Within minutes of the Toronto Star announcing that its editorial board would meet this week with Maxime Bernier, some angry readers began contacting the Star to voice their strong opposition to the session.

They called Bernier a “racist,” “xenophobic” and a “white supremacist” and accused the Star of giving the People’s Party of Canada leader a platform to spread his controversial views and in doing so, as one reader wrote, of giving him “credibility and legitimacy.”

Bernier is one of the most outspoken politicians to lead a federal party in decades. He spreads discredited lies about climate change, vows to cut off virtually all foreign aid and halt all government help for ailing businesses.

He’s been nicknamed “Mad Max” and even seems to enjoy it, saying he is mad about a lot of things, such as political correctness and high taxes.

At the same time, Bernier’s radical party has attracted a field of candidates whose backgrounds in some cases are so outrageous they’ve been called an “army of bozos.”

Clearly, Bernier’s most contentious ideas are to slash annual immigration levels by 50 per cent, erect fences in places along the U.S. border to block entry by people seeking refugee status and to impose a “Canadian values” test on overseas applicants. This is why protesters often show up at his campaign stops and why some voters accuse the Star and other media outlets of providing a platform to a man they brand as a racist.

I fully understand the emotional response to Bernier’s repugnant views. Indeed, I can’t think of one major thing he and I agree on.

But it’s wrong for voters, as well as the media, to ignore Bernier.

That’s because it’s important for voters, including those repelled by Bernier’s positions, to have information to help them understand where he and those who back him are coming from and why and how he is appealing to far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in our midst. Why has his party attracted some 41,000 members barely a year after its founding? Why are some former elected politicians now running as People’s Party candidates?

Voters need to understand the grievances and prejudices that his supporters harbour that have led them to join the People’s Party. Voters need to read and hear what Bernier’s policies are in order to successfully address and argue against them.

It’s also a mistake to dismiss Bernier as some crackpot politician with no real support for his views. While polls show only his party’s support at just 3 per cent nationally, the reality is that some of his views have wide national appeal. The best example is Bernier’s call for fewer immigrants. Pollsters have found in recent years that up to 50 per cent of Canadians favour such a move. Many of us know people who think like Bernier on this issue.

And unlike other far-out fringe politicians who sometimes run in local elections, Bernier is a veteran politician with a long track record on the national scene. He has been an elected MP since 2006 and was a senior cabinet minister for almost 10 years.

RELATED STORIES Giving Maxime Bernier a platform legitimizes his dangerous ideas

Just two years ago he came within a few hundred votes, out of some 34,000 votes cast, of being the federal Conservative leader, losing to Andrew Scheer on the 13th ballot after leading on the previous 12. His strong showing in that race indicates the depth of support for his views within the greater conservative spectrum.

For the mainstream media, one of its primary roles is to expose and shine a light into the dark corners of our society. During elections, it can serve citizens by providing them with relevant information they need to make informed decisions.

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For voters who oppose Bernier, demanding the Star and other newspapers, TV networks and radio stations avoid seeking out and reporting on his views is not the best way to combat his candidacy or views, especially in an era where social media, with its ability to spread both true and fake news to millions, is playing a bigger role in today’s elections.

Ignoring Bernier won’t make him or those of his ilk go away. Instead, voters and the media need to expose them, challenge them and provide compelling reasons why they should be rejected.

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