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Liberal Party members are running in the upcoming council elections as independents and under the banner of community tickets, with no mention on their websites or promotional material that they hold Liberal Party membership.

The NSW Liberal Party does not endorse candidates in some council areas, including North Sydney, Kiama and Shoalhaven.

Local Liberals who wish to run for office in those councils are not allowed, under Liberal Party rules and the NSW Electoral Act, to use Liberal Party branding, even if they openly identify as Liberals.

Elle Prevost, a first-time candidate who is running as an independent for North Sydney council, said she was a proud Liberal party member.

North Sydney candidate Elle Prevost.Credit:ellefornorthsydney.com

I am a Liberal, but we are not endorsed in the North Sydney area, she said. Maybe its me being naive, but because I am not endorsed by the Liberal Party, my understanding is Im an independent.

Ms Prevosts ticket is called Team Elle. Its website announces her as an Independent for North Sydney council and her Liberal Party membership is not mentioned. The membership is disclosed in Ms Prevosts candidate nomination form, filed under a subheading in a PDF document on the NSW Electoral Commission website.

This is a really Liberal area, so I should be screaming it from the rooftops because it would win me more votes, she said.

Retired naval officer Mark Croxford is a member of the executive of the NSW Liberal Party, and a Liberal Party member. But his connection to the Liberal Party is not mentioned on the promotional materials for his run at the Kiama council in the upcoming elections on December 4.

Mark Croxford is standing for election in the Kiama LGA elections.Credit:Janie Barrett

Mr Croxford is at the top of the Your Community Candidates ticket, which pledges to form a council free from party political agendas. The groups website urges voters not to risk a council influenced by party politics and says that party politics has no place in local government.

Mr Croxfords bio on the Your Community Candidates website lists his background as a lobbyist and a senior ministerial adviser in the Howard government, but not his position as a country representative on the NSW Liberal Party executive, or his party membership.

The membership is declared on his nomination form on the Electoral Commission website.

I hide in the open, Mr Croxford said. I am in the Liberal Party for the purpose of federal and state politics. I personally dont believe there is any room for party politics in local politics.

He said he always discloses his Liberal Party roots when he is speaking to constituents.

I am happy to say I am a Liberal member but as a councillor I want to be a representative of my community, he said.

The Declaration of Independents Local Government, created by the Voices of North Sydney group, has been signed by 56 candidates in the Lane Cove, North Sydney, Willoughby, Hunters Hill and Georges River councils.

Rod Simpson, the co-convener of the Voices of North Sydney group, says the intention of the declaration is to get some transparency into local government.

Its asking people what their political status is and whether they have been [a member of a political party] in the past and whether they have made political donations or been a staffer, says Mr Simpson, who is a former environment commissioner with the Greater Sydney Commission.

Its really hard for people to untangle this and we are just trying to bring it up to the surface and make it easy for people to see what on earth is going on.

The Declarations stated intention is to differentiate community-minded independents from independents who are affiliated with political parties. A community minded independent is defined as a candidate who is not currently a member of a political party, and will vote as an individual.

At the Shoalhaven Council, Serena Copley is billed as an independent on the ballot form, but the NSW Electoral Commission records show she is also a Liberal Party member.

Serena Copley is a candidate for Shoalhaven City Council.Credit:Facebook/Serena Copley for Shoalhaven City Council

The same goes for the other candidates on her ticket, Fred Campbell, Leonard White and Francoise Sikora.

Ms Copleys team is called A Fresh Approach and does not mention any connection with the Liberal Party in its promotional materials.

Council candidates Fred Campbell OAM and Leonard White.Credit:Facebook/Serena Copley for Shoalhaven City Council

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In response to questions from The Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Copley said she had been a member of the Shoalhaven community for more than 30 years.

They know me and what I stand for, she said. I am running as an independent so I can represent my community and only my community, not any party or their agenda.

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Liberal Party members running as independents, community candidates in local elections - The Sydney Morning Herald

OTTAWA -- Leslyn Lewis, in one of her first acts as an MP on Parliament Hill, says she plans on inviting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a pregnancy centre that risks losing its charity status over opposing abortion.

The newly elected Ontario representative revealed her plans to a recent crowd of demonstrators who gathered in Ottawa to rally against the Liberal government's promise to remove charity status for anti-abortion organizations.

