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- 5 MOPINION -n EDITORIAL ONE NEW TORY MP DOESN'T MAKE A GOVERNMENT : ad If you're waiting for the trickle of one Liberal MP abandoning her party to turn into a raging flood of de- fectors, don't hold your breath. It won't happen. Leona Alleslev's decision to cross ovér to the Conser- vatives the day Parliament resumed last week was per- _ fectly timed to stir up the most political drama, grab the most attention and cause maximum embarrassment to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And judging by the ecstatic welcome she received from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, you'd think : Moses had just led the Children of Israel out of the wil- derness and to the edge of the Promised Land. Except this prophet was completely on her own. She's the perfect poster girl for what Scheer calls Canadians' "misplaced trust" in the Liberals. Just as Alleslev woke up to the unpleasant reality of her one- time party, so, too, will other Liberal supporters - or so Scheer hopes. Because the Liberals still lead in the polls. Playing up Alleslev's defection may appeal to the Tories even more because they've just lost a high-profile MP of their own - Maxime Bernier. He stormed out of . their ranks to start a whole new conservative political movement that could make life tricky for Scheer in the next election. But for anyone wondering if Ottawa's tectonic plates just lurched to the right, there's less here than meets the eye. Alleslev may not have been following an unerring political compass as much as sniffing which way the wind's blowing in her own Toronto-area riding of Auro- ra-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill The provincial version of that riding voted solidly Progressive Conservative in June's Ontario election and is now a happy part of Ford Nation. Alleslev knows she won her riding by afairly narrow margin in the 2015 federal election. If she values the life of an MP, her chances of keeping it might be better if she's a Conservative, too. . Other questions about her motives will arise, given her accolades for Trudeau and the Liberalsjust weeks = : before she turned around and trashed them. ® How strange, then, that just a few weeks later she met with Scheer to discuss the terms of her aefection. And "how odd that she left the Liberals denouncing their ._ failures in foreign, defence and fiscal policies - none of which had changed much since she waved the Liberal banner in the 2015 election. Perhaps Alleslev's choice of anew political dancing partner merely shows the difference between being Liberal and Conservative is less than voters generally think and that pragmatism trumps party®ines. What's certain is that Scheer's biggest challenge to- day isn't persuading more Liberals to cross the floor but keeping any restive Conservative MPs and voters from cosying up to Maxime Bernier and his new party. Milton Canadian Champion | Thursday, September 2 insidehalton.com T0 LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM CHAMPION TRACKS Chautems family pHoto Abby and Robert Chautems visit the Cape Bonavista lighthouse in Newfoundland with a copy of their favourite community newspaper. Going away? Pack a copy of the Champion in your suitcase, snap a creative photo and email your Champion Tracks submission to cohara@metroland.com. Please include everyone's name and destination information. DOWNSIZING? HAVE A PLAN B BE REALISTIC ABOUT IT ALL FITTING INTO YOUR NEW SPACE, WRITES ILOTT STEPHEN ILOTT Column You are committed. It's time. The old homestead is just too big and filled with costly time stealing mainte- nance. And all those stairs make your knees creak. It's time to downsize to a condo or maybe shift to an all-out' retirement residential. With the help of a good home organizer.to fill in the gaps friends and family don't have time for, includ- ing donations, you and your realtor can get things to tickety-boo P.D.Q. Fast forward to moving day, everything you can't live without is ready to gé. That includes the furniture you've pegged as essential. With floor plans in hand you stand back and relin- quish to the clockwork der- vish of movers. Here is where too many home- owners run into an elev- enth-hour problem; they haven't got a plan "B" to cover a very big "what if." What is the biggest "what if" that happens most oftén? I put the question to a smart. mover I know named Velin Kose of All-Rite movers in Oakville. His answer, "they don't have a plan 'B' in case something doesn't fit." That seems like an obvious thing to consider, but too many people only measure space and not access or how big things really look in a space once they get it there. Imagine, you are at the new digs watching the mov- ers wrestle some oversized antique thing into an eleva- tor and then attempt to an- gle it through a tight door- way and into an even-tighter ill-considered corridor. Of- ten the sheer numbers of pieces that looked good on a paper floor plans cram walking space so tight that you bark your knees every time you turn around. King- sized beds overwhelm the 10-foot-by-10-foot master bedroom and the nine-by-11- foot rug overlaps the living room making it look like a swirling Japanese wave painting. Think ahead. Have a plan B that has a backup storage area or arrange- ment with the mover to store items short term just in case something has to go back on the truck. You won't regret it. « Let's bring a little thera-~ py to your home. Stephen lott is a profes- stonal home organizer with decluttering.ca and author of The Domestic Archaeologist. For more information, visit wwuw.de- cluttering.ca or contact him at infow@declutter- ing.ca or 416-460-8098. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM ILTON | Champion. ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. ------------------------------_---- This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their.concems to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National News Media Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.metliacouncil.ca . ¥ nnc Jocna NewsMedia Council editor@miltoncanadianchampion.com MiltonCanadianChampion @Milton_Champion WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher + Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Regional Manager Digital Content i Karen Miceli Director Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills a , Regional Production Manage Manny Garcia Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss : CONTACT US Milton Canadian Champion 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 289-293-0615 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Digital/ Flyer/Retail: 289-293-0624 ° Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. 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