Joe Comuzzi, (left) the Liberal MP from Thunder Bay, has been kicked out of the Liberal caucus after declaring he’ll vote in support of the federal budget.
Comuzzi represents a riding that includes a significant cancer research centre and he says that he believes the Conservative commitment in the budget to fund cancer research will directly benefit his riding.
Comuzzi repeated that declaration in a meeting with Liberal leader Stephane Dion and so Dion has kicked him out of the caucus.
The odd thing here, as my colleague Robert Fife is reporting, is that Liberal caucus chair Raymond Bonin did not even know about Comuzzi’s dismissal until a reporter told him and had, in fact, counselled Dion not to kick Comuzzi out. Comuzzi is a relatively popular MP who served in Paul Martin’s cabinet but resigned because he said he could not comply with Martin’s orders that all cabinet minister had to vote in favour of the same-sex marriage legislation.
Even more oddly, Comuzzi has only said he will vote in favour of the Conservative budget. No votes have even been held yet. So Comuzzi has been punished without actually committing any crime.
UPDATE: Here is Dion’s statement on the matter:
Date: March 21, 2007
For Release: Immediate
Statement by the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Opposition
The Hon. Joseph Comuzzi, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay – Superior North, has been expelled from the Liberal Caucus.
This is not a decision that I, or anyone in the Liberal caucus, takes lightly.
I encourage the discussion of opinions on matters of policy. However, it is not possible to support this bad Conservative budget and to be a member of the Liberal caucus. Mr. Comuzzi has made it very clear that he will vote in favour of the budget. A vote on a budget or a Throne Speech is always a vote of confidence. The unavoidable consequence of voting against the caucus on these votes is to no longer be part of the caucus.