Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. MPP Chris Scott has been expelled from the Progressive Conservative caucus a day after his arrest by police in Toronto.
A spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford said Scott is no longer a member of the PC party.
“Yes, Chris Scott has been removed from caucus,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Epoch Times on Sept. 22. “Further questions should be directed to the Sault Ste Marie police.”
Ford was also questioned during an unrelated Sept. 22 press conference in Russell, Ont., about the 35-year-old MPP’s removal from caucus, but the premier had little to say on the matter.
“You know something—I would go to the Sault Ste. Marie police. I was informed literally in the parking lot as we were going through here,” Ford told reporters. “Yeah, go to the Sault Ste. Marie police. I don’t want to interfere in a police investigation.”
The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service (SSMPS) issued a brief statement on Sept. 22 to say Scott, who is also known as Chris Van Scott, had been arrested by officers from the Toronto Police Service in connection with an investigation by SSMPS detectives.
“To protect the privacy of the victim(s), no further details regarding the incident or the charges will be released by the SSMPS,” the press release said.
A Toronto police spokesperson confirmed Scott had been arrested Sept. 21 on an out-of-town arrest warrant, but declined to give any details of the arrest or charges.
The Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse confirmed Scott appeared for a Sept. 22 bail hearing and was granted release under a promise to pay $5,000. He is facing assault and assault with a weapon charges and is due back in court on Oct. 22.
The Epoch Times attempted to reach Scott for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
Scott was elected for the first time in February, defeating NDP candidate Lisa Vezeau-Allen by a margin of 118 votes in the snap election. It is considered the closest result in the Sault Ste. Marie riding in the past 120 years.
Scott was chosen by Doug Ford to run for the seat, having previously worked as a special adviser to his chief of staff and in the office of former Sault Ste. Marie MPP Ross Romano.
Scott’s Legislative Assembly of Ontario webpage now lists him as an independent, meaning he no longer has any party affiliations.
