[Texgreen] Canadian Greens *may* be on the verge of getting their first MP

[David Pollard]

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Turner Says He'll Talk to Green Party
  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061019.wgturner1019/BNStory/National/home
   
  (my suspicion is that his foreign policy would rule out a good fit with the Greens - but even Canadian Conservative foriegn policy is to the left of either major party here)
   
  Ottawa — Rogue MP Garth Turner says he'll be talking to the leader of the Green Party after his suspension from the Conservative government caucus Wednesday.
  But Mr. Turner, whose outspoken views on Tory environmental policy and other issues brought the wrath of the party's Ontario MPs, says he has made no decisions on his course of action following what he called a surprising decision by his colleagues.
  “I didn't have any particular fallback position,” Mr. Turner told CBC Newsworld on Thursday.
  “I've certainly heard from one major political party that asked me to come and join them.”
  The general caucus endorsed the unanimous vote to suspend Turner based on what some have called indiscretions on his weblog, including breaches of caucus secrecy and criticism of his government and the prime minister.
  Mr. Turner, a former director of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, said the Green Party's new leader, veteran environmentalist Elizabeth May, phoned him not long after his banishment was announced by the party's caucus chairman.
  Asked if he would consider a move to the Greens, which have never elected an MP, Mr. Turner said: “I don't know yet.”
  “It's really a matter of what can be most effective for my constituents and what can allow me to be an effective MP.”
  He said he will return Ms. May's call and will discuss policy issues with her because he “respects” her interest, but he has not ruled out other options, including a move to the Liberals.
  Mr. Turner said he has to form new alliances and consider everything. He was back in his Halton, Ont., riding Thursday consulting with his constituents about what he should be doing.
  “I work for them, which is part of the reason I got into this pickle in the first place,” he said. “I don't feel my boss is the prime minister; I feel my boss is the voters and that's why I'm back in my riding consulting with my boss right now.”
  He said he will run again if his constituents want him to.
  “I do not understand what the prime minister or the Conservative party had to gain out of yesterday's action,” he said. “I thought about it hard and I just don't get it.
  “I don't really see how they win anything or how the party is safer or more solidified, or how the prime minister is more popular as a result. I'm sure the opposition will continue to have merry hell with it.”
  A former journalist and author, Mr. Turner has maintained a blog since he was elected to Parliament in January. His wrist was slapped by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last February after he criticized Mr. Harper's decision to elevate a floor-crossing Liberal and an unelected party organizer to cabinet.
  He has been particularly outspoken on the party's environmental policies, which were to be spelled out in a new Clean Air Act on Thursday, and budget measures he said last week have “complicated” the tax system. A meeting with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, he wrote last February, “depressed” him.
  “Climate change is the greatest all-round threat this country faces,” he wrote Oct. 16, “and ... my nation's government should not let us down with half-measures, a curtsy to junk science or a sell-out to the tar sands.”
  Mr. Turner's departure leaves the standings in the Commons at 124 Conservatives, 101 Liberals, 50 Bloc Quebecois, 29 NDP, 2 independents. There are two vacant seats.

 		
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<div>Turner Says He'll Talk to Green Party</div>  <div><A href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061019.wgturner1019/BNStory/National/home">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061019.wgturner1019/BNStory/National/home</A></div>  <div>&nbsp;</div>  <div>(my suspicion is that his foreign policy would rule out a good fit with the Greens - but even Canadian Conservative foriegn policy&nbsp;is to the left of either major party here)</div>  <div>&nbsp;</div>  <div>Ottawa<!-- /dateline --> — Rogue MP Garth Turner says he'll be talking to the leader of the Green Party after his suspension from the Conservative government caucus Wednesday.</div>  <div>But Mr. Turner, whose outspoken views on Tory environmental policy and other issues brought the wrath of the party's Ontario MPs, says he has made no decisions on his course of action following what he called a surprising decision by his colleagues.</div>  <div>“I didn't have any particular fallback
 position,” Mr. Turner told CBC Newsworld on Thursday.</div>  <div>“I've certainly heard from one major political party that asked me to come and join them.”</div>  <div>The general caucus endorsed the unanimous vote to suspend Turner based on what some have called indiscretions on his weblog, including breaches of caucus secrecy and criticism of his government and the prime minister.</div>  <div>Mr. Turner, a former director of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, said the Green Party's new leader, veteran environmentalist Elizabeth May, phoned him not long after his banishment was announced by the party's caucus chairman.</div>  <div>Asked if he would consider a move to the Greens, which have never elected an MP, Mr. Turner said: “I don't know yet.”</div>  <div>“It's really a matter of what can be most effective for my constituents and what can allow me to be an effective MP.”</div>  <div>He said he will return Ms. May's call and will discuss policy issues with her because he
 “respects” her interest, but he has not ruled out other options, including a move to the Liberals.</div>  <div>Mr. Turner said he has to form new alliances and consider everything. He was back in his Halton, Ont., riding Thursday consulting with his constituents about what he should be doing.</div>  <div>“I work for them, which is part of the reason I got into this pickle in the first place,” he said. “I don't feel my boss is the prime minister; I feel my boss is the voters and that's why I'm back in my riding consulting with my boss right now.”</div>  <div>He said he will run again if his constituents want him to.</div>  <div>“I do not understand what the prime minister or the Conservative party had to gain out of yesterday's action,” he said. “I thought about it hard and I just don't get it.</div>  <div>“I don't really see how they win anything or how the party is safer or more solidified, or how the prime minister is more popular as a result. I'm sure the opposition
 will continue to have merry hell with it.”</div>  <div>A former journalist and author, Mr. Turner has maintained a blog since he was elected to Parliament in January. His wrist was slapped by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last February after he criticized Mr. Harper's decision to elevate a floor-crossing Liberal and an unelected party organizer to cabinet.</div>  <div>He has been particularly outspoken on the party's environmental policies, which were to be spelled out in a new Clean Air Act on Thursday, and budget measures he said last week have “complicated” the tax system. A meeting with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, he wrote last February, “depressed” him.</div>  <div>“Climate change is the greatest all-round threat this country faces,” he wrote Oct. 16, “and ... my nation's government should not let us down with half-measures, a curtsy to junk science or a sell-out to the tar sands.”</div>  <div>Mr. Turner's departure leaves the standings in the Commons at 124
 Conservatives, 101 Liberals, 50 Bloc Quebecois, 29 NDP, 2 independents. There are two vacant seats.</div><p>&#32;
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