Bernier quits 'morally corrupt' Conservative Party (video)

MP Maxime Bernier quits 'morally corrupt' Conservatives, plans to start new party | CBC News - Catharine Tunney:

August 23, 2018 - "Divisive Quebec MP Maxime Bernier made a scorched-earth exit from the Conservatives today, while announcing plans to start his own federal party. Bernier, who represents the riding of Beauce, made the announcement Thursday in Ottawa as the party's policy convention kicks off in Halifax.

"'I have come to realize over the past year that this party is too intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed,' he said.... 'I know for a fact that many in the caucus privately oppose supply management, but buying votes in a few key ridings is more important than defending the interests of Canadians.'

"Bernier said he plans to talk to Elections Canada on Friday and his goal is to head a party that runs candidates in all of Canada's 338 federal ridings."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bernier-statement-conserative-1.4795894
'via Blog this'

Bernier booted from Conservative shadow cabinet

Kicked out of shadow cabinet, Maxime Bernier raises $30,000 - iPolitics - Kyle Duggan:

June 15, 2018 - "Just a few days after being booted from his role as innovation critic after he re-circulated a controversial promo-chapter from his shelved book project, Maxime Bernier raised a cool $30,000 in one day.

"In an email sent to supporters with the subject line 'Are you still with me?' on Thursday (Bernier was booted from shadow cabinet late Tuesday), he asks his followers to contribute $5 or “any other amount you can afford today” so they can 'show the country how much you care for the perspective I bring to our national political debates'....

"'I just wanted to tell you that I’m as committed as ever to defending our conservative principles of freedom and small government. And I will continue to fight for them in whatever position I find myself,' it said.

"'Do you still want me to champion these principles in Ottawa, at a time when it is so important for our country’s future? If so, please help me pay down what remains [of] the debt from my leadership campaign, and fund my team’s work and my travels across the country to reach as many Canadians as possible'....

"Friday morning, he sent out another email announcing fundraising succes.... 'I am flabbergasted by the results,' Bernier announced. 'In just 24 hours, we raised $30,000!!! That’s several times more than the previous record of the past year. You can be assured [that] the response was received loud and clear!'

"On Wednesday, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer told reporters he wouldn’t discuss internal caucus matters when asked about ejecting Bernier from his industry critic role, although Scheer did strongly hint at the reason. 'When a member of our shadow cabinet makes a commitment to the rest of the caucus, then that commitment must be respected,' Scheer said....

"Back in April, Bernier canned his book project after releasing a chapter that railed against the supply management system – a position he’s long held and ran on during his leadership bid. It suggested Scheer won party leadership with the help of 'fake Conservatives,' a sort of astroturfing-to-victory aided by the dairy lobby.

"It was reported that earlier this month, Bernier reposted the chapter to his website – news that came as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Canada’s dairy sector amid a Canada-U.S. trade dispute, and as parliamentarians throw their support behind Canada’s trade efforts."

Read more: https://ipolitics.ca/2018/06/15/kicked-out-of-shadow-cabinet-maxime-bernier-raises-30000/
'via Blog this'

Trump targets Canadian supply management

Trump attacks Canada’s supply management for dairy as unfair to U.S. | Calgary Herald:

April 18, 2017 — "Donald Trump has put Canada on notice that he is taking aim at its much-coveted supply management system that protects the dairy industry.

"Trump levelled the threat during an event at a Wisconsin factory where he unveiled his 'Buy American-Hire American executive order.

"He says he will seek 'fair trade' with all of America’s trading partners 'and that includes Canada.'

"Trump says 'unfair things' have happened in Canada to U.S. dairy farmers.

"Last month, a free-market think tank suggested using more open trade in the dairy sector as a bargaining chip in upcoming trade negotiations with the U.S. in exchange for more stable trade in softwood lumber.

"The Montreal Economic Institute recommends limiting protectionism in both industries to help consumers, spur economic productivity, and ultimately create more successful businesses in both countries.....

"The current system limits the amount of dairy and poultry Canada can import before a tariff kicks in. Dismantling it would mean lower prices at the supermarket, and a more internationally competitive industry, says the paper.

"For his part, Finance Minister Bill Morneau will tell this week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington that Trump’s executive order runs contrary to Canada’s trading interests.

