Conservative robocall pitches memberships tied to Liberal MP’s cancer

OTTAWA — A member of a federal Conservative riding association in Toronto has reportedly made a robocall that tried to pitch party memberships by citing a Liberal MP’s cancer diagnosis.

CTV News said late Wednesday that it has audio of the call in which a man who says he’s the vice president of the Scarborough Centre riding association asks supporters to join the party, stating Salma Zahid was “very ill” and “there may be a need for a byelection.”

In February, the Liberal MP said she was taking a medical leave to be treated for Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the network says the robocall was made a month later.

Chris Mellor confirms he made the call and told CTV he does not regret it, saying it was appropriate given Zahid’s public statement on her diagnosis.

He said in terms of election readiness, “we felt that we should have our members, as many members as possible, in order to select the candidate in the event that she resigned, or felt that she could no longer continue.”

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Zahid — who returned to work last month and is now cancer-free — told CTV News she was disappointed to learn her illness was being exploited for political advantage.

“I can say that it’s reprehensible, disgusting, and disappointing, that they are trying to create fear among my constituents and it makes it harder for me as a member of Parliament to do my job,” she said.

Daniel Schow, a spokesperson for Andrew Scheer, told the network that the Conservative leader was “unaware of the calls,” adding that “speculating on another MPs health issues for political motivations is completely unacceptable under any circumstances.”

Conservative Party spokesperson Cory Hann added that the volunteer who made the call is being removed from the riding association board and will not hold any roles with the party.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the call is a “new low in politics” and the Conservatives owe Zahid an apology.

“I think it’s not only unacceptable but it’s sad,” he said. “This should never, ever happen again.”

Zahid said she is “seriously considering” raising this matter with House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan when Parliament resumes next month.

The report was published on the eve of the Conservative Party’s three-day policy convention in Halifax.

The Canadian Press