For anyone that missed Garth’s press conference which concluded not long ago, Garth said very pointedly that the reason the Ontario Conservative caucus pushed him out was:
My beliefs on policies. The issue was not caucus confidentiality.
When asked if he was aware if Prime Minister Stephen Harper knew about or was involved in the decision to expel him from caucus, Garth was honest, gracious even, and said he did not know.
However anyone who watches Ottawa and knows the players knows this: The Ontario caucus would not act without a) Harper knowing about it and b) Harper approving it. Period.
Not to mention that Doug Finley, Director of Political Operations, sat in the caucus meeting and that, in a minority government, no MP is ejected without the party’s political leadership being in the loop, including the leader of the party, who is one Stephen Harper. Senator Marjory Lebreton denied that Harper was in the loop, which only makes her look disingenuous, at best.
What has happened, in a real way, is that the party of Garth, and me, has left us, rather than the other way around. Clearly our party is not the party of ideas but of ideology. Its not the party of all Canadians but the party of those who are willing to park their ideas at the door, and kneel before the Prime Minister.
I’d trade David Emerson for Turner any day, and I bet Turner’s constituents elect him, as an independent or running for any party, in a heart beat.
I took notes during Garth Turner’s press conference held at the National Press Gallery today, as its highly unusual for a governing party, particularly one leading minority government, to expel a member from caucus. Here to the best of my ability are the key things said:
GT: I can’t tell you why this happened
Q: We heard about concerns over confidentiality
GT: http://garth.ca/ go and read it and make up your own mind.
GT: There are some questions that come to mind in light of what has happened. Why now. Why today? Why this week? I’ve been talking all along about the same things: an effective green plan, income splitting, views on tolerance, and my views that only elected officials should be in cabinet.
GT: Perhaps if you want to know why I’m out, see (CPC Director of Political Operations) Doug Findlay – talk to him.
GT: Have my comments from time to time crossed the line in terms of party direction? I’m not new here in Ottawa. I’ve been a MP, been a Cabinet Minister, and ran for the leadership of the former Progressive Conservative Party. I’m just a guy doing the same job in the past.
And I’m pretty surprised that not all conservative voices are being welcomed.
GT: Am I a bad conservative?
By my standard, no. I’ve been a conservative, a Tory, all my adult life. I believe in less govt, more rights for citizens.
What is proper role for MP in Ottawa? All MP’s need to answer to voters, to constituents, to the taxpayers first, to party leaders SECOND.
I have to listen to voices from all kinds of folks, and I think that is to me just smart politics.
What comes next? For taxpayers and citizens, don’t let Turner take eye off ball—I’m not the story. I’m a one-day story, the real story is about the Green Plan, the environment, the next budget. I’ll keep fighting for issues, environmental sustainability…
What’s next for me? Well, I don’t need to sit in caucus meetings any more. I’m going to go back to my riding and talk to them; to my constituents and to my riding association. I need to go and talk to people about what they want.
Am I upset? Of course I am.
Am I angry? No, life’s too short. This episode is not going to stop me from fighting for the right things.
Q: On confidentiality – the issue of caucus confidentiality had come up, from a couple of people.
GT: Nothing I have done or said is hidden from view, its all on the public record. Recently some colleagues expressed concerns; they gave examples, they discussed this with me and that seemed to be the end of it.
At the caucus meeting [where Turner’s fate was decided] they did not discuss caucus confidentiality.
The issue was my beliefs on policies.
There are no secrets. Everything I’ve said is on the public record.
I’ve not spoken to PM, he has not called me
Q: Another question about confidentiality
GT: The only thing was “the fact that I had mentioned in my blog, right after the Dawson College shooting, that we discussed gun control. I didn’t disclose what we discussed. I didn’t think the day after the Dawson shooting that it would be a big shock to anyone that we discussed gun control.”
Garth Turner, a Conservative MP with a record of being openly critical of his own party’s actions, has been kicked out from the Conservative caucus and will sit as an independent in the House of Commons.
Caucus chair Rahim Jaffer said that Turner was ousted on the unanimous recommendation of the partys Ontario caucus for violating caucus confidentiality and being too critical of the prime minister. Jaffer said Turner was disclosing information on his Internet blog that was inhibiting his colleagues ability to function behind closed doors.
The theme of confidentiality was not being respected in their opinion and it restricted the ability for members to operate in a confidential way. (CP Tories suspend MP Turner)
Whether Turner failed to respect confidentiality or not is an unknown. I prefer to wait for Mr. Turner to speak up. (Update: Turner says he was kicked out for his views, not because of confidentiality concerns)
Many here in Vancouver—Kingsway will remember that Turner was openly, and instantly, critical of Stephen Harper and David Emerson back in early February when Harper brought Emerson, then a Liberal, over to the governing Conservative benches.
Beyond that one issue, I appreciate that Turner speaks his mind plainly and critically, in a thoughtful manner. He is a big proponent of connecting citizens to the government and has been working actively on various measures. He’s one of the few MP’s that truly seems to get it – that they work for us. Government, and Parliament, ought to have more Garth Turners, not less.
Since Mr. Turner’s weblog is now off the air, ironically brought down from the onslaught of visitors today, I’m going to post what was his last entry, available courtesy of Google’s cache, here in full:
Now I have had four Town Hall meetings in the riding this week, with two more next weekend. When this round is done, residents of Halton will have had 13 opportunities to come out to talk with their MP and their neighbours since January and every occasion is worthwhile, insightful, challenging.
In Milton on Tuesday, then Oakville on Wednesday then again yesterday in Campbellville there were three main topics covered in two hours: Same-sex marriage, Afghanistan and the environment. On SSM we took a vote, once all the talking was done, and 80% of the people there told me to vote against re-opening the issue, which is exactly what Ill be doing.
On Afghanistan there was no such near-unanimity, even without benefit of the news that two more Canadian soldiers had been mercilessly cut down. Some argued passionately that Canada has a role to uphold freedom, to fight terror and to help rebuild a shattered country, while others see Harper as a Bush clone and this conflict as a final desecration of our legacy as a peace-keeping nation.
Only on the environment did it seem the room consistently spoke with a single voice. There is a rapacious appetite for government action on climate change, energy conservation and environmental leadership. It could be because in this community most people live in paved-over subdivisions where cars are necessities, commuting is a fact of life and personal choices seem limited. To them, it is government that must lead and take the bold actions necessary to secure a common future.
Some might think thats a cop-out (and I did give everyone a copy of my Citizens Guide to the Environment with 487 things they can all do at home), but it is also a growing political reality in this country. A green plan with gonads is now at the very top of the publics wish list and rightly so. It has been a long, long time since Canadians were this attuned to their natural surroundings, and politicians have a rare moment of public encouragement within to act.
While many coming to this blog disagree, my position on Tuesday when the Harper Administration releases its plan will be that climate change is the greatest all-round threat this country faces, and that my nations government should not let us down with half-measures, a curtsy to junk science or a sell-out to the tar sands.
Apparently thats what my constituents want, too. So, there you go.
It will be an interesting day, tomorrow.
posted by Garth Turner on 10.16.06 @ 5:53 am
Here in the abandoned riding of Vancouver—Kingsway we can and should be forgiven for looking longingly at MPs like Garth Turner. Its been 9 months since David Emerson violated the trust of his constituents, and Emerson still hasn’t held a single town-hall or otherwise public and open meeting for constituents. Not one.