Former Alberta MLA Rod Loyola has been removed as Liberal candidate

by AJNews staff

(AJNews) – Former Alberta MLA Rod Loyola was removed as the federal Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton Gateway after a video from 2009 resurfaced in which he praised terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah while speaking at an anti-NATO protest outside Edmonton city hall.

In a written statement, Loyola acknowledged his comments from 16 years ago and unequivocally condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

He furthermore says he is planning to run as an independent in a different riding.

Postmedia’s Rahim Mohamed first reported on April 3, that Rod Loyola was removed as the Liberals’ candidate in Edmonton Gateway. The party confirmed to Postmedia that Loyola is no longer its candidate.

In a statement posted midday Friday, Loyola said he was surprised at his removal and vowed to continue to seek federal office. His statement appears below:

“Yesterday, the Liberal Party of Canada removed me as their candidate for Edmonton Gateway.

“A video from 16 years ago surfaced in which I made comments about Hamas and Hezbollah during a hip hop segment introduction at an anti-war rally.

“I did not think that an intro at a hip-hop segment 16 years later would get me “cancelled” after close to a decade of serving as an elected representative at the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, but here we are.

“I want to be clear: I unequivocally condemn brutal killings, terrorism, and abduction – whoever does it. What was perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 was completely unacceptable and heart breaking – the loss of innocent life irrespective of race, faith or creed is a loss to humanity. Additionally, the actions taken by Israel, as noted by multiple international bodies, amounts to collective punishment upon a people who are already systematically subjugated, which will never be justified, acceptable or in line with human rights.

“I am announcing that this is not the end of our campaign, I will continue as an Independent in the original riding I intended to run, Edmonton Southeast. I am lucky to have communities that stands with me and together we stand for what is just and principled.

“Just as we are standing together against the threat that is Donald Trump and all Canadians feel that we must defend our country and its people, including our way of life, the Palestinian people, against all odds, are standing up to the same threat of Trump’s proposed annexation of Gaza and his de facto support for Netanyahu to commit endless violence against a civilian population.

“Defending this right to stand against oppression is not controversial—it is a moral and legal imperative. As I told the Liberal Party yesterday, I do not need to apologize for a hip hop segment that had at its thrust the need to stand with the oppressed, nor for affirming their right to live in peace, security, and sovereignty.

“The world cannot turn a blind eye to decades of displacement, occupation, and systemic injustice. It is not extremist or divisive to demand the same freedoms for Palestinians that we expect for all people. If we believe in human rights, we must defend them without exception.

“My family came to Canada to escape the tyranny of the military dictatorship in Chile. Standing up to injustice has always been an integral part of my own and my family’s being and I will continue to call out injustice wherever it may be.

“I stand firmly for peace, dignity, and the right of all peoples to determine their own futures—without occupation, without apartheid, and without fear.”

The former MLA was one of several candidates in the upcoming federal election listed on a website at votepalestine.ca. The Alberta incumbents who appeared on the site include NDP MPs Heather McPeherson and Blake Desjarlais.