During the election campaign, Trudeau ran on a platform pledge to no longer provide this status for organizations that provide "dishonest counselling to women about their rights and about the options available to them at all stages of the pregnancy."

It listed crisis pregnancy centres as an example, which proponents of access to abortion services say offer incorrect information about the procedure.

"We know that regardless of the fact that they may distribute some diapers, they have impacts on people's access to health care, and they have public health impacts in terms of delayed access to care," said Frederique Chabot, director of health promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, said of crisis pregnancy centres.

In a statement, Lewis, a former Conservative leadership contender who was heavily backed by the party's social conservative members, said Trudeau ran on a plan that required "adherence (to) the Liberal Party of Canada's illiberal values test," as she touted pregnancy centres for offering supports to women.

"Too often, women find themselves in a position where they feel that the circumstances of life are pushing them to make a decision they don't want to make," she said.

"As a member of Parliament, I will be opposing the proposed illiberal, anti-women policy that would seek to strip charitable status from organizations that don't pass Justin Trudeau's values test," Lewis said her statement.

In a statement, Adrienne Vaupshas, press secretary for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, repeated the wording of the Liberals' platform pledge, adding only that "more information will be available in due course."

In an interview, charity tax lawyer Adam Aptowitzer warned moving on the promise would be a politically loaded process that could open the country up to a debate about what counts as "charitable" in Canada.

"They surely do not want to get into that discussion because that is really fraught with difficulty," he said.

Campaign Life Coalition, a national organization opposed to abortion, has nonetheless been mobilizing against the promise. On Wednesday, it presented petitions to Lewis, as well as other MPs that hail from the federal Tories' social conservative ranks.

One of those was Alberta MP Arnold Viersen, who appeared alongside Lewis at that day's Parliament Hill demonstration. He told the crowd they would fight the move "tooth and nail in the House of Commons."

How much Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole plans to back that battle, however, remains unclear.

Asked about the Liberal pledge on Thursday, O'Toole repeated he supports reproductive rights, and that he doesn't believe in politicizing health issues.

"If anyone is at crisis, for any reason, whether it's addiction, homelessness, an issue related to choice for a woman, we need to bring people together, not divide them. And that's what Conservatives will try and do."

Several years ago, the Conservatives mounted a vocal opposition to the Liberal government's requirement that applicants to its summer-jobs program needed to pledge support for abortion access to qualify for funding.

Last month, a Federal Court judge dismissed a legal challenge against that rule, which came from Toronto Right to Life.

The social conservative grassroots of the Conservative party have been some of the fiercest critics of O'Toole because they say he backed down from promises he made to them when he was running for the leadership last year, where he directly appealed to supporters of Lewis.

Despite what was viewed as an impressive showing during the race, Lewis was left on the backbenches when O'Toole named his picks for critics earlier in the month.

O'Toole says as Conservative leader, he's a supporter of reproductive rights.

Most of his caucus voted in favour of a private member's bill from Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall in June that proposed to ban physicians from performing what is known as sex-selective abortion.

The bill was defeated easily after Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs characterized it as a Trojan horse to erode reproductive rights.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2021.

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New Conservative MP Lewis to fight Liberal plan to axe charity status for anti-abortion pregnancy centres - CTV News

The Conservatives under leader Erin O'Toole thrived and the Liberals under Justin Trudeau lost ground in new polls conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News and The Globe and Mail.

In the first poll, released Sept. 3, the Conservatives had 35.7 per cent, and the Liberals are at 30.7 per cent. The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Before the election was called, polls showed the Liberals had the potential for a majority government.

O'Toole is also doing well when it comes to who Canadians prefer as Prime Minister. After previously trailing the incumbent, OToole is now at 31.1 per cent support, Trudeau is at 27.3 per cent, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is at 19.6 per cent.

Looking at the trend, Erin O'Toole is shaping up to be a political freight train, pollster Nik Nanos told CTVNews.ca's Trend Line podcast. It's been a game changer of an election and Erin O'Toole definitely has momentum.... I think we have to say, factoring the ballot numbers, that O'Toole has been the top performer in this campaign, and O'Toole's performance on a day-to-day basis had been driving that incremental increase.

Tick tock for the Liberals because time is running out in this election," he added.

