The campaign for a local PC candidate is on the defensive after a controversial post was shared on their Twitter account.
Representatives for Windsor-Tecumseh's Mohammad Latif are clarifying how a meme discussing a belief that education and healthcare are part of a "globalist agenda" ended up on the campaign's official Twitter page.
The meme first appeared on social media Sunday while Ontarians prepared to follow the final scheduled debate between the leaders of the PC, Liberal and NDP parties.
The Twitter account belonging to Scott Duquette, the riding president for the Windsor Tecumseh PC Association, shared the meme with a comment of his own, which was then retweeted by Latif.
The tweet has since been deleted, but a screenshot of it was obtained by PressProgress.ca, a non-profit news website.
The meme was originally accompanied by a comment accusing the Ontario Liberals and NDP of aligning themselves with a "globalist agenda". It charges that the province's healthcare and education systems are tightly monitored in an effort to "control the people".
The meme finishes with the question "Does any of this sound like what is happening in Canada?"
A post denoting a "globalist agenda" is shown. This post was retweeted by the campaign of Windsor-Tecumseh PC candidate Mohammad Latif and was later removed. Image taken from PressProgress.ca.
Latif was not available for comment when BlackburnNewsWindsor.com reached out to his campaign for clarification. However, campaign manager Jeff Adams said in an e-mail that the post was immediately removed from the candidate's Twitter account once they realized its content.
"Scott [Duquette] had commented on a meme on Twitter on his account and Mohammad's account team retweeted that comment," said Adams. "It was a mistake. As you pointed out, it has been taken down as we do not endorse those ideas."
Adams pointed out that Latif, along with all other PC candidates, strongly oppose any form of discrimination. He alluded to a Toronto-area NDP candidate's sharing of a meme on her Facebook account that praised Adolf Hitler.
