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Conservative national council president calls senator's petition on O'Toole's leadership 'unconstitutional'

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The Conservative party’s national council president is slamming a petition for a review of Erin O’Toole’s leadership as “unconstitutional.â€

“We’re supposed to be the party of the rule of law, not party of the rule of whim,†Robert Batherson told Evan Solomon on CTV’s Power Play Tuesday.

Sen. Denise Batters launched a petition Monday calling for a review into Erin O’Toole’s leadership within six months.

Late Tuesday, O’Toole removed Batters from the Conservative caucus, saying in a news release that he will “not tolerate an individual discrediting and showing a clear lack of respect towards the efforts of the entire Conservative caucus.â€

Batherson said there is not a provision in the party constitution that would allow a petition or referendum to trigger a leadership review. The senator argues a review will be triggered if five per cent of party membership from at least five provinces sign the petition.

Batherson responds to Batters’s petition in the video at the top of this article.

With a file from CTVNews.ca Writer Ben Cousins

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