Liberals cut ties with Toronto candidate over dropped sexual assault charge, military review
CBC
The Liberal Party said Toronto candidate Kevin Vuong is no longer running under the party banner and won't sit with the Liberal caucus if elected.
Vuong, running in Spadina–Fort York, had been asked by the Liberals to "pause" his campaign after reports of a past sexual assault charge, which was dropped, surfaced in the media. The news of the dropped 2019 charge was first reported by the Toronto Star.
At a campaign event Saturday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said his party had taken immediate action when they became aware of the situation.
"We followed the processes that are in place in the party to ascertain and look into this, and we've come to the conclusion that this individual can no longer be a Liberal candidate in this election. It is a difficult but important thing to do, because it's the right thing to do," he said.
Trudeau said his party took seriously the importance of protecting people who come forward with allegations, and it is committed to adapting processes around nominations when they fall short.
"We are constantly reviewing and improving the process, because, I'll be honest with you, we don't want to be in situations like this again," he said.
WATCH | Trudeau asked about candidate in Spadina–Fort York