On Wednesday evening, news broke that the Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate for Brampton East, Simmer Sandhu, had officially resigned his nomination.
It’s only been seven days since the electoral writ was issued and the campaign for the next provincial government began.
The National Post is reporting that the resignation is linked to the internal leak of customer information for the private company that owns and operates Highway 407 ETR. The company is in the process of contacting 60,000 customers that have been affected by this breach.
Sandhu released a statement on Twitter denying any wrongdoing or involvement saying, “I have recently been made aware of allegations anonymously made against me pertaining to both my work life and my nomination campaign. These allegations are totally baseless. I absolutely deny them. I will vigorously defend myself and reputation and I am confident I will be clear.”
The announcement came as PC Party Leader Doug Ford was holding a rally at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
Sandhu went on to say, “I feel it is impossible for me to continue as PC candidate in Brampton East while doing so. This election is too important to get caught up in the issues surrounding any one person. Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party are championing issues that matters to ordinary Ontarians and will make their lives better. I regret this turn of events, but am confident in Doug’s ability to earn the trust of the people of Brampton East and all of Ontario.”
For nine years, Sandhu worked as a litigation analyst in the collections department. The 407 ETR wasn’t his most recent job: before the election he worked as a real estate agent with Royal Lepage, Flower City Realty in Brampton.
As of now, it isn’t clear what Sidhu’s involvement was in the breach. Police and provincial and federal agencies have been notified and an investigation will likely follow.
The Progressive Conservative Party has nominated Sudeep Verma to replace Sandhu. Verma recently lost against Harjit Jaswal in the controversial candidacy race for Brampton Centre.