In an email sent through Jean Charest’s leadership campaign, which Fast is co-chairing, the longtime Abbotsford MP said Poilievre’s supporters in the Conservative caucus told Fast to “just shut up” after he criticized Poilievre’s pledge to fire the Bank of Canada governor over high inflation.
“Some of the MPs who tried to muzzle me don’t even agree with Pierre’s policies themselves,” Fast wrote in the email. “But still, they wanted me to keep my mouth shut. I refused.”He said he then asked Interim Leader Candice Bergen to relieve him of his duties as shadow finance minister “so that I can speak freely about the risky and wrong-headed policies being promoted” by Poilievre.“That wasn’t my first choice,” Fast wrote.
Poilievre, the projected frontrunner to become the party’s next leader, did not respond directly to Fast’s accusations Friday. Instead, he shared his statement from Wednesday dismissing criticism of his proposal to fire the bank’s governor as merely political elites attacking his message.“Ed Fast and Jean Charest would have no problem firing a waitress or welder for not doing their jobs.
Fast criticized Poilievre’s attacks on the Bank of Canada to reporters as he was heading into a Conservative caucus meeting on Wednesday, saying interfering with the central bank’s independence hurts the party’s credibility on economic issues.Within hours, the party issued a statement from Bergen announcing that Fast was stepping down from the finance critic post. The statement said Fast “would like to be able to offer more dedicated support” to Charest’s campaign.
Fast endorsed Charest for the Conservative leadership in late March, but remained the party’s top critic on economic issues. He replaced Poilievre in the role after the Carleton MP decided to run for the leadership in February.Conservative Party sources who spoke to Global News on Wednesday lamented Fast’s stepping down as “another blow to fiscal conservatives and moderates navigating a party that is increasingly polarized and divided.
So much for “freedom” eh PierrePoilievre . Muzzle anyone who speaks against the king. How pathetic the CPC_HQ are.