Another Nanos poll conducted in late August indicated 76 percent of Canadians felt holding an election this year, during a fourth wave of COVID, was not necessary.

The Liberals also fare poorly in the second recent Nanos poll, with 45 percent of Canadians feeling the current government did not do a good job in evacuating Canadians and Afghan nationals who helped the Canadian Armed Forces as the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Only 20 percent rated the efforts as good (16 percent) or very good (four percent). About 25 percent said the government did an "average " job.

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Conservatives thrive, Liberals dive in new polls | City News | thesuburban.com - The Suburban Newspaper

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement inside the Sunwing Airlines hangar during his election campaign tour in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

MONTREAL, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finds himself behind in polls ahead of a snap election he called hoping his management of the COVID-19 crisis would propel him to victory.

Trudeau called the Sept. 20 election last month, two years ahead of schedule. At the time, his Liberals were well ahead and looked likely to regain the majority in parliament they lost in 2019. His main rival, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, has repeatedly attacked him for calling a vote during the pandemic.

The latest polls by Nanos, Ekos and others show Liberal fortunes have faded as voters have grown fatigued with Trudeau, 49, who has been in power since 2015. One Liberal strategist said on Friday the early-vote call had backfired as it was seen as "wrong" and "greedy" by electors.

Also on Friday, Canadian health officials released modeling showing new COVID-19 cases could surpass the peak of the third wave within the month, and warned that if vaccinations among young adults do not ramp up, the country's hospital capacity may be exceeded. read more

The Nanos Research survey for CTV put the Conservatives on 35.7% public support, with the Liberals on 30.7% and the smaller left-leaning New Democrats on 18.3%. An Ekos poll published late Thursday puts the Conservatives at 35.5% versus 30.7% for the Liberals.(See more polls: )

If these numbers hold up on election day, O'Toole would most likely win a minority administration. (See profiles of party leaders: read more ) On Thursday, the Conservative leader came out of a French-language leaders' debate without suffering much damage.

During the exchanges, Trudeau said that if there were to be another minority government, there would most likely be another election in 18 months. read more

"We should not be in a campaign. Only Mr. Trudeau wanted this campaign for his own personal interests," O'Toole told reporters on Friday.

"And last night, he threatened another election if he doesn't get his way with this one. Canadians deserve better than that," he said after a campaign announcement in Montreal.

On Friday, Trudeau said his debate comments referred to the average duration of minority governments. He then attacked O'Toole's opposition to vaccine mandates for domestic travel, saying the Conservative policy would put people in danger.

"Without strong leadership on vaccines, our kids won't be safe in the classroom, our businesses won't grow and thrive, and all Canadians will be at risk," Trudeau said.

On Friday, Canadian health officials said there is an "urgent need" to ramp up vaccinations for 18- to 39-year-olds, who lag the rest of the population. They also said masking and social distancing must continue into the winter to prevent further spread.

Some 77% of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated.

Liberal strategists expressed hope their fortunes will improve if Canadians start paying more attention next week after Monday's Labor Day holiday and two more debates.

During the last two election campaigns, Trudeau won crucial support late by telling Canadians a vote for the New Democrats - who compete for the same left-leaning segment of the electorate - would split progressives resulting in a Conservative government.

Reporting by David Ljunggren in Montreal, additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa, editing by Steve Scherer and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Early Canada election call backfires on Trudeau, who now trails in polls - Reuters

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

The Liberal Party has given southwestern Ontario candidate Raj Saini the green light to seek re-election for his third term as an MP despite a series of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towardyoung female staffers that spanned his six years in office, CBC News has learned.

Seven sources with knowledge of the claimsdescribed four different caseswhere Sainiallegedly made unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate comments. Saini said he has never acted inappropriately toward staff.

A former senior staffer who filed a CanadianHuman Rights Commissioncomplaint against Saini last year alleging unwelcome advances and harassing behavioursaid it's upsetting the party is allowing Sainito campaign again underthe Liberal banner in Kitchener Centre.Thestaffer said her experience in Saini's office contributed to her mental distress, and she eventually tried to take her own life in his office in March 2020.

"That's pretty devastating to me, knowing what I have gone through and that I've raised concerns over the last more than year and a half," said the former senior staffer. "It's disturbing to me.... It's also concerning to me that it could continue to happen to other people."

