ShonTron
Moderator
If Vuong were to step down it would set a dangerous precedent by creating an open invitation to manufacture bogus charges against political opponents in future elections.
No, it does not.
First of all, we do not know if these were "bogus charges." Just that the Crown decided not to proceed after several months after the charge. There are several reasons why they would do so, which we can only speculate on.
Second of all, this came out of the Liberals not vetting the candidate sufficiently, or the candidate intentionally withholding information from both the party and from his employer. That's where the trouble really came. Had he been honest, perhaps the Liberals would not have confirmed his hasty nomination, but it wouldn't have hit the news.
Thirdly, the lawsuit against him by a former business partner is another red flag. There isn't just one red flag here.
Finally, there are already precedents. Steve Paiken was accused of sexual assault by Sarah Thompson. He stepped back while TVO did their due diligence, and those accusations were bogus, so he returned to work without any other incident. As for Patrick Brown, he quickly bounced back from allegations of inappropriate behaviour, which were since forgotten. Brown was never charged.