Tory candidate Richardson made inappropriate comments on immigrants

Yet another Conservative is facing the heat over controversial comments and this time it is regarding immigrants.

Yet another Conservative is facing the heat over controversial comments and this time it is regarding immigrants.

The Liberals as well as the NDP are demanding the resignation of Lee Richardson as the Tory candidate in Calgary Centre, due to his suggestion that immigrants are prone to commit crimes.

Richardson’s comments came at a wrong time and threaten to nullify the vigorous Conservative effort led by Jason Kenney to encourage immigrant voters. Richardson told the Calgary newsmagazine Fast Forward Weekly that people who are committing crimes in Canada are not the one growing next door. He said that in big cities, there are people who grew up in different cultures and they do not have the same background that the stable communities had 20, 30 years ago. He also said that these people do not have any respect for authority and other people and their property.

Richardson later said that he regretted that he made those remarks and that he was referring to a small minority of people and was not blaming all.

But the opposition is not satisfied and they are asking for his resignation. Liberal Ujjal Dosanjh said that if the Prime Minister does not take action and fire Richardson, then one is bound to assume that he forgives such attitudes.

Liberal Calgary Centre candidate Heesung Kim termed the comments as ‘disturbing’. Kim herself is an immigrant from South Korea. She said that if someone says that because you were born and bred in Canada then you are most likely to be criminal, then it is sad and at the same time unbelievable.

The Tory war room fought back, claiming that Liberal candidates Hedy Fry, Garth Turner and Keith Martin have also made questionable remarks about immigrants and crime.

Richardson was unavailable on Thursday afternoon and his campaign manager, Randy Dawson also didn’t returned messages, nor was there any reply from Kenney or Kory Teneycke, Harper’s spokesman.

Fast Forward Weekly reporter Jeremy Klaszus said that he called Richardson after shootings in Calgary and asked him about the crime plan of the Conservatives. Klaszus said that it was Richardson who brought up the issue and in fact he didn’t even ask anything about immigration.

On Thursday, the Liberals also demanded that the NDP Leader Jack Layton be fired from his candidate in the Ontario riding of Durham, east of Toronto, following his inappropriate comments on the Internet.