OTTAWA — A Montreal strategist says the Conservative party was wise not to publicly shame MP Maxime Bernier for a now-stalled book that accuses Andrew Scheer of pandering to “fake Conservatives” in the Quebec dairy lobby during last year’s leadership race. The controversy over the book, which has since been pulled from publication, won’t leave the party with long-term scars, whereas kicking Bernier out of the Tory caucus could have, said Alexandre Meterissian, a former Tory staffer now with the public affairs firm Hatley Strategy Advisors. “Maxime represents an important faction of the party, Libertarians, who are part of the Conservative movement,” Meterissian said in an interview Thursday. During the campaign, Scheer said Bernier’s position on supply management would cost the country billions of dollars. “What we had to say to Mr. Bernier was said in due course,” Quebec MP Gerard Deltell said Wednesday.

Source: National Post April 19, 2018 21:42 UTC