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I The Canadian Champion, Friday, February 9, 2007 - A3 IOpponents say Turner going against his own word fromn TURNER on page Ai sîood hesîde Mr.F [le adCicci ol vxasl t a clcci',îou Ilc made lighulx "The lasî four monîfis (since being ousted [rom the Conservatives) bave been intense for us... 1 îried bard te fig- ure out îbe besî way 10 be an MP moving forward." Tbe move will allow faim tu be more effective in Parliaînenî and give Halîon more prominence, bie said. Turnsîer sa plcmet ih Liberalpadr t for someon lik as .Ter sa ble e thei Liberal leade fr sobae on li m? eoemaking bais decision. Coigont of îbe meeting, Turner said bie feit confident teewsrooma for bis pfiulosopfical - as a fiscal conserva- tive and social moderate - ideals and outspoken style. He ddd, hukfigli felsconidntDion knows wbaî kind of an MP bi geîîing. " "My way of being a member of Parliament is preîîy trans- parent." Turner said bis meeting wiîb Dion was "refresbing." "Dions not an 'emperor-in-waiîing' thie way Mr. Harper is. * He's almosî an un-politician." Del Mclntee, newly-elecîed president of tbe Halton Liberal riding association, said Turners switcb to îbe Liberals is welcomed and bis support of îbe environment will fielp tbe party He said be understands Turner does a lot of door knock- ing 10 talk îo, constituents 10, gel Ibeir feedback. "1 feel very good about it," fie said. "He's almost wbat 1 caîl one of tbe super MPs out Ibere. Some of Ibese people are almosî bigger Iban cabinet minis- ters are in some cases." Wben asked about thie possibiliîy of Turner critici.zing tbe Liberals, Mclnîee said be'd bave te, answer to tbe party "1 trust be is going t0 be îoeîng tbe party fine and îbaî be will assimilate into Liberal values," fie said. Turner criticized for switcb But Turner is now facing some criticismn of bis own, somte of il stinging, from former party members. Burlington Conservative MP Mike Wallace said il would appear Turner is making tbe switcb for politîcal reasons. "He was making Ibis dlaim fie could do a better job rep- resenîing bis constituenis as an independenî because be can say anyîbing be wanîed," fie said. 'Well, isn't fie going against bis own word?" Wallace also noîed îbat Turner favoureil byelections for those wbo crossed tfie floor. In a column fie wrote for tbe Champions sîster newspa- per the Burlington Post last monîfi, Turner stated: "Don't know about you, but seems 10 me there" far 100 mucb loyal- îy for sale in poliîics îbese days. A few days ago, Wa]îd Khian - elecîed as a Liberal in Mississauga jusî lasI January - AUTO BODY" whV lic' Si'uddenly become a Conservative. In facî, be'd been elecîed twice as a-Gril, but now tbe people in thie riding bave a Toiy in Parliament." Turner refuted thie criticism aI thie press conference, poinîing ouI fie didn'î sîmply swiîcb sides but was W, i- Turner speaks ta reporters in yesterday ousteci bv the Tories and then sat as an independent. would cail a byciccuion, but that the Prime Mimictr would- ni commit lu doing that before the nexî elecîton. Resigning without that commitment would leave Halton residents with nobody looking alter their interests, Turner said. "Our niding could be eighî months witboul anyone repre- senling îbem," hie said, adding, "I didn't gel elected to aban- don Ibis riding." He said fies expecting an elecîton in May, and tbat Halîon residents will bave a chiance tben 10 express îbeir opinions Milton about having bim as tbeir Liberal MP - withfilesfrom Stephanie Thiessen