愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Bergen advised against telling truckers to leave Ottawa, said protests should be made 'PM's problem'

Share

Newly elected interim Conservative Party Leader Candice Bergen advised senior Conservative MPs not to tell members of the trucker convoy to leave Ottawa and instead make the protests the prime minister鈥檚 problem, according to an internal email obtained by 愛污传媒.

In an email sent on Monday, the then deputy leader told her colleagues 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we should be asking them to go home.鈥

鈥淚 understand the mood may shift soon. So we need to turn this into the PMs problem. What will he take the first step to working toward ending this?鈥

愛污传媒 contacted Bergen's office for comment. In a statement issued on Friday, she said that 鈥淐anadians want and need a peaceful resolution,鈥 and called on Trudeau to work with the opposition to find a solution.

Bergen has been vocally supportive of the Freedom Convoy that has blockaded downtown Ottawa for almost a week, in protest of vaccine mandates and other public health restrictions.

The leadership of the convoy says they won鈥檛 leave until the government lifts policies they say impede personal freedoms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Liberal MPs, as well as NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs, have all called for the protesters to vacate.

The convoy has been a source of divisiveness for the Conservative Party, with some MPs coming out in support and others being hesitant to comment at all.

Bergen鈥檚 strategy, to make it the prime minister鈥檚 problem, was deployed in the House of Commons during question period on Thursday.

鈥淲here is the olive branch, because Canadians are looking for an olive branch鈥he government doesn't have to agree. They don't have to even like the protesters and the trucks that are parked outside but they need to provide a solution. So could they please tell Canadians what the solution is to get past this impasse?鈥 she asked.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland instead cited the need to speak out against racist and hate-fuelled symbols and the movements that tolerate them.

Images of protesters holding the Confederate flag and signs with drawn on swastika symbols have gained attention nationwide.

鈥淚'm afraid this is classic gaslighting, and it's very disappointing to see the deputy leader do that when we are in the middle of what's going on on the streets right now in Ottawa. There's nobody in this House that tolerates racism,鈥 Bergen said.

Former Conservative cabinet minister James Moore said it鈥檚 a 鈥渕istake鈥 for the Conservatives to continue to support the convoy.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fine to side with people who have anxiety about, you know, closing down the border issues and some of the pragmatic issues of vaccine mandates. That鈥檚 an entirely separate conversation from what鈥檚 happening now,鈥 he said during an interview on 愛污传媒 Channel鈥檚 Power Play.

During an interview with 愛污传媒 Channel Thursday evening, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called on Bergen to apologize, saying political points should not be made on the backs of the people of Ottawa.

"If that's true, that's really a disgraceful performance by the new leader of the Conservative party," Watson told 愛污传媒 Channel Thursday evening.

"To make political points on the backs of the people in our city who have suffered for almost a week now is absolutely disgraceful."

"My hope is that, if it is true and it emanated from her office, that she apologize. People who are suffering the most should not be a political football tossed around." 

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.

A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.

A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

Local Spotlight

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.

Stay Connected