Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest is urging Finance Minister Bill Morneau to batten down the hatches amid negative public opinion, rather than tender his resignation.

In an interview on BNN, Charest, now a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, said the severity of the complaints the finance minister is facing don’t warrant his ouster.

“In the case of Mr. Morneau, he’s in one of the toughest jobs in government and controversy in itself will create attention, and maybe that more negative buzz. But there certainly isn’t material for him to resign over,” he said Monday.

“This [ethics] investigation will unfold, and then we’ll find out what the conclusions are. But at this point, I think he should just soldier on.”

Charest said he thinks the best move for the finance minister is just to wait out the controversy.

“Mr. Morneau got caught up in these side stories that are a distraction for him, and I think [the government is] just going to have to ride it out,” he said. “I don’t see any scenario where the prime minister would want to separate himself from the minister of finance.”