Nate Erskine-Smith speaks to the media as he walks out of Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute after losing the Ontario Liberal Party nomination in the riding of Scarborough Southwest on May 9.Arlyn McAdorey/The Globe and Mail
Nate Erskine-Smith has lost his appeal of the Ontario Liberal nomination contest in the Toronto riding of Scarborough Southwest, further casting doubt on his plan to run for provincial party leader.
The federal Liberal MP, who was defeated in the nomination contest by 19 votes, filed a notice of appeal on May 12 to the Ontario Liberal Party’s arbitration committee, alleging serious irregularities in the race.
Businessman Ahsanul Hafiz, who owns a chain of Domino’s Pizza restaurants, was declared the winner in the May 9 contest, and will be the Ontario Liberal candidate in a yet-to-be-called by-election.
In a decision released late Sunday night, the three-person arbitration committee dismissed Mr. Erskine-Smith’s appeal and upheld the candidacy of Mr. Hafiz, who came to Canada from Bangladesh as a student more than two decades ago.
“Having carefully considered all of the evidence, we find that there were no irregularities in the conduct of the nomination meeting that affected the result of the vote or that call the meeting’s integrity into question,” the decision said.
“We are satisfied that the party’s rules were followed and that Ahsanul Hafiz was the true winner of the vote. The appeal is dismissed.”
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The Ontario Liberal Party, in a statement, defended its nomination process as “open and transparent” and said the focus now is on winning the seat in Scarborough Southwest, which was previously held by the NDP. It was vacated when Ontario NDP deputy leader Doly Begum quit to run for the federal Liberals.
The committee was chaired by former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister David Zimmer. The party said it operated independently and was established well before the appeal was filed.
“Now that the arbitration committee dismissed this appeal, our focus is the voters of Scarborough Southwest. They have an important decision ahead, and we will work hard to earn their trust,” interim Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser said in a statement Sunday.
Mr. Erskine-Smith’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
His appeal had asked for the results of the nomination to be set aside based on a series of irregularities, including allegations that voters were not providing adequate proof of identity and residency, and that they were being explicitly directed on how to vote.
But the committee dismissed those concerns, saying it was satisfied that the voter-identification procedures at the nomination meeting were followed.
“The evidence does not support the inference that anyone who was not entitled to vote, voted,” the decision found.
The appeal also said that there were 34 more ballots in the boxes than there were recorded voters.
But the arbitration committee said the 34-vote discrepancy is between the number of ballots that were counted and the number of names that were crossed off the voters list during the meeting.
It said the evidence found that 34 names were not crossed off the voters list when eligible voters received ballots, calling it a “technical administrative error” that does not amount to an irregularity.
Mr. Erskine-Smith had called on the party to redo the nomination or appoint a new candidate but said he would not run in the riding again to avoid the perception of “self-interest.” He also had said that temporary residents should not be allowed to vote in nomination contests, as is currently the case.
The Ontario Liberal Party, including Mr. Fraser, have repeatedly defended how the nomination was run and stood by Mr. Hafiz as the candidate.
Mr. Erskine-Smith had hoped to make the move to provincial politics as the candidate in a by-election in the east Toronto riding, before an expected run for leader of the Ontario Liberals.
He has since told television networks that it is less likely he will run for leader, but that he hasn’t made a final decision. He has said that he plans to resign his federal seat in the neighbouring riding of Beaches-East York this summer.
In a blog post after his appeal was filed, Mr. Erskine-Smith alleged that “dozens and dozens of asylum seekers voted with their refugee-claimant documents,” and that others were able to prove where they lived by using apartment leases, sometimes unsigned.
The appeal alleged that an unusually high number of people said they “just lost” their driver’s licence or that they “just moved” to the area. It said the party verified identification rules inconsistently.
It also said digital report cards, Amazon orders and other non-standard forms of residency were approved in an ad hoc manner.
The appeal alleged that people were “explicitly directing others how to vote inside the voting booth,” and that “countless individuals” were taking pictures of their ballots or were on video calls while voting.
The arbitration committee, however, found that the evidence “presents a picture of a lively nomination meeting attended by a diverse array of voters” but said that the voting process was fair. It also noted that “Mr. Erskine-Smith and his representatives delayed in raising the concerns on which they now rely.”
Mr. Erskine-Smith’s appeal called on the party to amend its voter-eligibility rules to limit participation to citizens and permanent residents and for Elections Ontario to manage nomination processes.