Garth Turner booted from Conservative caucus

Garth Turner, the maverick MP from Ontario, has been given the boot from the Conservative caucus. He says that he will be sitting as an independent.

The Conservatives claim that Turner's booting came as a result of concerns that his blog was breaching caucus confidentiality. But what seems more likely is that he was booted for criticizing the leadership of his party, for example over the defection of David Emerson.

I will be very interested to see what Turner does over the next while. He has generally been seen as a red-Tory on social issues while being a fiscal conservative. In this regard he would seem to be a good fit for the Green Party. It would have profound political ramifications if Turner were to decide to sit as a member of the Greens. Such an action by Turner would provide much more impetus to the demands of the Green Party to be included in the televised leaders' debate.

Should be an interesting next few months.

Cheers

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