Friday’s ‘shocking’ child pornography charges against former Liberal candidate Gerry Hawes are being taken ‘very seriously’ by the federal Liberals.
Local federal Liberal Riding Association chair Ryan Barber would not comment on Hawes' arrest.
However, a federal party official provided a statement.
"While the Simcoe North Federal Liberal Association and the Liberal Party of Canada had no previous knowledge of these charges, they are deeply troubling to local volunteers and the community, and the party takes the matter very seriously," said Liberal Party of Canada spokesman Matteo Rossi.
"For your background, the Liberal Party of Canada undertakes rigorous vetting for all prospective candidates, including criminal background checks. Mr. Hawes does not have any current role with the party or its local associations."
The Orillia OPP issued a press release Friday saying Hawes, 58, has been charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.
"It's quite shocking for the community, I'm sure," said Sgt. Jason Folz, who heads up communications for the OPP's Central Region.
He said members of the OPP's Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, Digital Forensic Unit, and Orillia OPP Detachment Crime Unit arrested and charged Hawes following a four-month investigation into possession of child sexual abuse material.
Hawes will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orillia on Aug. 25, 2020.
Michael Johns, who is the Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at Laurentian University, said it’s hard to predict how the charges - which have not been proven in court - might impact the Liberal party in Simcoe North.
“I don’t know what kind of impact it would have on the Liberal Party because it’s an individual who has allegedly done something abhorrent,” Johns told OrilliaMatters, noting it’s not reasonable to “apply that sort of behaviour to an entire political party.”
He conceded, however, it’s a blow for the Liberals.
“From a branding point of view, it’s terrible for the Liberal party,” said Johns, noting it “attaches their name to something that is abhorrent.”
The incident will also likely spark some soul searching for all parties.
“When these sorts of things happen, all the parties are going to see this new area they will have to concern themselves about,” said Johns, noting candidates for all federal parties are already subject to “massive vetting” procedures.
However, he said the vetting process can only go so far.
“Do we say to candidates, ‘Give my your laptop?’ It’s a question of privacy. We want people to run, to be engaged in politics,” said Johns. “If you … want to run for office and (they say) ‘We want to go through your files,’ it’s a lot to ask of people even if they’ve done nothing.”
He also noted things can occur after the vetting process.
With 338 candidates for each of the five political parties, plus an additional 200-plus candidates for non-mainstream parties, that equates to more than 2,000 people running in ridings across the country, noted Johns.
He said it “is almost impossible” to find everything even with a “very deep dive” into candidates’ lives.
Despite all that, Johns said the incident could shatter the party faithful – especially with Hawes’ deep roots in the party locally.
Hawes served as the executive assistant and chief campaign organizer for Paul DeVillers, helping the former Liberal Simcoe North MP secure four terms.
He has been affiliated with the party locally for more than 20 years.
“Where it becomes an issue for the Liberal Party in a place like Orillia is within their own volunteers,” said Johns. “People will have felt betrayed.”
He said locally, volunteers would have donated money, support and time to get Hawes elected.
“Volunteers are committed to the cause … and a candidate’s success becomes your success. They will feel really let down, justifiably, if the allegations turn out to be true.”
He said the party will have to start all over again with a new candidate who will “pay for the alleged sins of the last guy.”
He wonders if local volunteers will be “motivated to rally around another person after being so badly burned.”
Hawes beat Sandy Cornell, of Tiny Township, and Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, of Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in a July 2019 nomination contest.
That victory allowed him to carry the Liberal banner in the federal election held last October.
Hawes, who works as a policy adviser in the province’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, took an unpaid, 15-week leave of absence from his job to focus on the campaign.
Hawes, a first-time candidate, garnered 19,140 votes (30.7 % of the vote in Simcoe North) and placed second to incumbent Bruce Stanton, of the Conservative Party, who won his fifth consecutive term after earning 27,112 votes.
The race in Simcoe North prompted Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to visit the riding Oct. 17. He endorsed Hawes as a strong voice for Simcoe North.
"We need Gerry Hawes, we need all of you to get out on Monday,” he said during a short election-eve campaign stop at Mariposa Market.
After his electoral loss, Hawes told supporters gathered at Brewery Bay he entered the race with a “two-time plan.”
“I saw it as the time to put down the foundation to run again,” he told OrilliaMatters after the results were released.
“I feel like I was a good candidate, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me this time.”
Stanton declined to provide a comment about Hawes’ charges.
-- With files from Andrew Philips
