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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-11-23, Page 9Wednesday, November 23, 2016 • Huron Expositor 9 MP Lobb dismisses claims he endorsed Trump, calls Thompson's column a 'drive-by smear' Darryl Coote Huron -Bruce MP Ben Lobb did not say he endorsed Donald Trump for president in a recent inter- view with a local radio sta- tion, the Conservative politi- cian told The Signal Star on Nov. 15, saying he only thought the American real estate mogul would win the US presidential race because of his ability to reach disaf- fected middle-class voters. "What I said was I thought Donald Trump was going to win right from the beginning and thinking somebody's going to win is different than endorsing or supporting or putting up signs or donating money, which I did none of those," said the trice elected Conservative politician. "But I did think he was going to win." This clarification is in reaction to the radio piece that states Lobb had endorsed Trump and was "celebrating" the Republi- can's Nov. 8 victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and to a scathing criticism by Liberal politician Allan Thompson, who lost to Lobb in last year's Federal election, pub- lished Nov 15 in The Kincar- dine News. Both articles are causing quite a stir on Facebook and many have written letters to The Signal Star to show disa- greement with Lobb's alleged stance. Asked if he does support Trump, Lobb said it's "irrelevant." "I'm a Canadian citizen. I endorsed [former prime minister of Canada] Stephen Harper and whoever is the new leader of our [Conserva- tive] party, that is who I'm endorsing," he said, adding that no matter who is the president of the United States, Canadian politicians have to work with them. His stance, he said, would be no different if Clinton had won the job. "Others are trying to twist my words," he said referring to Thompson's column, "and that's fine, but I'm telling you as I'm on the phone with you here today, if Hillary Clinton had won I'd be telling you the same thing. We have to be smart about this as Canadi- ans because the US is our number one ally and our number one trading partner" In Thompson's column, the Liberal politician said that Lobb's alleged support of Trump, support of Kelly Leitch for the Conservative leadership and support of controversial immigration reform to screen potential immigrants for so-called un - Canadian values was a "dog whistle" to racists in Huron -Bruce. Lobb said Thompson was taking the "low road" to say he was playing on people's fears of immigrants and that the column was a "drive-by smear." He said the screening pro- cess is to ensure immigrants are the "best fit for Canada" and to make sure they sup- port women's equality and are open to Canadian culture and values while opposing Sharia law and arrange marriages. "Every single one of us were immigrants, okay? My grandmother immigrated from England after the war like many others did. We're all immigrants, we all under- stand that. Canada is a suc- cess because we welcome immigrants and that we have been open to immigrants. There is no question to that," Lobb said. Lobb said Thompson's motivation behind the col- umn was to distract atten- tion for the "poor record" of his Liberal government. "For Allan to go down that road, he'd may be frustrated about something else, I don't know, but why he would use those things is ridiculous," 111111111111 .0 What if one company could solve all your business needs? 1.2 million Canadians —1 in 25 — carry the gene for cystic fibrosis. Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 1-800-318-CCFF www.cysticfibrosis.ca 1 DISTAL, SMOKE ALARMS IT'S THE LAV Every home in Ontario mist hove fl working ng smoke alarm on every storey and out- side oll sleeping, areas. r_ 1HF F:0 Mae Mx. * ;' To Place a i CHRISTI .S GREETING '' in the December 21st edition of the Seaforth Huron Expositor • Please eontactty December_14th Nancy @ 51.9.527.0240 Ndegans@postmedia.com THi1NK YOU! •. • We can connect all the pieces in more ways than ever before. For more information, visit postmedia.com/advertise he said. Concerning the racist and misogynistic remarks and attitudes displayed by Trump during his campaign, Lobb said they aren't present in the Canadian political environment. He said no one supports those types of comments and for Thompson to suggest otherwise is "disgusting." E POSTMEDIA INDIAN RIVER DIRECT CITRUS TRUCKLOAD SALE SEAFORfH Friday, November 25th - 12:30pm-1:30pm Seaforth Agricultural Society Florida Florida$ Seedless $40 Ruby Red 35 Navel Oranges 20 LB BOX} Grapefruits 20 LB BOX} www.indianriverdirect.com