Liberal MP Jean Lapierre Resigns, Boosting Conservatives’ Power In Commons
Posted January 11, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Liberal MP Jean Lapierre, who defected to the Bloc Quebecois in the 1990s before being wooed back to the party in 2004 by former prime minister Paul Martin, has resigned from caucus.
The 50-year-old politician is leaving to enter the media – he’ll co-host a weekly talk show on politics with reporter Paul Larocque on the Montreal-based TVA television network.
“It’s over,” Lapierre said. “I had promised Paul Martin to come back and work with him but now I’m done.”
His departure signifies the second boost for Prime Minister’s Stephen Harper’s minority government in a week.
The P.M.’s take on the latest shift?
“I’ve known Mr. Lapierre a long time,” Harper responds. “I watch . . . exits from the Liberal party with interest.”
And he’s had a lot on view recently.
Last week former Grit Wajid Khan crossed the floor to the Conservatives after Liberal Leader Stephane Dion publicly mused that Khan, who’d been advising Harper on the Middle East, should pick a party.
The Liberal Opposition now slides to 100 members and gives the Conservatives a two-seat edge in Commons votes if Harper can convince the NDP to help pass legislation.
Lapierre left the Liberals for the separatist Bloc in the 1990s before rejoining the party in 2004.
“Paul Martin became prime minister and then got hit by a big truck called Gomery,” he said, referring to the sponsorship scandal and the subsequent inquiry by Justice John Gomery in 2005. “After that, it was very difficult.
“People didn’t trust any more politicians in general and Liberals in particular. In those murky waters, it was difficult for anyone to swim and stay afloat.”
His leaving affects the Montreal riding of Outremont, where it’s rumoured Justin Trudeau may eventually run.
The House of Commons seat tally now stands at:
Conservatives: 125
Liberals: 100
Bloc Quebecois: 51
NDP: 29
Independents: 2
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