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The Alberta Progressive Conservatives have decided not to allow controversial radio host Craig Chandler to run for the party in the riding of Calgary-Egmont — a decision announced a day after the Alberta Human Rights Commission ruled that a letter written by a former executive director of Concerned Christians Canada (CCC), a group Chandler founded, exposed gay people to “hatred and contempt.”

In her November 30 decision, panel chair Lori Andreachuk said the “fearmongering” letter had a “militaristic” tone. However, Chandler says the media and the Conservative party have unfairly linked him to the letter, which was written in 2002 by Red Deer pastor Stephen Boisson. Chandler was the CEO of CCC at the time, and says he “never even knew the letter was written” until he saw it in the Red Deer Advocate, where it was first published. “I don’t mind being pounded for something I did,” says Chandler, who overwhelmingly won the Conservative nomination for Calgary-Egmont in November. “But I’m being pounded for something I didn’t do, and that sucks.”

Boisson’s letter called gay activists “perverse, self-centred and morally deprived individuals” who are “just as immoral as” pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps. “It is time to stand together and take whatever steps are necessary to reverse the wickedness that our lethargy has authorized to spawn,” wrote Boisson. Two weeks after the Advocate published the letter, a gay 17-year-old boy was assaulted in Red Deer. Darren Lund, an education professor at the University of Calgary and a former high school teacher in Red Deer, filed the complaint with the commission shortly afterwards, suggesting the letter fostered an atmosphere of violence and intimidation towards gays.

Barry Cooper, a University of Calgary political science instructor, defended Boisson during the hearing, saying the letter was legitimate political commentary. “Far from expressing hatred of homosexuals, [Boisson] has expressed understanding and practised compassion with respect to those whom he considers are suffering ‘an unwanted sexual identity crisis,’” wrote Cooper in his submission to the panel. Andreachuk, however, had a very different opinion: “the letter serves to dehumanize people who are homosexuals by referring to them in degrading, insulting and offensive manners.” She also found “there is a circumstantial connection between the hate speech of Mr. Boisson and the CCC” and the gay-bashing of the Red Deer teen.

Lund says the ruling sends a clear message. “It confirms we all have the right to free speech in Alberta, but there are also responsibilities that come with those privileges if we want to keep this a safe place for everyone,” he says. “It reminds us that people in positions of authority have a special responsibility to protect the dignity of especially vulnerable people.”

While Chandler wasn’t named in the Alberta Human Rights complaint, he was the target of a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint filed by Edmontonian Rob Wells. Wells complained against Chandler because Boisson’s letter was posted on the CCC and Freedom Radio Network websites. As well, Chandler had hosted Boisson on his show several times and ridiculed gay activists on those shows. Wells and Chandler eventually reached a settlement, and Chandler pulled the letter and radio shows in question from the websites. He also publicly apologized to Wells — a fact, he says, that’s been overlooked in the controversy surrounding his nomination. “I thought when people actually own up to something and apologize, they should be recognized for it,” says Chandler, who emphasizes he apologized voluntarily.

Both human rights complaints were brought up at what Chandler calls the two-and-a-half hour “grill session” in Red Deer December 1, where Conservative brass questioned him about his past. “I was told my faith in Jesus Christ would interfere with how I could be a good MLA. Is that fair?” says Chandler. “Nobody asked me what I thought. They didn’t say, ‘Craig, do you agree with this? What are your positions on the letter?’ They just said, ‘Well, you’re the former CEO — therefore you’re guilty.’” Premier Ed Stelmach said in a press release sent after the meeting that “the approval of Mr. Chandler’s nomination would not be in the best interests” of the party. The Conservatives won’t comment further.

Chandler says he spent $127,000 on his nomination campaign, and he wants the party to pay it back. “I’m not even being vindictive with them,” he says. “All I’m saying is, ‘You know what, guys? Give me my $127,000 back. If you didn’t want me to run, you should have told me at the beginning’…. They haven’t respected democracy. I won fair and square."

Chandler is also accusing Stelmach's office of trying to influence the outcome of the Calgary-Egmont nomination vote. On December 5, Chandler forwarded media an e-mail he received from Calgary Sun columnist Paul Jackson. A video on Chandler's website shows Jackson saying "we need Craig Chandler, and people like him, in politics and elected office," but in October Jackson wrote a column supporting rival candidate Jonathan Denis. When Chandler e-mailed Jackson to ask about his "flip-flop of endorsements," Jackson replied: "I got an urgent call from the premier's office asking me to back Jonathan. What else could I do?"

Stelmach spokesperson Tom Olsen, however, says "no phone call came from our office." Jackson couldn't be reached by press time, but he said in a CBC interview that he now thinks the phone call was "a put-up job" from someone claiming to be with the premier's office. When asked how this incident would affect his credibility as a columnist, Jackson said: "Mr. Chandler has basically ruined my career after 43 years."

Chandler says he’s considering running in Calgary-Egmont for another party or as an independent. “I’m already out of the gate, no matter who I go for,” he says, citing his strong support in the riding. “I’m not going away. If you know my background, you know that I’m going to continue to fight.”