Update: Paul Chiang announced at 11:55 p.m. eastern Monday that he was recusing himself as the candidate because he did not want to be a distraction on the campaign trail.
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There鈥檚 a rule of thumb in political crisis management that says those having to make hard decisions should imagine where the story will end and get there first.
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That is, don鈥檛 defend a bad situation, giving up ground incrementally, until inevitably doing what鈥檚 necessary only after days or weeks of negative consequences.
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In short, if a firing is required, do it now.
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That鈥檚 where Liberal Leader Mark Carney finds himself in the matter of a Markham candidate whose actions have called into question his judgment and fitness for office.
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This story won鈥檛 go away听鈥 because it shouldn鈥檛.
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As the Star鈥檚 Raisa Patel reported, Paul Chiang, a Liberal seeking re-election in Markham-Unionville, told a media outlet this year how to claim a bounty that Hong Kong had placed on a Conservative rival.
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Chiang spoke with the Canadian subsidiary of Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao at a January event for ethnic media outlets and referred to a $1-million (HKD) bounty听鈥 about $184,000 (Cdn)听鈥 that Hong Kong police had placed on a local Conservative candidate.
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Chiang told the Chinese-language outlet that if anyone present brought the candidate to the Chinese consulate general in 海角社区官网they could obtain the reward.
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After the exchange became public, Chiang apologized, calling his remarks 鈥deplorable and a complete lapse of judgment鈥 and saying that as a former police officer he 鈥渟hould have known better.鈥
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A spokesman for Carney鈥檚 campaign told the Star that Chiang had recognized his lapse, apologized and will now 鈥渟tand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong as they fight to safeguard their human rights and freedoms.鈥
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The apology is appropriate. Forgiveness is an essential virtue in human relations. Everyone errs, and almost all of us need second chances. Chiang should have a path to redemption, even in the political sphere.
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But in this moment, in this election, the Liberals must make a clear statement, not about Chiang or his character but about the party鈥檚 absolute intolerance for anything like threats of political violence or jokes about the very serious problem of foreign interference in our democracy.
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Sure, Chiang may or may not have been joking. But it was jest about too serious a subject, a suggestion that would put lives at risk.
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New Democrat Jenny Kwan, a former target of the Chinese government in part for her advocacy for human rights in Hong Kong, said the Chinese Communist Party putting a bounty on any Canadian citizen is 鈥渋ntimidation at its worst鈥 and that Chiang 鈥played right into it.鈥
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was not wrong when he said the Chinese government 鈥渨ould almost certainly execute鈥 a Canadian citizen handed over to it in such circumstances.
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No one is entitled to carry the banner of a major party into an election. It is a privilege and, more important, a responsibility.听
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Canadians want candidates of intelligence, experience and a deep sense of honour and propriety. Ideally the bar for the job should be set high. Failure to meet it听鈥 especially at a time so fraught in this country听鈥 should result in forfeit of the privilege.
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It is the responsibility of leaders to maintain a party鈥檚 standards and to make the hard decisions that put nation before party, party before individual.
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The Chiang issue should not even be a tough one for Carney to decide, particularly if he is dedicated to keeping the attention of voters focused on the existential threat to Canada鈥檚 economy and sovereignty.
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Not long ago, the Star wrote that, given his skills and background, Carney was particularly well placed to force the kind of debate this country so needs, if only he could be disciplined about not handing his political opponents sticks with which to beat him. This is just such a stick.
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There are times when distractions can be endured, foolishness tolerated. This is not one of them.
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For a party that has been accused of being soft on foreign interference, at a time of increasingly violent political rhetoric, Carney should send a clear signal that he has zero tolerance for the sort of odious talk that Chiang ought never to have indulged in.
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