EvanL
07-30-2005, 08:13 PM
Independent maverick MP Carolyn Parrish not welcome back in caucus, PMO says
Tara Brautigam
Canadian Press
Saturday, July 30, 2005
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Independent MP Carolyn Parrish. (CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Tom Hanson)
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TORONTO (CP) - The federal Liberals slammed the door shut Friday on any notion that Independent MP Carolyn Parrish would be welcomed back into the party that she helped keep in power.
An aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin stifled speculation that he was about to invite the maverick MP from Mississauga, Ont., back into caucus after she was banished for criticizing Martin and stomping on a doll of U.S. President George W. Bush.
"He's not even entertaining the thought of welcoming Carolyn Parrish back to the caucus," said Marc Roy.
Martin did meet with Parrish after she threw her support behind the government in the razor-thin May 19 confidence vote, helping to keep the Liberals at the helm, Roy said. But she has not been asked to return to caucus.
"Did the prime minister talk to her, go see her after the vote? Yes. But the fact remains that the prime minister is not entertaining the idea of welcoming back Carolyn Parrish."
In Timmins, Ont., Martin shot down questions surrounding Parrish's possible return to the Liberal party.
"The fact is, that's not an issue," said Martin, who was in the northern Ontario city discussing the region's economic development.
Parrish refused to be interviewed, but in a statement e-mailed to her assistant confirmed that she had discussions with Martin.
"The lines of communication were open. Chit chat was taking place. It's correct that there were no formal negotiations because there's nothing to negotiate," the statement read.
The categorical rejection of Parrish's re-entry into Liberal politics was a surprising, if not dangerous tactic, said University of Toronto political science professor Stephen Clarkson.
"I would've thought they would let her back into the fold quietly and have a talk with her, and figure out if there's any way that she can take a more reasonable stand in public, or less embarrassing stand on American issues," said Clarkson.
Clarkson, who is releasing a book this fall on the Liberal party's domination of Canadian politics, said the snub has the same tone of confrontation displayed by Martin's advisers during the 2004 election, when the Liberals maintained power but lost their majority government.
"They're not learning from that," he said.
"That kind of belligerent attitude is difficult to afford if you're not in complete control of the situation . . . when they're in a minority, it's a dangerous tactic."
Of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, the Liberals have 132 and the New Democrats have 19, giving the two parties 151 votes. The NDP has agreed to prop up the Liberals in exchange for a handful of concessions.
In opposition, the Conservatives have 98 seats and the Bloc Quebecois have 54, together marshalling 152 votes.
There are three Independents who effectively hold the balance of power: Parrish, who had said she'll continue to support the Liberals, Pat O'Brien who has sided with the Grits in the past, and David Kilgour, who supported the Tory-Bloc coalition during the confidence vote. The seat of Surrey North MP Chuck Cadman, who died earlier this month, is vacant. He stood in support of the Liberals during the confidence vote, keeping the party afloat.
Martin turfed Parrish last December after she criticized him and his team and stomped on a Bush doll as part of a TV skit satirizing her opposition to the U.S. president's ballistic missile defence scheme.
But Parrish garnered respect from her former colleagues when she voted for the government's budget on May 19, helping Martin cling to power by the narrowest of margins.
She showed up for the confidence vote despite suffering severe abdominal pain from what she described as a suspected ovarian cyst.
At the time, Parrish said "lots of colleagues" were urging her to rejoin Liberal ranks.
© The Canadian Press 2005
Tara Brautigam
Canadian Press
Saturday, July 30, 2005
1 | 2 | NEXT >>
Independent MP Carolyn Parrish. (CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Tom Hanson)
ADVERTISEMENT
TORONTO (CP) - The federal Liberals slammed the door shut Friday on any notion that Independent MP Carolyn Parrish would be welcomed back into the party that she helped keep in power.
An aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin stifled speculation that he was about to invite the maverick MP from Mississauga, Ont., back into caucus after she was banished for criticizing Martin and stomping on a doll of U.S. President George W. Bush.
"He's not even entertaining the thought of welcoming Carolyn Parrish back to the caucus," said Marc Roy.
Martin did meet with Parrish after she threw her support behind the government in the razor-thin May 19 confidence vote, helping to keep the Liberals at the helm, Roy said. But she has not been asked to return to caucus.
"Did the prime minister talk to her, go see her after the vote? Yes. But the fact remains that the prime minister is not entertaining the idea of welcoming back Carolyn Parrish."
In Timmins, Ont., Martin shot down questions surrounding Parrish's possible return to the Liberal party.
"The fact is, that's not an issue," said Martin, who was in the northern Ontario city discussing the region's economic development.
Parrish refused to be interviewed, but in a statement e-mailed to her assistant confirmed that she had discussions with Martin.
"The lines of communication were open. Chit chat was taking place. It's correct that there were no formal negotiations because there's nothing to negotiate," the statement read.
The categorical rejection of Parrish's re-entry into Liberal politics was a surprising, if not dangerous tactic, said University of Toronto political science professor Stephen Clarkson.
"I would've thought they would let her back into the fold quietly and have a talk with her, and figure out if there's any way that she can take a more reasonable stand in public, or less embarrassing stand on American issues," said Clarkson.
Clarkson, who is releasing a book this fall on the Liberal party's domination of Canadian politics, said the snub has the same tone of confrontation displayed by Martin's advisers during the 2004 election, when the Liberals maintained power but lost their majority government.
"They're not learning from that," he said.
"That kind of belligerent attitude is difficult to afford if you're not in complete control of the situation . . . when they're in a minority, it's a dangerous tactic."
Of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, the Liberals have 132 and the New Democrats have 19, giving the two parties 151 votes. The NDP has agreed to prop up the Liberals in exchange for a handful of concessions.
In opposition, the Conservatives have 98 seats and the Bloc Quebecois have 54, together marshalling 152 votes.
There are three Independents who effectively hold the balance of power: Parrish, who had said she'll continue to support the Liberals, Pat O'Brien who has sided with the Grits in the past, and David Kilgour, who supported the Tory-Bloc coalition during the confidence vote. The seat of Surrey North MP Chuck Cadman, who died earlier this month, is vacant. He stood in support of the Liberals during the confidence vote, keeping the party afloat.
Martin turfed Parrish last December after she criticized him and his team and stomped on a Bush doll as part of a TV skit satirizing her opposition to the U.S. president's ballistic missile defence scheme.
But Parrish garnered respect from her former colleagues when she voted for the government's budget on May 19, helping Martin cling to power by the narrowest of margins.
She showed up for the confidence vote despite suffering severe abdominal pain from what she described as a suspected ovarian cyst.
At the time, Parrish said "lots of colleagues" were urging her to rejoin Liberal ranks.
© The Canadian Press 2005