Conservative MP slams Tories for becoming an 'elitist, white-only club'

Longtime Calgary MP Deepak Obhraiispublicly denouncing hisown party for turning into an "elitist, white-only club."

Obhrai says the Tories have adoptednew rules that financially discriminate against minorities, young Canadians, low-income Canadians and people with disabilities.

These include the party's $100,000 registration fee for leadership race contenders, as well as an increased party membership fee of $25 per person the highest of any of the major federal parties.

The figureis not modest, Obhrai said,and will stop"hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Canadians from joining the party."

"Establishedconservatives with established families who have very strong conservative principles will remain asmembers and are willing to cough up the big money," he said.

"Ultimately, that will turn into what I will say a white people's club."

Pushing for new Tory leadership

Obhrai, who was first electedin 1997 as a member of the Reform Party, said he has devoted much of his political career tobreaking the stigma of ethnic discrimination that hashounded the Tories.

"Preston Manning asked that I go out and bring the ethnic communities and new Canadians into the party. For the next 18 years, I worked on that," he said.

Obhrai saidhis "purpose" was to integratenew immigrants into the party ranks, and he saidthe party'ssuccess on that front is whatpropelled the Tories to majority government statusin 2011.

Obhrai saidhe has raised the issueloudly in caucus, but to no avail.

His hope is that by using these "pretty loaded words," he will persuade his colleagues to elect anew leader, council and president who will steer the party in a more inclusive direction when the Tories gather for their convention in May.

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