The rumours are swirling that the right-wing Member of Parliament Garth Turner, who has been kicked out of the Conservative caucus, is being courted by the Green Party.
There is an honourable and appropriate course of action for Turner and the Greens. He should resign his seat, then stand in a by-election as a Green candidate. Let the voters decide. That’s the democratic way.
Instead of that, the Green Party are so anxious to get a toe-hold in Parliament and they know that they can’t get it through the traditional means – ie. have a candidate win in a riding – that they are prepared to embrace the cantankerous and far-right Turner.
This speaks volumes about the Greens. They claim to be a party of the “centre” (who doesn’t, these days), but they are lusting after the extreme fringes of Parliament.
It also speaks volumes about Turner.
- Michael
Chris Tindal said
Hi Michael,
You’re made several errors here I’d like to point out.
1. The Greens are not so anxious to get a seat that we’ll take anyone. Garth Turner understands that the climate crisis is the biggest threat facing Canada and the planet, and advancing that cause is more important than party politics.
2. The Green Party is not incapable of wining a seat in parliament through what you call “traditional means” (ie, our out-dated first past the post electoral system that you and your party oppose). Elizabeth May proved that in London North Centre yesterday by coming within striking distance of carrying a Liberal strong hold. (The NDP candidate, who at the start of the campaign said “the Greens won’t be a factor,” came a distant fourth.)
3. We’ve never claimed to be a party of the centre — quite the opposite. Our party, like many Canadians, has moved beyond the out-dated left-right spectrum. Our difference is not left or right, so much as temporal. We are concerned with the long-term effects of our decisions, and their triple bottom line (fiscal, environmental, social) implications.
Finally, calling Turner far-right is an opinion so I can’t list it as a factual error, though I think it’s an opinion that deserves some backing up. He’s clearly more willing to work across party lines than others.
In the last election, after the St. Lawrence debate, you told a voter that you wished you and I were on the same team. Attacking the Greens is a funny way of showing it.