Mudslinging in the race to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada has officially begun, and candidate Erin O'Toole is staying out of it.
"If Kevin wants to run, it’s time to fish or cut bait," said Tory leadership candidate Andrew Scheer. "It is not acceptable to stall or delay in order to avoid the French−language debate."
Stationed behind monogrammed podiums emblazoned with the party logo, the candidates began with a rapid-fire series of 30-second opening statements — many of them punctuated with mediocre French.
The federal government posted a razor-thin $1-billion deficit in 2015-16, a period in which both the Liberals and Conservatives had turns managing the public books.
