Bryden leaves Liberals

By DARREN YOURK
Globe and Mail Update

Veteran Liberal backbencher John Bryden quit the Liberal Party abruptly
Tuesday after serving more than a decade in Parliament, saying the party is
in decline under the leadership of Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Mr. Bryden, who will consider joining the Conservatives but sit for now as
an Independent, described the move as difficult but necessary at an Ottawa
press conference. "In the past few years, the Liberals have changed
dramatically from a party that I think was one of the great political
institutions in the world," Mr. Bryden said. "It has become an
organization that people like myself can't trust to be fair. I'm sorry to
say that I'm not sure it can still lead the country in good
governance."

Mr. Bryden said he was discouraged with the way the Liberal Party
completely stalled in the past year, failing to push legislation through
the House and hurting itself with constant infighting. "What's really
changed now is the sponsorship file, which is causing all the
controversy," Mr. Bryden said. "It has brought to the surface
doubts about the Liberal Party in the public at large. It has brought about
doubts" within him as well, he added.

Mr. Bryden took some parting shots at Mr. Martin on the sponsorship
scandal, saying the Prime Minister has handled the affair `very badly.'
"He has ducked and try to let the bricks fly over him and hit Mr.
Chr‚tien," Mr. Bryden said. 
"What everyone seems to have failed to notice is that Mr. Chr‚tien
addressed the really evil side of the sponsorship program - that is the
suggestion that the sponsorship program may be streaming money into the
political coffers - with Bill C-24." Bill C-24 bans corporations from
contributing to political parties and limits their donations to riding
associations or individual politicians to $1,000.

"Let's face it, there were rumours going around that there were
problems in the Liberal Party and that was sealed off by Bill C-24,"
Mr. Bryden said. "I don't know that Mr. Martin has made reference to
C-24 in any of his comments on the sponsorship program."

Mr. Bryden said he broke the news to a "very disappointed" Mr.
Martin Tuesday morning. "I believe this in the public interest,"
Mr. Bryden said. "If it does nothing else it will shake up the Liberal
Party and tell the Liberal Party it has got to get back to its grassroots.
It has got to become a party that thinks of the public interest instead of
this infighting that is going on."

Mr. Bryden, who supported John Manley in the Liberal leadership race,
accused the Hamilton "Liberal establishment" in January of
shopping for a new candidate in his riding because he was not a
"Martin spear-carrier." He also spoke out a number of times in
support of Sheila Copps in her riding battle with Transport Minister Tony
Valeri.

"There is no doubt that individuals like myself have been singled out
for nomination contests," Mr. Bryden said Tuesday. "If you
examine the pattern, you'll see that most of the Liberal backbench MPs who
spoke with clarity and were active in the House and were very independent
are being challenged."
"...the local Liberal establishment certainly wanted me out, and
probably at any cost."

The MP for the southern Ontario riding
Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot released a one-line statement Tuesday
morning that read "Liberal MP Bryden quits party. Looks to the
Conservatives." William Stairs, a spokesman for the Conservative
Party, told globeandmail.com that Mr. Bryden has not contacted the party
about joining, but said he is more than welcome to do so.
"He's a big fan of opening up access to information and has been a big
critic of his government," Mr. Stairs said. "All I can assume is
that what he is seeing and what he is hearing in his party, he doesn't
like. I think the Liberals' chickens are starting to come home to
roost."

Mr. Bryden is an associate member of the Commons public-accounts committee,
which is reviewing the Auditor-General's report on the sponsorship scandal.
John Williams, the Conservative MP who presides over the committee, told
CBC Newsworld that he believes the scandal was key to Mr. Bryden's decision
to leave. "I knew that John was quite uncomfortable with the Liberal
Party," Mr. Williams said. "He's obviously decided that enough is
enough and it is time to pack his bags and get going. I think John may be
the first of many."

Tuesday's loss for the Liberals marks a first for the party after a long
line of MPs, including John Herron and Scott Brison, declined to join the
new Conservative Party of Canada.

Mr. Bryden was first elected to House of Commons in October, 1993, and
re-elected in 1997 and 2000. He has served on the standing committees for
Citizenship and Immigration, Government Operations, Industry, Indians
Affairs and Public Accounts. Before entering politics, Mr. Bryden worked in
the newspaper industry. He was a reporter, police reporter, art critic,
features writer, Burlington bureau chief, city editor at The Hamilton
Spectator from 1969-1977. He also worked at both The Globe and Mail and the
Toronto Star.


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