MP Lise St-Denis was elected as an NDP member May 2, but will now join the Liberal caucus in Ottawa
Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae welcomed MP Lise St-Denis, elected as an NDP candidate on May 2, to the Liberal caucus in a press conference on Tuesday, the Globe and Mail reports. In a statement Rae said “The rebuilding of the Liberal Party of Canada depends on people like Ms. St-Denis who have the courage of their convictions, and who join our fight against a Conservative government rooted in rigid and dangerous ideology.” Meanwhile, the NDP is calling for St-Denis to resign her seat: “If the Liberals think that this is what the voters of her riding want, we challenge them to run Ms. St-Denis in a by-election,” said the chair of the NDP’s Quebec caucus, MP Guy Caron. Ms. St-Denis said she hoped her constituents, who voted her in as part of the NDP’s “orange wave” in the last election, would understand her decision. “They voted for Jack Layton. Jack Layton is dead,” Ms. St-Denis said.
<a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mp-defects-to-liberals-ndp-decries-lack-of-respect-for-democracy/article2297353/”>Globe and Mail</a>