in reference to taking legal action CBC April 14 2014.

    It’ll be interesting when the names of the ‘people from different political stripes’ who encouraged Innes to sue are reveled and the names will be leaked.
    Does ‘encouraged’ mean ‘financed’ Innes’ lawsuit?

    You fail to mention the Liberal Party of Canada loss of self-proclaimed ‘star candidate’ Zach Paikin in Hamilton West-Ancaster Dundas who dropped out of that nomination race because of Trudeau’s heavy-handed actions in dealing with Innes.

    Losing political heavyweights like Innes and Paikin will cost the LPC tens of votes in the 2015 federal election.

12. No one in LPC is giving Innes any chance of nomination back after what has gone down internally.

13. clearly your user name is accurate, you’re puzzled beyond all fucking belief if you don’t actually know what went on internally

14. Trudeau made the wrong decision. He should have Freeland run in Spadina-Fort York because Freeland is totally inexperienced with politics and Innes is extremely experienced.

15. Innes’ actions suggest that she neither experienced nor wise. The Liberals sound like they are much better off in both ridings with Innes now gone for good.

16. Actually I’m not the stupid one. You have not the slightest idea of what I think. In your stupidity you, like most of your ilk, think that your moronic and pathetic attempts to browbeat actually work. You really display all the characteristics of a liberal. That is its your way and no one else is entitled to an opinion.

17. puzzled2, please stop talking. You’re embarrassing yourself.

18. Now I remember you. The guy who spent 5 years in grade 2.

19. Clearly Innes knew that her goose was cooked at that point anyway, and it’s Trudeau himself who made open nominations a bulwark of his leadership campaign.He can’t have it both ways.

20. Glad you came by, puzzled2.

21. Trudeau never said anything goes. Quite the opposite. Unclear how he’s “trying to have it both ways”. Her conduct was unacceptable, she got turfed. Her subsequent behaviour indicates that he probably made a wise choice. And if she thinks that her “goose” being “cooked” is a good excuse to lash out, well it seems like what Trudeau said about her was probably correct.

22. If Ianno actually was intimidating Freeland volunteers, I agree completely. If he wasn’t, and the real excuse for turfing Innes was that she wouldn’t agree to give up her right to potentially run for the U-R nomination in 2015, then Trudeau is a hypocrite and deserves some scorn.

23. Again, completely unclear how Trudeau is a hypocrite here. He never said this would be open season and that he would never step in or impose conditions. And, as party leader, he is perfectly entitled to insist that candidates for the nomination in one riding stick to a riding even after redistribution. Given the internecine warfare among Liberals the last time ridings were redistributed, his position is not unreasonable (and media reports on Vaughan make clear that Trudeau was not singling out Innes, but treating her exactly the same way he was treating other candidates). Trudeau has no need to invent stories about Innes and her husband – if she refused to meet the conditions of the nomination contest, she was already done. In a situation where even Ianno’s allies can’t muster up denials about his behaviour, other than to say politics is tough, it’s hard to believe your unsubstantiated claims about his actions. Innes has been the author of her own misfortune, and her decision to sue her own party only cements her reputation as a petulant idiot. She assumed she was more valuable to the party than she actually is, overplayed her hand, and when everything backfired she decided the best course of action was to shoot herself in the head.

24. You mean Trudeau saying “that’s why I am calling for open nominations for all Liberal candidates in every single riding in the next election” in his speech at the leadership convention about 6 weeks ago wouldn’t make him a hypocrite if he told Innes that she wasn’t allowed to run against Freeland for University-Rosedale? It seems like that would make him the definition of a hypocrite.

    FWIW, I have voted Liberal in every Federal election since I was allowed to vote and have met Christine Innes numerous times. I’ve always found her to be quite pleasant, hardworking and someone who really inspired people to get involved. Her husband is a firebrand and loudmouth, no doubt, but losing someone like Christine from the fold isn’t good for the Libs.

25. Yes, and at the same convention in Montreal they made clear that it wasn’t carte blanche. FWIW, I’m not a Liberal. But I am hard pressed to understand what Trudeau has done wrong. If Ianno and Innes were were actually going after the next nomination, rather than this one, I am surprised he didn’t cut them off sooner. Stopping Liberals from pulling “Eve Adams” across the country is hardly the antithesis to open nominations, esp. given the party’s recent history. As for losing Innes from the fold, the recruitment of Vaughan leads me to think that no Liberal is giving Innes a second thought anymore.

26. And, you know what, like I said above – if Innes was slandered then it will come out in court. She’ll have cut the nose off her face to get there, and there are better means of achieving the same objective, but let her prove it in court.

27. Finally, I note what you said about Innes being pleasant, hardworking and inspiring. If that’s true, and I have no reason to think it isn’t, then this whole situation is very sad.

28. Innes is done for sure. A shame. As a TrinSpa resident, it’s weird that I’d have to vote for Adam Vaughan to *prevent* the NDP from holding the riding, though I will be in Univ-Rosedale next year once the switchover occurs.

29. Christistine Innes, wife of form Lib MP FOR #trinspa who was also mired in controversy, was an overly aggressive candidate and not well liked in riding. It was time for a change and Vaughn will provide that

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