"Senior finance officials who briefed reporters on the meetings suggest the order would run counter to protections Canada has secured through NAFTA."

Read more: http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/trump-attacks-canadas-supply-management-for-dairy-as-unfair-to-u-s
'via Blog this'

Maxime Bernier a 'reasonable libertarian'

Breakfast with the Tories: Maxime Bernier, the smooth libertarian - CBC News | Opinion - Neil Macdonald:

January 13, 2017 -"Maxime Bernier ... mostly turns the discussion to ... his ideas.  ​

"He's libertarian, to the extent that it's possible to be a libertarian and seek high office in a country that was built on protectionism and entitlement and government being the answer to everything.

"He advocates the end of quotas and supply management for dairy, poultry and eggs. Oh, and maple syrup. Most Canadian politicians — let alone MPs representing rural Canada like Bernier — prefer to leave such topics undiscussed.

"He wants to abolish interprovincial trade barriers. Stopping companies from growing into other Canadian jurisdictions, or stopping workers from travelling between provinces, he characterizes as 'foolish,' 'doubly foolish' and 'ridiculous.'

"Bernier wants an end to what he calls 'corporate welfare,' his term for governments using tax money to pick winners, such as Bombardier and General Motors, and letting losers struggle with market forces.

"He wants to deregulate telecommunications in a country with some of the most expensive cell phone bills on earth. Let other companies come in and compete, he says.

"Ditto for airports and airlines. To Bernier, more competition is always the answer.

"Health care? He rather refreshingly pronounces the Canadian system, with its rationing and waiting lists and regional inequalities, 'abysmal.' Bernier wants to pull the federal government out of health care entirely and transfer tax points to the provinces, which are solely responsible for delivering health care in any event.

"That, he says, would be the end of endless bickering and financial demands from the provinces. He concedes the plan would disadvantage poorer provinces with smaller tax bases, but says that's what equalization is for.

"Bernier avoids the term 'two-tier,' but that's what he's proposing. He wants private delivery, but stresses his support for keeping universal health insurance: 'I'm a libertarian, but I'm reasonable.'

"He would cut taxes. Deeply. Oh, and balance the budget in two years."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/breakfast-with-bernier-1.3931417
'via Blog this'

Bernier comes out against supply management

Maxime Bernier parts ways with Conservative policy on supply management - Politics - CBC News - Janyce McGregor:

May 31, 2016 - "Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier says there's no way to reconcile his free-market principles with support for Canada's supply-managed agriculture sector, so he's parting company with longstanding party policy. Canada must change the marketing board system now in place for Canada's dairy, poultry and egg farmers....

'It is a government cartel,' Bernier told a press conference on Parliament Hill. 'It is the opposite of free markets'....

"As the minister for small business and tourism specifically, and as a Conservative MP since 2006 generally, he'd repeatedly voiced support for the supply-managed farm sector, a significant source of employment in his rural Quebec riding.

"'I was not in a position to question the party's democratic decision, or cabinet solidarity,' he said. 'And so I went along with it, even though I had grave misgivings about it for all these years'....

"Bernier echoed earlier studies that have suggested Canadian consumers pay $2.6 billion a year more than the world price for milk, part of a system he said was 'fundamentally unfair to Canadian families.'

 "'In order to protect 10 per cent of farmers, we are forcing all Canadian families, especially those with children and low-income families, to pay hundreds of dollars more every year for dairy, eggs and poultry products,' he said....

"The current fight over diafiltered milk — a product derived from milk and used in the manufacturing of dairy products that's currently exploiting a loophole to enter Canada tariff-free, displacing Canadian milk — is 'just the latest illustration of what happens when a system is too inflexible.'

"Bernier said supply management could be wound down with a multi-year phase-out of the quota system and the import restrictions that protect it.

"A 'temporary levy' on food products could be used to raise funds to compensate farmers for the cost of their lost quota. (Roughly $24,000 per dairy cow, with some figures putting the quota value for all supply sectors as high as $35 billion nationally.)

"He pointed to reforms in Australia as a model for Canada. But he did not explain exactly how his plan would work in a Canadian context, where both the weather (Canadian livestock needs to be in barns during the winter, for example, adding to production costs) and geographic location (right next to large U.S. suppliers) make for a different operating environment."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bernier-supply-management-dairy-egg-poultry-1.3609113
'via Blog this'