New evidence shows Ford’s handpicked candidate defending extremists and hate groups

Doug Ford’s handpicked candidate in London, Andrew Lawton, is a controversial Rebel Media host who Doug Ford says he’s “happy to have” on his team. And he is someone who is quick to defend extremists and hate groups.

This is the same candidate who called women commemorating the victims of the École Polytechnique school-shooting massacre “feminazis.”

Standing up for white supremacists

In 2017, Lawton shared a petition in defense of a rally hosted by PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West). CBC reported on the “white supremacist” rally, but Lawton defended the organization, tweeting PEGIDA is “anti-Islam, but not white supremacist” and a month later he gave PEGIDA’s rally organizer a platform on his radio show.

The Mayor of London took a very different view from Lawton, saying “we need to stand together and communicate very clearly that hate and racism has no place in London.” Vice Media spoke with a rally attendee who admitted: “I do consider myself a white nationalist.”

https://twitter.com/AndrewLawton/status/900351451313995777

https://www.facebook.com/events/1642238589151218/permalink/1658933270815083/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/mayor-matt-brown-nationalist-rally-1.4257737

Standing up for Holocaust deniers

In 2016, on his Rebel Media podcast, Lawton defended Holocaust deniers who spread their hate deeming it to be free speech. “To say the Holocaust never happened is offensive? Absolutely I’d say that. But I would darn well hope that no group in that situation would ever say they don’t have the right to make that appeal.”

https://youtu.be/1JXWYrVABkE?t=3650

Running out of explanations

Lawton has explained some of his past controversies stating he previously had a mental illness – until 2013. But these new controversies were well after that.

Does Ford support Lawton’s repeated defence of hate? Will Ford make Lawton his minister of culture?