MP forced to abandon NDP party

For Immediate Release                                                               October 19, 2005

OTTAWA – Conservative MP James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake, CPC), one of  Saskatoon-Wanuskewin MP Maurice Vellacott’s colleagues, made the following statement yesterday in the House of Commons regarding MP Bev Desjarlais’ decision to leave the NDP caucus and sit as an Independent Member of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to parliamentary democracy, the New Democratic Party is acting more like an old autocratic party.

When the member for Churchill stood up for her conscience and her constituents by voting to preserve the traditional definition of marriage, the NDP leader stripped her of her critic responsibilities. Then he encouraged his hand-picked candidate to defeat the hard-working MP in a nomination battle, forcing her to sit as an independent member.

The MP for Churchill is a former hospital employee, union representative and a school board trustee. She is hard working and well liked by her constituents and parliamentary colleagues. In short, she represents the populist spirit of Tommy Douglas. But that spirit has no place in today's NDP which puts slavish devotion to political correctness far ahead of mainstream Canadian values.

If people want an MP who stands up for her constituents and does what she believes is right, not just somebody who toes the party line, they have no home in today's NDP.

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