The Conservative government has confirmed it has a former Bloc Quebecois member among its rank of ministers, news that comes a week after the NDP revealed its interim leader was previously tied to the separatist party.
Transport Minister Denis Lebel's office confirmed Tuesday that the minister once held a Bloc membership card, but offered few details about his relationship with the party, including why he joined.
Vanessa Schneider, a spokesperson for Lebel, told CTVNews.ca that the minister "was never actively involved" with the Bloc before joining the Conservatives and running for office in 2007.
"I made a choice in 2007 and I'm very proud of that choice," Schneider quoted Lebel as saying.
Schneider could not provide the exact dates that Lebel joined and quit the Bloc. In 2007, Lebel ran for the Conservatives in a byelection in Roberval--Lac-Saint-Jean, where he succeeded former Bloc leader Michel Gauthier.
The news comes after the Tories and Liberals spent the better part of a week criticizing the NDP for selecting Nycole Turmel as interim leader over her ties to both the Bloc and the provincial Quebec Solidaire.
Turmel has confirmed she was a card-carrying member of the Bloc for about four years before turning in her card in January. She said that while she is still a member of Quebec Solidaire, she intends to let her membership lapse. Turmel said she joined the Bloc to support friend and former Bloc MP Carole Lavallee, and joined Quebec Solidaire because of its work on social justice issues.
Last week, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae told reporters that to him, Turmel's explanation for joining the Bloc "doesn't add up." He said a true federalist would never have joined the separatist party.
"What kind of federalism is it that leads someone to join two other parties, both of which are committed to the independence of Quebec, the sovereignty of Quebec and in the case of Quebec Solidaire a socialist Quebec," he said.
"What is she thinking?"
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Turmel's affiliations "disappointing," and questioned the NDP's commitment to Canada. Dimitri Soudas, Harper's spokesperson, said the NDP is "not up to the job of governing Canada."
In response, the NDP issued a statement that, among other things, said Lebel "was an active member of the Bloc Quebecois" and that Tory MP Maxime Bernier had once served as a political aide to former Quebec premier Bernard Landry.
The statement went on to ask, "why politicians who live in glass houses are throwing stones."
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