It was an ejection or a rejection.Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown has finally turfed controversial MPP Jack MacLaren from caucus after a fourth incident embarrassing to the party.But MacLaren claimed Sunday he quit the Tories to join the fledgling right-wing Trillium party “after months of deliberation and discussion with my constituents.”“The Trillium party will give me the opportunity to speak freely on my constituents’ behalf, to vote freely on their behalf, and to have input into all policy-making on their behalf,” he said in a statement on Twitter.Earlier on Sunday, MacLaren, who did return messages from the Star, was defenestrated from the Tory caucus after CFRA Radio in Ottawa posted video of him from 2012 disparaging bilingualism in Eastern Ontario.“You don’t have to convince me what’s wrong with French-language education in Ontario,” the Carleton—Mississippi Mills MPP told people lamenting French-language requirements for many jobs in the Ottawa area.“You’re right, but you won’t hear it because we’re trying to get elected. We have lots of things that we’re going to do that we won’t say before the election because we won’t get elected,” he continued in the 23-minute video.While MacLaren was a key player in Brown’s successful 2015 leadership campaign, that fourth transgression was the tipping point.“I am building a modern, inclusive Ontario PC Party, one where it doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you love, where you worship, what language you speak or how much money you make,” said Brown.“Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that Jack MacLaren does not share these values. Once again, Jack MacLaren has been caught making comments that are unacceptable. This video is the final straw. I have expelled Jack MacLaren from the PC caucus. The expulsion is indefinite. He wi ...
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