Ed Fast is out as Conservative finance critic after less than three months on the job, according to interim party leader Candice Bergen..The news comes after the MP for Abbotsford, B.C. criticized Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre for saying he would fire the Bank of Canada governor. ."Ed has publicly stated his support for one of the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership candidates and would like to be able to offer more dedicated support to that team," Bergen said in a statement late Wednesday..Fast is currently co-chairing the leadership campaign of former Quebec Premier Jean Charest. In a statement, Charest's campaign spokeswoman, Michelle Coates Mather, said the news is disheartening and that team is "incredibly proud" to have his expertise on the campaign. She said Fast "spoke out to voice legitimate concerns against policies he felt would hurt the Canadian economy, investor confidence, and the market.".Like Poilievre, Fast said he believes inflation can be attributed to government spending. Other experts have said the pandemic-resulted supply chain issues and Russia's invasion of Ukraine play a larger role in the rising costs of food, housing and gasoline..But Fast said he believes Poilievre's idea to fire Tiff Macklem over the country's inflation rate, which is the highest it’s been in 30 years, was damaging the party’s credibility on economic issues. ."I'm deeply troubled by suggestions by one of our leadership candidates, that that candidate would be prepared to interfere already at this stage in the independence of our central bank," Fast told reporters ahead of the party's caucus meeting.."It is fair to ask questions, to demand solutions to the skyrocketing cost of living. But we also have to respect the institutions that have been granted independence to ensure that they function apart from political interference," he said..Fast offered his resignation to the interim leader just hours later. But he told reporters that none of the pressure to resign came from Bergen.."I was trying to do my job, while the Pierre Poilievre team wanted to muzzle me from asking questions," he said..Poilievre has responded to critics of his proposal to fire the governor of the Bank of Canada by calling them political elites and "gatekeepers" attacking his message. ."Ed Fast and Jean Charest would have no problem firing a waitress or welder for not doing their jobs. But they won't do the same for a big shot banker whose failures have cost our people a fortune," Poilievre said in a statement on Wednesday..Brampton Mayor and Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown said he was "saddened and angered," to hear of Fast's resignation. In an email sent to supporters, Brown compared the pressure Poilievre put on Fast to what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did to Jody Wilson Raybould and Jane Philipot during the SNC Lavalin scandal.."In recent days, several media headlines have made the point that a Pierre Poilievre victory would result in a broken and divided party. Ed Fast’s departure is proof of this," Brown said.."How would our party even hope to win an election with a leader who hunts down and punishes Conservative MPs who disagree with them?".Fast was appointed as the party's finance critic by Bergen on Feb. 22, 2022 after Poilievre resigned from the position to enter the leadership contest. .Bergen said she plans to announce a new finance critic "shortly," and that Fast is still a "valued member" of the caucus.
