The Member for Parry Sound-Muskoka

November 7, 2018 5:00 PM

Long-time Canadian Conservative MP Tony Clement, who has held a number of ministerial roles in provincial and federal Conservative governments (including a stint as health minister in which he tried to shut down harm reduction programs), first resigned his Commons duties and was then kicked out of caucus after sending sexually explicit images to someone he says was trying to extort him. Many young politically-active women in Canada are talking about his history of creepy online behaviour.
posted by clawsoon (15 comments total)

I hope this goes better than the Jian Gomeshi trainwreck.
posted by msalt at 5:03 PM on November 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

> "Tony Clement should not be interacting with my nudes."

Yuuuuck. Creepy PCs, you say? In Doug Ford's administration? No way.
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:08 PM on November 7, 2018 [3 favorites]

I wonder if we should set up some kind of tip-hotline for these politicians and their barbaric cultural practices? You know, to report their behaviour while on the job.
posted by Fizz at 5:16 PM on November 7, 2018 [18 favorites]

I'd say the trope of the conservative politician who spends a career as part of a political movement that has condemned queer people, routinely voted to deny us rights, and also wants to eliminate reproductive freedoms for women and then turns out to be a sexual harasser is tired, but it's neither "tired" nor a "trope" if it's merely a constant.

Michael Healey (a Canadian playwright) on Twitter last night:

Well the gazebo jokes will finally stop.

Now, that's a bit of a Canadian politics deep cut, so out of respect for anyone to whom that joke makes no sense (thinking particularly of our neighbours to the south who have been through a lot in the last 24 hours), I proffer the following explanation...

In 2010, the G8 (as it then was) met in Canada, with part of the meeting being held in the Muskoka region ("cottage country"), where Tony Clement's home riding (district, if you will) is located, with the meeting later moving to downtown Toronto, where draconian security measures and various acts of police thuggery and civil liberties violations ensued.

The then-Conservative federal government waved off concerns over the security and logistical costs of hosting the G8 by promising the meeting would bring "infrastructure investment." Well, in Tony Clement's riding, that "investment" on the public dime was a gazebo that cost about $100,000.

A Gazebo for Tony:

This summer, something remarkable happened in Orrville. Where once there was a vacant lot, there is now the “Joseph Hannon Memorial Park,” a swathe of shrubs, fresh sod, and landscaping stones. At the centre is a lovely little gazebo.

There is also a familiar sign. This park, the sign declares, is part of “Canada’s Economic Action Plan” — the multibillion-dollar government fund that “stimulates” the economy by paying for shrubs and gazebos and signs announcing that the government has paid for shrubs and gazebos.

But according to the sign, the park is more than just a key component of the government’s grand economic strategy. It is also one of the government’s “G8 Infrastructure Improvements.” The cost to the federal government: a hair under $100,000.

[...]

[T]he only real benefit will go to the local member of Parliament, one Tony Clement.

Clement may be a big shot in Ottawa, but politics in his riding is all about good old boys taking care of business and each other. And Tony Clement isn’t a good old boy. He’s an outsider parachuted into a place that doesn’t think much of outsiders, which is a big reason why he was first elected by the frighteningly thin margin of 28 votes.

But as minister of industry, and general Ottawa heavyweight, Clement has access to bags and bags of money. And the best way to get in tight with a good old boy, aside from marrying his sister, is to give him a bag of cash to spend. Clement has been doing this enthusiastically, which is a big reason why he was re-elected by the considerably more comfortable margin of 11,000 votes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:30 PM on November 7, 2018 [11 favorites]

Also, A+ work on the post title.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:33 PM on November 7, 2018 [7 favorites]

Ontario Proud will be turning it's lidless eye upon the federal election, so I’d like to urge Canadian Mefites to seriously consider providing some measure of ongoing monetary support to whatever non-Conservative party they favour.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:34 PM on November 7, 2018 [6 favorites]

Ugh. I always thought he was a weasel. My parents live in his riding and I'm sure they've voted for him.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 5:39 PM on November 7, 2018

My Facebook today is full of flowcharts describing to men in general, and politicians in specific, when to send a dick pic to a woman. Really it's very simple: do you know her personally, has she specifically asked for it, and is your life such that if this were leaked it would not ruin everything? Then, maybe.
posted by arcticwoman at 6:14 PM on November 7, 2018 [5 favorites]

My version of that flowchart would be much simpler. It could also be re-used for deciding whether to vote for Tony Clement.
posted by sfenders at 6:33 PM on November 7, 2018 [6 favorites]

has she specifically asked for it

Has that...ever happened?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 6:50 PM on November 7, 2018 [6 favorites]

I wasted a chunk of the afternoon trying to come up with a Variety-style headline incorporating Tory, Tony, Cock, and Caucus, but was ultimately foiled. If only the Party Whip had been involved, I might have been able to make it work.

Anyhow, go to hell, Tony Clement.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:38 PM on November 7, 2018 [4 favorites]

Tired Monty Python line, but: I hear you've been a naughty boy, Clement …
posted by scruss at 5:56 AM on November 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

I was at a US midterm party when I first saw this story. The younger political types didn't seem that surprised.
posted by sfred at 8:19 AM on November 8, 2018

There's an OPP joke in here somewhere.

Former Conservative MP Tony Clement says he has engaged in more than one inappropriate online exchange. In a letter to constituents posted on his website Clement says the exchanges led to multiple acts of infidelity.

Clement says one exchange led to a woman being offered money through an anonymous social media account in exchange for intimate and personal information. Clement says he contacted Ontario police to report that exchange last summer. ...

This is Weiner-level compulsion and inability to learn that FIRE HURTS OW!, isn't it?
posted by maudlin at 10:51 AM on November 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

Playing a numbers game, eh? Creep out dozens of women, sleep with a few, "get help", don't resign.

I can assure the residents of Parry Sound – Muskoka that my offices remain open and at your service, and that I will continue to uphold the responsibilities of being your Member of Parliament.

According to the Patrick Brown playbook, the next step is "run for mayor and win".
posted by clawsoon at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2018 [5 favorites]