How a grocery store visit highlights voters' fears that Kevin Vuong will be a lame duck MP
CBC
For Kevin Vuong, the embattled Toronto MP facing a military investigation and calls to resign, even everyday constituency work is proving contentious.
It was a lesson a Toronto grocery store owner learned the hard way this week, after she reached out to Vuong's office to deal with a long-standing business matter involving the Canada Revenue Agency.
"I was wary of making the call," said Michelle Genttner. "But who do you call? It's a federal issue for our MP."
What happened next highlights a concern held by many constituents in Vuong's downtown riding of Spadina–Fort York.
As a newly elected political outcast ditched by the Liberals shortly before the federal vote, they fear Vuong will be unable to get anything done in Parliament and constituents will not want to approach him for essential matters.
In the final days of the election campaign, the Toronto Star reported Vuong had been charged in 2019 with sexual assault — a single count that prosecutors later withdrew.
The Liberals asked Vuong to pause his campaign after it was made public he didn't disclose the charge during the Liberal vetting process. The party then cut ties with him two days before the election.
Vuong has denied any wrongdoing.
This week, when Vuong visited Genttner's zero-waste grocery store, Unboxed Market, she said she hadn't noticed his staffer taking pictures during the meeting — photos Vuong then posted to Twitter, with a caption that said visiting the business was "an absolute pleasure."
Angry constituents reacted swiftly.
"Unboxed, do you support Kevin Vuong?" asked one Twitter user. "I actually shop with you — and I won't be if you're backing him."
"I would not associate with him if I were you," warned another user.
Genttner was forced to issue a statement, clarifying Vuong's visit was strictly to seek "help in addressing a federal issue."
The incident illustrates how Vuong has become a "toxic" figure, said Stéphanie Chouinard, a political science professor affiliated with the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, both in Kingston, Ont.
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