Liberals fire another candidate after NDP revelations man used slur on Facebook

The Liberals have fired a third candidate this week after NDP revelations revealed the man used an f-word gay slur on Facebook, raising questions about the vetting process for Liberal hopefuls in the June 2 election.

The termination of Chatham-Kent-Leamington hopeful Alec Mazurek was announced about 30 minutes after party leader Steven Del Duca was caught off-guard about the information at a Scarborough news conference on mental health supports.

Mr. Mazurek has officially been terminated," Liberal press secretary Andrea Ernesaks said in a statement.

Del Duca had pledged to drop Mazurek if the revelations were true and said reckless" comments cannot be tolerated.

That is not what we stand for," Del Duca said.

New Democrats released screen grabs of the offending comment and another using the word bitches."

The firing came a day after Liberals axed their Parry Sound-Muskoka candidate, Barry Stanley, for his unproven theory on the cause of homosexuality.

Mazurek was a long-shot in Chatham-Kent-Leamington, a riding that has mostly been held by Progressive Conservatives in recent years.

On Tuesday, Liberals dumped Aidan Kallioinen as their candidate in Sault Ste. Marie. Reasons were not disclosed.

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1