CALGARY, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — As the Conservative Leadership campaign winds down to its final days, I feel compelled to defend Dr. Leslyn Lewis from two unjustified vicious attacks from Mr. Scott Aitchison. Why would I do this, since I was one of her political opponents in the last federal election of 2021 in the riding of Haldimand-Norfolk, just like Mr. Aitchison is doing now? After all, I am contemplating running against her in the future again, and it would be a much more difficult task for me to win if she were to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
There are several reasons why I am writing.
First, I believe all people running for political office need to possess the virtues of truth, integrity and good character, some of the hallmarks that distinguish a politician from a true statesman or in Dr. Lewis’ case, a stateswoman. I sense that most Canadians want real change and will support a candidate for public office who rises above the quest for power and is willing to listen to ordinary people and will humbly serve in public office, for the common good of all Canadians. Dr. Lewis has these virtues in abundance, and it is in the best interests of the country, let alone the Conservative Party, to restore a level playing field from what I consider to be baseless accusations that are without any merit. I welcome a worthy political opponent to run against.
Second, as a lawyer, I am bound by a code of professional conduct, not only in my professional life, but in my personal political life, to conduct my life with dignity, integrity and good character. This code of conduct extends to defending judges and other lawyers who are unfairly criticized and for one reason or another, cannot publicly defend themselves.
Third, I am bound by my own ethical and moral code, that springs from my conscience and religious beliefs, to stand up to proclaim the truth, even if that truth offends others.
So what did Mr. Aitchison say? In his letter of August 25, 2022 he stated that his goal was to restore respect to politics and accused Prime Minister Trudeau of exploiting division for his own personal gain, for his own unscientific mandates. Mr. Aitchison, without naming names, alleged that there “are some in our own party” who do the same thing. Next, Mr. Aitchison observed the Liberal Party fired “an actual racist who spews anti-Semitism.” He then said, “… we as a party must do better as well,” implying without naming names, there were racists in the Conservative Party. It is in this context that Mr. Aitchison accuses Dr. Lewis of sending an email that sent a “dog whistle” that was so loud as to be a “freight train’s horn” to “a small but growing number of people” who have been making the “bogus claim” that vaccine mandates and policies “enacted over the past two years are like what took place in Nazi Germany.” Who are these people?
The link in Mr. Aitchison’s message takes the reader to a news story published on January 21, 2022 by Israel Hayom, wherein Holocaust survivors lament the “appropriation” of their suffering by more than 60 million online engagements that linked pandemic related issues with Holocaust terminology. The study was conducted over two years by Buzzilla for the Combat Antisemitism Movement, in partnership with the International March of the Living, to speak out against “Holocaust trivialization.” The study was released a few days before January 20, 2022, the same day the United Nations approved an Israel’s resolution by a 193 nation consensus that condemned any denial of the Holocaust, urging all nations to combat antisemitism and active measures to fight Holocaust distortion or denial. Only Iran “dis-associated” itself from this resolution. This resolution is not legally binding.
Mr. Aitchison then quotes from a November 30, 2021 Twitter message attributed to the Auschwitz Museum, “Exploiting the tragedy of people who became victims of criminal pseudo-medical experiments in Auschwitz in a debate about vaccines, pandemic and people who fight for saving human lives is shameful. It is disrespectful to victims, and a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decline.”
On August 27, 2022 Mr. Aitchison sent out a second email condemning Dr. Lewis, stating: “It is wildly irresponsible to pander to those who claim that Canada’s pandemic response is comparable to Nazi Germany.” He then denied that the Covid-19 vaccines were experimental, claiming they were scientifically tested, clinically tested, and approved. He finished his attack by stating that “Leaders are people who don’t appeal to the lowest common denominator but seek to raise it,” urging people to “up the stakes” and to “raise the bar.”
So what did Dr. Lewis, a lawyer who has an earned doctorate in international law, actually say? See: https://leslynlewis.ca/blog/75-years-of-nuremberg/. To me, an educated person with three law degrees, including a doctorate, and a graduate degree in bioethics, who has taught law and bioethics, studied the Holocaust and am of mixed ancestry, including Jewish, Dr. Lewis has not written anything to justify the attacks by Mr. Aitchison. The content of Dr. Lewis’s message of August 19, 2022 reminds people of the lessons of history so people will not repeat tragic mistakes from the past. She quite properly alerts people to conduct themselves appropriately to avoid legal jeopardy for crimes against humanity, for no one is above the law. She advocates respect for human rights, adherence to bioethical codes of conduct, and implicitly defends the Constitution of Canada, especially the Charter of Rights. She reflects a high level of intellect, a sound advanced legal education, and a moral conduct, that are desirable qualities for a national leader.
There is a complete absence of any evidence to suggest she, a descendant of African slaves, is a racist. There is no evidence of a divide and conquer strategy, other than Mr. Aitchison’s own tactics. There is no evidence to merit a demeaning “dog whistle” allegation, for deeper examination of the metadata compiled by Buzzilla reveals no connection to Dr. Lewis or her supporters. She has never trivialized the Holocaust, and much to her credit, she condemns Nazi atrocities. There is no exploitation of the tragic victims of Nazi medical experiments by Dr. Lewis in her political debates concerning mandatory vaccination. There is certainly no evidence that Dr. Lewis shows an intellectual or moral decline. Indeed, the evidence shows she maintains high moral and intellectually standards, and acts with dignity. There is not a shred of evidence that Dr. Lewis panders to an unknown unnamed fanatical fringe of those people who trivialize the Holocaust. It is astounding that Mr. Aitchison asserts without proof that the vaccines are safe and effective, when scientific and anecdotal evidence of death and severe side effects from these “safe” vaccines is growing exponentially. Unfortunately, science and experience has proven that these vaccines are ineffective to prevent the transmission or acquisition of Covid-19.
In my experience, a politician who resorts to this kind of attack upon a competitor in the waning days of a political campaign, reveals disrespect, desperation, ignorance, insecurity and a remarkable lack of wisdom that amply demonstrates unfitness for the office of Prime Minister or the leadership of a political party.
Unlike Dr. Lewis, there is no evidence that Mr. Aitchison ever attended university. Indeed, no educational history, including a high school credential, is publicly available for scrutiny on his website. One wonders if he is simply unable to understand what Dr. Lewis writes or assuming that he does understand what she says, why does he manipulate and distort her message, except for the purpose of deliberately discrediting Dr. Lewis? Is he jealous of her education and superior intellect? If his attacks were legitimate, why have the other leadership candidates not joined him?
Media reports on Google tell us that Mr. Aitchison rebelled against his religious parents, when he apparently refused to follow their house rules, and left home around the age of 15. To his credit, he flourished as a career politician since his early 20’s, and did well in business to succeed financially. This background is significant when considering Mr. Aitchison as the source of the illegitimate attacks against Dr. Lewis. After all, Mr. Aitchison is relatively uneducated compared to Dr. Lewis, and apparently once preferred his own rules to those of his original family. Has he followed the rules of the leadership race established by his own party by making unsubstantiated allegations that cannot be verified or proven?
It is unfortunate that Mr. Aitchison has singlehandedly brought the Conservative leadership race into disgrace by behaving in such a highly questionable manner. For the sake of Canada’s future, I hope a leader other than Mr. Aitchison will be chosen by the members of the Conservative Party.
Dr. Charles I. M. Lugosi, SJD, LLM, JD, MBE, is a Canadian lawyer representing people in civil liberties, human rights, criminal and constitutional law cases to protect the rights to life, liberty, freedom of expression, and religion. He ran for office in 2021 as a member of the Christian Heritage Party (CHP).