NDP says Hamilton MPP was removed for being a member of an Islamophobic Facebook group

The Ontario New Democratic Party says it kicked out longtime Hamilton MPP Paul Miller following a"pattern of troubling behaviour" that indicated he may "harbour Islamophobic, homophobic and racist views."

A statement from Lucy Watson, the party's provincial director, said that during its vetting process, it discoveredthe HamiltonEast Stoney Creek member of provincial parliamentwas a member of theFacebook group Worldwide Coalition Against Islam.

"Any other candidate and any other caucus member in any context and attempting to run for any reasonable party would be disqualified for ever having been a member of an Islamophobic, racist group," read the statementreleasedWednesday afternoon.

Miller toldThe Canadian Press on Wednesday that he was removed over a Facebook post he claimed he hadn't written.

The MPP saidthe post was "offensive" to the general population, but he didn't elaborate on its specific content.

He reportedly said hedoes not write his own Facebook posts and the post at the heart of the issue may have been written by a former staffer.

Ontario NDPLeader Andrea Horwathannounced last week that Miller would not be allowed to run for the party in the June 2 election and the party was kicking himout of caucus.

Miller previously told CBChe was aware of theinformation Horwath referred to, but declined to share any details about it, saying only that it's "totally fabricated and false."

"It's nothing criminal or anything like that," he said at the time. "I've been advised by my lawyer not to say anything."

MPP plans to run as an independent

Miller did not immediatelyrespond torequests for comment on Wednesday.

CBC News has not independently verified Miller's membership inthe Facebookgroup.

The NDP'sstatement also references a 2018 complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal by staff member Todd White, which allegedMiller had bullied employees, made racist, sexist and homophobic comments, and abusedoffice resources to campaign.

White wasan active party volunteer, and, at the time, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

The matter was "satisfactorily resolved," according to the NDP, but Watson pointed to the alleged racist and homophobic remarks.

"Our party's express expectation was that his behaviour needed to change," she stated, adding that for a whileit did, and there were no "public or private complaints of homophobic, racist or Islamophobic behaviour."

However, the party said, an investigation into Hamilton's public school boardrevealed the "old pattern" continuing.

Miller's wife, Carole Paikin Miller, is a trustee for Ward 5 ofthe Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

Her time as a trustee has included controversy, including sanctions and calls for her resignation, following areport that concluded some trustees made racist comments toward a former student trustee namedAhona Mehdi.

One of the witnesses quoted in the report said a trustee, identified by Mehdi as Paikin Miller, could be heard "scoffing and muttering under their breath in indignation" when other board members discussed ending a program that put police officers in schools.

It's unclear what, specifically, the NDP was referring to in terms of Miller and the school board's investigation.

The party did say Miller made no direct public statements, but his "behaviour and attitude were noted in the independent investigation."

However, the NDPsaid hisbehaviour "crossed any reasonable line" during Miller's most recent vetting and the discovery of his membership tothe Facebook group, said Watson.

Miller told The Canadian Presshe planned to run as an Independent in Hamilton-East Stoney Creek, the riding he has represented since 2007, in the upcoming election.