SUDBURY - People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier is firing back against the former employer of Sudbury candidate Nicholas Bonderoff, who was fired earlier this month.
As Sudbury.com reported earlier this week, Bonderoff believes he was walked out by BESTECH human resources staff after three years of employment due to his People’s Party campaign.
The firing came a day after Sudbury.com published a story on March 11 about his candidacy.
Bonderoff’s most recent position was Mine Engineering Services manager.
“We are living, supposedly, in a democratic country where you have a Charter of Rights and the freedom of thought, freedom of opinion is important,” Bernier told Sudbury.com by phone from the campaign trail near Quebec City.
“He didn’t ask for a vacation or holidays, he just said ‘I want to inform you that I’m running to politics’.”
That Bonderoff was fired for what is believed to have been his political beliefs is wrong, Bernier said.
“You’re doing that in a communist country, not a democratic country, and shame on them,” he said.
“I don’t know what they have against the PPC. They don’t know us, we are fighting for individual freedom and personal responsibility.”
“They must go on our website and read our policy. It’s all based to build a better country and help corporations and individuals to be richer and more prosperous.”
Earlier this week, Bonderoff told Sudbury.com that he believes the People’s Party of Canada’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, which their platform dismisses as “hateful” and “fundamentally racist” may have played a role.
BESTECH’s website highlights their commitment to Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.
“They believe in diversity, but when it’s time for diversity of thought and opinions, they are not there, so I can tell you that I will do everything to help my candidate over there to be elected,” Bernier said.
DEI policies, he said, is an ideology which “is destroying our civilization, not only here in Canada but also in Europe and the States.”
With DEI policies, he later explained, “If you’re promoting people because of their political opinion or because of the colour of their skin or sexual orientation, I don't believe that corporations will be able to survive in a real capitalist system.”
“That’s destroying our society, because we are promoting people who are not competent in our Canadian forces, in the RCMP, we have woke organizations, and the most important is to promote people because they are competent first.”
Sudbury.com reached out to BESTECH for more information about their Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility policies, but their website doesn’t mention prioritizing diversity hires. It does mention a focus on “fostering an environment free from discrimination and harassment in all its forms.”
The National Law Review clarified that DEI and affirmative action are different things, with affirmative action focusing more on legal and policy-driven matters around such things as hiring but that “a lesser qualified person should not be chosen over a more qualified person.”
DEI “encompasses a broader framework aimed at fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is valued, equity is ensured, and everyone feels a sense of belonging.”
On the DEI front, Bernier rejected the notion that the People’s Party shares anti-trans rhetoric, saying, “We are not anti-trans.”
He seemed to contradict this point immediately by adding, “No kids are born in a wrong body, and that’s called trying to push people to, in brackets, transition. … I believe there are only two sexes, and I’m on the side of biology.”
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research clarifies that sex and gender are different things, with sex being “a set of biological attributes in humans and animals,” while gender is “the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people.”
Although the “only two sexes, male and female” notion is supported by the Trump administration, it doesn’t address the existence of intersex people who don’t fit the biological criteria for either sex.
“I’ve never had my phone ring so many times in a six-hour period,” Bonderoff told Sudbury.com, citing the time since a story on his firing was published.
This included a phone call from Bernier, as well as supporters and people eager to offer him employment.
While he has gained more attention for being fired than anything else thus far in his brief campaign, Bonderoff said that the People’s Party platform would be top of mind leading up to the April 28 federal election, and not his employment situation.
He anticipates collecting the signatures he needs and getting his campaign finances in order to hit the ground running by early next week.
Bonderoff said he would participate in whatever upcoming debates are held, if organizers will allow it. He’s currently advocating for his inclusion in a debate the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons is hosting, which only invited those candidates from parties with sitting members to participate.
As for BESTECH, Bonderoff said, “I don’t think they’re a bad company, I don’t think they’re bad people, I just think it’s taboo and they don’t want to touch politics.”
Bernier said that his campaign tour would be rolling through Northern Ontario next week, but that he’s uncertain as to whether it will include any stops in Greater Sudbury.
“I hope that Nicholas will be able to find another job in the riding,” Bernier said. “He’s a good person, and what is happening to him right now, it’s a shame.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.