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has maintained he has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to harassment in the workplace, and that he has led a feminist government. But his party also allowed MP Marwan Tabbarato run in the 2019 federal election despite a party investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against him in the previous mandate. Tabbara later left caucus after police charged him with break and enter, assault and criminal harassment in an unrelated case last year. Tabbara's next court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow.

Candidates in the election had until Monday to officially register with Elections Canada. Saini submitted his nomination on Friday and posted a photo on Facebook.

The complaints against Saini date back to the Liberals'holiday party inDecember2015, whichmore than 2,000 people attended including Liberal MPs, staff and supporters at the Shaw Convention Centre in downtown Ottawa.

CBC News agreed not to name thesources with direct knowledge of the allegations because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the matteror were concerned about career reprisals.

Four female staffers reported to a senior Liberal staffer that Saini, along with his friend and mentee, Tabbara, were acting inappropriately with youngfemale staffers at the holiday party,including"touching" or being "handsy,"according to multiple sources.

That information was shared with a senior member of the government who brought the concerns to the Prime Minister's Officeand Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, sources said. Both Tabbara and Saini remained in caucus.

The Liberal Party told CBC News in a statement "it has no record or knowledge of the matter." Tabbara's office declined to comment.

According to multiple sources, Saini later followed another junior Liberal staffer around at several functions and asked for her phone number.

In a third case, a female employeefelt so uneasy with Saini calling her to his Ottawa office late at night, in some cases around10 p.m., she brought an employee with her from another MP's office so she wasn't alone with him, according to another source. The Liberal Partyalso said it had no knowledge of this matter.

A fourth case involvedtheformer senior stafferwho wrote to Saini to say she was going to take her own life in his office by overdosing on pills in March 2020, according to a written complaint to the human rights commission. She saidSainialerted mental health services, and paramedics were sent to his office to attend to her. She was admittedto hospital.

"I remember being incredibly stressed out, feeling completely helpless," the former senior staffer said. "I felt like he had shown he could do pretty much anything he wanted to do to me. I felt like there was nowhere for me to turn."

On more than one occasion, she said, Saini put his hand on her thigh while they were in the car together and said the end destination of their drive was up to her.

When the staffer asked for help with an issue at the office, Saini said he would help her if she was good for two weeks and then he winked at her, she said.

She also claims hehad outbursts where he'd be yelling and pushher up against a wall by the shoulders.

"In January of 2020, the MP screamed at me to burn my campaign T-shirt because I had voted at a riding association meeting to hear a candidate from an opposition party speak on environmental matters," the former senior staffer wrote in her complaint to the human rights commission. "The MP gave me a 20-minute verbally abusive lecture about loyalty, while repeatedly slamming his hands on his desk.

"The MP regularly treats me as his servant, expecting me to receive his verbal abuse and aggressions while keeping quiet. Raj Saini's attitude towardswomen stems from the 1800s."

The source said the human rights commission said it doesn't have jurisdiction over members of Parliament so could not address her case, she said.

Saini saidhe has only been made aware of this one allegation at his office and provided the file to police.

The staffer sent a series of text messages and emailsto Sainidemanding an apology or else she would sue, file an HR complaint or go public with her claims, according to a letter written by a House of Commons lawyer.Sainicontactedthe House of Commons' legal team and police, who warned the senior staffer, who was on sick leave after the suicide attempt, to stop contacting Saini.

Sainidenies the former staffer's allegations, and saidhe takes the health and safety of his staff "extremely seriously."

"After concerns were raised by the House of Commons regarding my personal safety and the safety of my staff ... the police, in this instance, took action to mediate the situation and ensure the safety of everyone involved,"Saini wrote in a statement to CBC News.

"Protecting my staff and ensuring they are respected is not something I take lightly."

He said he couldn't talk about specifics of the case due to privacy concerns.

Saini'scampaignlater released another statement on behalf ofunnamed"female and male staff"offering support forSaini.

CBC News spoke to the former staffer's past employer, a retired provincial politician, who said she was the ideal hire."The time she worked for me, she was a stellar employee," said the former Liberal politician. "She was responsible, always professional and someone I could count on."

