Past connections

If the Liberal and Conservative parties are concerned about members of Parliament with past separatist connections then they should look within their own caucus, says an area MP.

NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel revealed last week that she was formerly a member of the separatist Bloc Quebecois for about four years and supported Quebec Solidaire in 2008. Turmel, who temporarily took over for Jack Layton as he battles a new diagnosis of cancer, said she joined the Bloc after a friend asked her to and because of the party's stance on various issues but was never a separatist.

Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and interim Liberal leader Bob Rae criticized Turmel for her past connections and called into question her commitment to federalism.

MP Bruce Hyer (NDP, Thunder Bay – Superior North) called the criticism over Turmel’s separatist past a “cheap shot” and said every party has members who were at one time or another part of the Bloc Quebecois or had ties to a separatist party.

For example, conservative Maxime Bernier was once a political aid to former Parti Quebecois premier Bernard Landry.

“We all wear our history,” Hyer said in a phone interview with tbnewswatch.com on Sunday.

“Every single party has former bloc members including the conservatives. I think some media and parties have overreacted. I’m not finding a lot of my constituents concerned about this. I think the media, Canadians and others should be proud of the fact that Quebec in general has decided to support federalism and the NDP.”

Rae said that if she were truly a federalist she wouldn't have joined the Bloc Quebecois in the first place.

"What kind of federalism is it that leads someone to join two other parties, both of which are committed to the independence of Quebec, the sovereignty of Quebec and in the case of Quebec Solidaire a socialist Quebec," Rae told reporters on Friday.

Turmel said she never supported separatism, even when she was a member of the Bloc.

She publicly reaffirmed her commitment to federalism last week when she promised she wouldn’t renew her membership to the Quebec Solidaire when it expired.