OTTAWA—“Outrageous.”

That’s how Conservative MP Michael Chong described his caucus mate Derek Sloan’s attack on Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam.

“Frankly, I’m angry,” Chong said.

“My father was a Chinese immigrant to this country who came here in 1952 without a penny in his pocket, who worked extremely hard to become a medical doctor, like Dr. Tam. And his loyalty, like Dr. Tam’s, to this country was unquestionable.”

On Tuesday, Sloan — a rookie MP running for the leadership of the Conservative party — released a video suggesting Tam was “parroting” misinformation about COVID-19. Sloan asked if Tam, who was born in Hong Kong, was “working for Canada or working for China.” Sloan called on the government to fire Tam.

Sloan’s campaign could not be reached for comment Thursday.

But the remarks from the longshot leadership hopeful drew widespread condemnation, with one Conservative source referring to the attack as “embarrassing.”

“Instead of speaking about (issues with policy), Derek has questioned her loyalty. And in doing so has questioned the loyalty of every immigrant to this country,” the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters, told the Star.

The anger boiled over into public Thursday, with fellow Ontario Conservative MP Eric Duncan posting that while he may have “questions and constructive concerns” about Tam’s advice, he would “never question her loyalty to Canada.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when asked about Sloan’s comments, said “intolerance and racism have no place in our country.”

“We need to continue in our resolve to be an open, welcoming, respectful country. And I think all Canadians expect that of every politician,” Trudeau said.

Still, criticism of the World Health Organization — and particularly the notion that it is beholden to Beijing — is not exactly a fringe opinion in Conservative circles during the pandemic.

When asked about Sloan’s comments, outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer offered no comment on Thursday, saying it was up to leadership contestants to speak for themselves.

“I’ll leave it to each leadership candidate to speak for themselves and explain their views,” Scheer told reporters in Ottawa.

“I have said that this government needs to be held accountable for the decisions that were made. I don’t believe we should allow this government to have a scapegoat, to pin the blame on anybody else. These were ministers that chose to ignore some advice and chose to listen to other advice.”

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Pressed on whether Sloan would continue to be welcome in the Conservative caucus, the party leader again repeated that he would not address Sloan’s comments specifically.

When asked if Sloan should face any censure for his comments, Chong said that was up to the Conservative caucus — but said he would be personally discussing the comments with the Hastings—Lennox and Addington MP.

“I’m convinced about one thing: he is going to lose the leadership race. Convincingly,” Chong said.

“And the Conservative party that I know does not stand for this kind of garbage.”

Sloan is one of four approved candidates for the Conservative party’s now-suspended leadership race, launched after Andrew Scheer announced he would step down after his successor was chosen. That vote was originally scheduled for the end of June, but now has been suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sloan, first elected in October, is largely unknown within the party — but is seen as one of two social conservative candidates vying for the leadership. But most observers view it as a contest between Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole — with Sloan and Toronto lawyer Leslyn Lewis vying for third place.

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