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xgar 3x- s gk tea bymikeadler staff writer markham mp jim jones is officially off the conservative fence r the controversial mp thrown out of the progressive conservative caucus by leader joe- clark will join the canadian alliance in a press release and twopage letter to supporters obtained yesterday by j the economist suntribune jones says he is determined to finally end rightwing votes splitting and return conservative government to canada the press release dated sept 6 2000 says jones is announcing his intention to join her majestys loyal opposition the release states that after careful deliber- atiohand following extended consultation with- his the markham mp believes his efforts toerid votesplitting would likely prove most effective fromthe canadian alliance side of the rightwing fence v today i join the ca caucus with great hope and enthusiasm i am joinings groupof women and men who have shown themselves to be hardworking public servants they share my commitment to a renewed healthcare sys- temlower taxes- improving cariadas itiyeness debt repayments safer streets and respect for canadas diversity the press release quotes jones as saying jimjdnkismarkitamcmp announces his intention to join trfey canadian alliance 4 itoday i join the ca caucus with l great hope and enthusiasm and along withrhe iibringtlie hopes of ontarians who hayegrpwh disenchanted witli our political structure that allows the current government to stagger into office with the sup port of less than four of every 10 canadians the people of ontario are tired of seejng their votesgotq wasteas a result of votesplitting ontariaw are calling for sweepingchanges in ottawa and i am convinced that stockwell day and the canadian alliance represent the best vehicle for us to pursue those changes andas ontarios parliamentary voice in the canadian auianceiu will ensure that- the concerns bf hardworking ontarians are satisfied in our policy and platform the release quotes jones assaying z the release indicates jones decided on the canadian alliance because he has always believed the alliance and the pc party have to work together to mount an effective campaign against the existing government j vt in the pc caucus my proposal for nation al aha local cdropefationwitii the ca were rejected immediately without discussion it has become clear to me that the pc party has little interest in finding ways to end vote split ting but this is the very mission of the canadian alliance this is the reason why it was conceived and i believe stockwell unite all canadians who seek an altemativeto the current government he appeals more to albcanadians everyday the releasequotes jones m the canadian alliances newest addition concluded we must build bridges not walls if we wanttosform the government thishas always been my approach and is consistent withstockwell days approach from the very start v ij theletter to constituents which was being jmatted out wednesday evening from jones markham office jones thanks markham residents for their support arid understanding j and askvfiof their continued support resistancefrom tiie pc party will not change the fact that jt will not be possible for us to form the government unless all coriserv- atives agree tothrow down their arms to meet each other halfway and to discuss ways to end the insidious votesplitting that has plagued ontario for over seven years ivas long as the pc party and the canadian t alliance remain distinct entities there is a gveatriskthat the two parties will never bring about the common changes and improve- merits to canada in the processthe millions of canadians who have longed for a responsi- ble conservative government will be cheated put of this great opportunity these miljions of conservativecanadians will be leff without government representation in ottawa and instead with yet another term of divided frac- turedand weakened opposition government surely neither the pc party nor the canadian alliance wishes this upon canadian conserya- tives jones writes v jones at a canadian alliance caucus meet- ing in saskatchewan could not be reached for comment by press time r while controversy rages oyer the toronto police associations endorsement of candidates in the november municipal elections the york region police union has- been quietly doing the same thing since 1997 lfi l york regions police union endorsed 49 candidates in the last municipal election and president dave kingstorisays the asso ciation will repeat the practice during this fallls campaign i dont see anything wrong with it at all saidkirigston adding theuhipn willgive ithe nodto candidates who support polic- ing issues and public safety issues jssdjut in toronto criticism over political endorsements became so heated the toronto police services- board asked solicitor general dave tsubouchf to wade in- lastweek tsubouchi markhams mpr said the unions decision to back candidates islikely legal r they can engage in any political activi- ties other tlian something that would put them in a position of conflict which endorsing candidates does not tsubouchi said ybut a ministry spokesperson later said the issue will probably have to be decided by the courts vvhen newmarkets joe wamback announced two months ago he was fun- ning for the tories in york north an execu tive from the toronto union was standing by his side wambacks campaign to change the young offenders act appeals to the associa tion that represents torontos 7000 rank- andfile officers andrewclark said follow- ing the news conference t i this is an issue that affects our mem- befs on a personal and professionarievel its frustrating to deal with the young offenders act he said clark insisted the union hasa duty to press its lawandordef agenda in the polit ical arena x the york policelunion is also backing wamback in the upcoming federal election but kingston said that endorsement doesnt rule out supporting more than one candi- date running for the same office r wamback isnt- even aware he has the local unions endorsement while torontos police union hosted press conferences highlighting wambacks petition aimed at convincing the liberals the change the young offenders act hes upset yorks association hasnt endorsed the document i was a little upset york regional police is tlieonly police association within a 1000- mile radius that hasnt signed the petition i dont know if they think its tod political or what i dave tsubouchi solicitor generakandmarkham mpp toronto union endorsement deck sion is likely legal still wamback says he would welcome the union endorsing him in the federal elec- tion and he sees nothing wrong with getting support from trie controversial toronto police union to me iwould consider itan honour and a privilege because part of my plat form and only part is justice wamback also doesnt believe a political r endorsement from a police union would influence voters they can engage in any- political activities other than something aihat would put them in a position of conflict he may be right at least as far as the york association is concerned v aurora mayortim jones was one of the candidates endorsed by yorks union three years ago while he was pleased with the support he doesnt think the endorsement swayed voters j t people are smart enough if its a police union or anybody else endorsing me vot ing is a personal choice saidjones who believes he received the nod from the union because aurora launched a carripaigri n crack down on speeders three yeais ago however jones admitted he would be leery of receiving support from the- more controversial toronto police association i see the toronto police unionand the york region policeunion being quite differ- erit i dont agree with thetororito bullying tactics hesaid i think thats a misuse of time and effort in public service in that regard in york region i havent seen that lobbying in that regard s fv j quality fme home fumk ac 4ijfti fre vftkfojiivvvt 3 v sr-