The former senior staffer said she raised concerns about Saini with human resources,several LiberalMPs andLiberal Party staff, but says they they didn't make her case a priority.

She said she didn't trust that the process was impartial and wasn't comfortable with the options presented to her, which included mediation with Saini, she said.

Saini said that upon learning the staffer did not move forward with the formal complaint process, he "insisted an independent third party" review his office. CBC News has not been provided a copy of the review thatwas conducted by the House of Commons. The complainant said she was told she couldnot participate because she was on sick leave then was later dismissed.

"The outcome of that review, which was completed in June 2020, found that nothing arose regarding concerns of harassment in the office," Sainisaid.

In response to the CBC'squestions Monday, theLiberal Party referred to its"respectful workplace policy," which statesa complaint must be substantiated. If it is, the outcomes range from non-disciplinary measures such as additional training or an apology or mediation, or corrective or disciplinary measures such as a warning, reprimand, suspension or termination.

Sources said the Liberals conducted an internal survey in 2018 that flagged concerns about the number of people who experienced some form of harassment or pay inequalitybetween male and female workers. The survey also found issues with how the Liberals handled sexual harassment.

Multiple junior staffers wrote in the survey last year that the Prime Minister's Office should "fire" Brett Thalmann, who is listed as the PMO's executive director of planning, administration and people.

His role includes signing off on hirings across the PMO and the ministers' offices and workingclosely with Telford, according to the sources.

Chiefs of staff for Liberal MPs were asked to meet with their employeesinMay,where they heard that some junior employees did not trust the party's reporting system, said sources. Some staff saidthey were concerned the process wasn't confidential or impartial, multiple sources said. Some staff also raised concerns people were not being disciplined for their actions and that the system wasn't set up to help victims.

Thalmann, Telford and those tasked with human resources then spoke to staff about how the PMO deals with HR complaints on a case by case basis, and explained that there is a process outside of the office that looks into complaints, and a hotline available to staff. Many had not ever heard of the hotline, according to sources.

As he announced his party's mental healthpolicy in Ottawa on Tuesday,Trudeauwas asked why he's allowing Saini to run again and whetherhe believes his male candidate rather than female staffers.

"Mr. Saini has shared the processes," saidTrudeau. "There have been rigorous processes undertaken that he has shared the details of. We know that it is extremely important to take any allegation seriously, which we certainly have, and we always will because everyone deserves a safe workplace."

In a statement, the Liberals said thesurvey was sent to about 1,000 staff and they were "pleased to receive honest feedback about workplace culture on Parliament Hill."

"This feedback has shown a marked improvement in the percentage of staff who are aware of the policies, resources at their disposal, and how to report incidents," the statement says. "To protect people's privacy, the surveys were kept anonymous."

In response to feedback, the partysaid it put in place a series of training sessions and seminars about mental health and wellness, and increasedawareness of resources available through meetings, posters and emails. More staff were hired and a new human resources position was created.

The party also said it moved forward in 2017 to legislate protection for harassment and violence in federally regulated workplaces and included political offices. The party also has a training program to help ensure election campaigns are safe.

"We continue to work to ensure the Hill is a respectful and positive work environment for everyone," the party's statement says.

Conservative candidate Michelle Rempel Garner was critical of the Liberals' saying that women sufferwhen powerful men are allowed to cover up misconduct.

"Justin Trudeau's past actions show that he will not act on allegations of sexual misconduct in both the Liberal Party of Canada and the federal government. He has a pattern of covering up or looking the other way on these kinds of allegations," she said. "To the women in this story, rest assured we will continue to fight for better."

NDP candidate Lindsay Mathyssen said her heart goes out to women that have the courage to come forward and share their stories.

"Sadly, there is a clear pattern with Justin Trudeau. All of his talk about feminism isn't reflected in his actions," she said.

"From his mistreatment of women in his cabinet, to his mishandling of sexual assault cases in the military, and his lack of action around sexual misconduct allegations against his candidates, he has consistently failed to stand up for women."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available.For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911.

If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, help is available nationwide by calling theCanada Suicide Prevention Servicetoll-free at 1-833-456-4566, 24 hours a day, or texting 45645.(The text service is available from 4 p.m. to midnight Eastern time).

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.

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Liberal candidate allowed to run for re-election despite past claims of inappropriate behaviour - CBC.ca