Alliance MP suspended for questioning Day's leadership
Last Updated: Monday, May 7, 2001 | 3:21 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Video
- CBC Newsworld's Ben Chin speaks to CBC TV's Debra Brown about Lunn's comments
- Ben Chin speaks to Bruce Hallsor of Lunn's constituency association in Victoria, B.C.
play: RealMedia »
play: RealMedia »
Speaking to reporters following question period, Gary Lunn said he was fully aware there would be consequences. "I'm not doing this blind," he said, "I am speaking out in the best interests of the party."
"I feel Mr. Day should resign immediately."
The news comes just one day after Lunn told CBC News he was thinking about bolting from the caucus anyway.
Alliance MP Gary Lunn
Lunn, who represents the B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, said he decided to break his silence because he wants someone else to take over the party before it's too late.
"My constituents ... ask, 'Can (Day) recover from any of this? Does he have the ability to lead?'," Lunn said. "And I am hearing that very clearly (the answer is) 'no'."
Lunn was one of the first Alliance members to publicly question Day's leadership last month. On Wednesday, he stormed out of the party's weekly caucus meeting, as Day and his supporters were outlining a plan to unite the party.
Alliance deputy leader Grant Hill
Although an edict was issued, warning Alliance MPs that they will be punished if they criticize the leader, Lunn has decided to ignore the order.
Alliance MP Art Hanger was suspended recently for speaking out against Day.
- FROM MAY 3, 2001: Hanger defiant in spite of suspension
"I'm sure (quitting the caucus is) crossing the minds of many, many of my colleagues," Lunn said.
Attending Clark dinner
Lunn intends to go to a Conservative party fundraising dinner in Ottawa Monday night, to listen to Tory Leader Joe Clark talk about co-operation with the Alliance.
He had planned to attend the event even before complaints about Day's leadership surfaced. At least two other Alliance MPs are scheduled to be in the audience as well.
The Alliance's new deputy leader, Grant Hill, doesn't think Lunn and the other MPs are trying to embarrass Day by going to the dinner.
- INDEPTH: The rocky ride of Stockwell Day
"They're big fans of the Alliance, and the proposals the Alliance has had on the table – which is to look for a principled co-operation (with the Tories) – and if it signals that I think it's very positive," Hill said.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Serial carjacker gets life term for fatal crash
- An Ontario judge was moved to tears while delivering a life prison sentence to a serial carjacker who killed a woman and injured five others after driving a stolen van into her car during a 2010 police chase. more »
Latest Canada News Headlines
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges

- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- Forest fires still burning near Timmins, Ont.
- A new forest fire is burning north of Highway 101 near Timmins, Ont., creating a new challenge for firefighters who have been working to contain another fire in the area. more »
- RCMP to close labs in Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina
- The RCMP is closing forensic laboratories in Halifax, Winnipeg and Regina and consolidating them with three others in a move the force says will lead to faster, more efficient service. more »
- Small plane crashes on lake near Cochrane, Ont.
- The Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team to investigate after an Air Cochrane plane crashed on Lillabelle Lake just north of Cochrane, Ont. Friday afternoon. more »
The National
The Current
- What does it take to get fired at the RCMP? May. 25, 2012 5:02 PM After a senior Mountie was demoted for disgraceful conduct including sex with subordinates, exposing himself and drinking on the job, some former employees wonder what you have to do to get fired.
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- Brave cat makes epic leap of faith
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show



