Conservative member attacking O'Toole's leadership could be dropped from party council, president warns
CBC
The president of the Conservative Party says party national council member Bert Chen's sponsorship of a petition "attacking" leader Erin O'Toole puts him at risk of being dropped from the council.
"When you hold an office in the party, there's an expectation that your conduct is such that it doesn't detract or harm the interests or the reputation of ... the national council on which you serve ... the party and ... the leader," Rob Batherson, president of the Conservative Party of Canada, told CBC News.
Only hours after the Conservatives' election loss was confirmed, Chen, who represents Ontario on the Conservative party's national council, publicly challenged O'Toole's leadership.
Chen started an online petition calling for O'Toole to face an earlier leadership review. The current one is scheduled for two years from now, in 2023.
Batherson said he's received many complaints from members across the country who think Chen is misusing his position on the national council.
"Use that position in a constructive way, to engage the leadership on conveying views that you're hearing from the members," he said, adding that council members should not go "down a path where you're literally lighting a torch before all the ballots have been actually counted."
In an email, Chen told CBC he is merely representing the views of many members. He said his petition has received more signatures than another one that was started in support of O'Toole's leadership.
Intelligence regarding foreign interference sometimes didn't make it to the prime minister's desk in 2021 because Canada's spy agency and the prime minister's national security adviser didn't always see eye to eye on the nature of the threat, according to a recent report from one of Canada's intelligence watchdogs.