WHITBY—It took two police forces on Monday to get the far-right Rebel Media escorted as far as possible from Andrew Scheer.The expulsion began with an RCMP officer, part of the Conservative leader’s personal security detail, gently nudging Rebel News correspondent David Menzies away from the gaggle of media and out into a corridor as reporters awaited Scheer’s arrival.Then, having reached the border of its jurisdiction — and with Menzies vocally holding court in the hallway, demanding his right to report — the Mounties called in the Durham Regional Police, which finished the job, banishing the rebel to a sidewalk at the outer edge of Whitby’s state-of-the-art Abilities Centre.Officially, Scheer was here for a fairly modest campaign announcement — a pledge to introduce the Fairness For Persons With Disabilities Act that, if passed, would expand the definition of what counts as life-sustaining therapy to allow an additional 35,000 Canadians to qualify for tax credits averaging $2,100 a year.Instead, the scene morphed into the Exiling of Conservatives With Extremist Baggage Act, with Scheer’s handlers keeping their leader sequestered for a 30-minute delay to ensure no face-to-face encounters with the barred correspondent.Asked about the ouster of Rebel during the subsequent news conference, Scheer didn’t say much. He simply repeated his pledge to not give any more interviews to the Rebel (he spoke to them once) and noted that this event was for accredited media only — indicating that the Rebel, if ever it did, no longer qualifies for such status under Conservative policy.Conservative aides accompanying Scheer were a bit more forthcoming. While the party is unable to stop Rebel News from attending large public rallies on the campaign trail, “closed, private events” like Monday’s news announcement in Whitby are a no-go zone for the Rebel. That’s been the policy since the start of the ...
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