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HALIFAX — By Saturday morning, Andrew Scheer was in a good mood, ready to move past the drama of Maxime Bernier’s public exit from the Conservaitve Party.

In a sit-down with Marie-Danielle Smith from the National Post at the Conservative policy convention in Halifax, the party leader explained his positions on some of the policy resolutions that would be debated later that day — agreeing that the societal ills of pornography should be studied, for example, but avoiding an answer on whether Canada’s birthright citizenship program should end. He also took the opportunity to make clear his positions on the policies Bernier will be key to his new party.

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MDS: During last night’s speech, you chose to defend Sir John A Macdonald. Tell me about that decision.

AS: I believe it’s very troubling to see the trend that’s been emerging over the last few months, even a couple of years, that’s attempting to delete him and his legacy from public spaces and indeed in some cases from the history of Canada. Nobody can look back into our history and look at everyone who contributed into our development as a country and find someone who’s flawless.

Some of the flaws that some of our leaders had were, in today’s light, very, very negative. There’s no doubt about that. No one is suggesting that that shouldn’t be part of the conversation. But statues of Sir John A. Macdonald aren’t erected because of his flaws. They’re erected because of the vision that he had, the work he did, the fact that he devoted his life to building Canada. And we are the inheritors of that work and that’s why I believe it should be remembered and celebrated.