EDMONTON - Edmonton MP David Kilgour is taking another kick at the Liberal government on his way out, saying he was ashamed to have ever been part of the Martin team.

 

Kilgour, who left the Liberal party in April to sit as an independent, predicted Tuesday that Conservative candidate Mike Lake will handily win his former seat in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont.

 

He had indicated he would leave politics quietly after announcing he would not seek re-election, but said he has been so offended by the Liberal campaign that he can't keep quiet any longer.

 

Prime Minister Paul Martin describing the election in Quebec as a referendum on sovereignty was "highly irresponsible," he said.

 

"It is politics at its absolute worst."

 

He said he was also angered by the "beer and popcorn" comments of Martin aide Scott Reid, and found policy announcements such as the proposed handgun ban hadn't been well thought-out.

 

The final straw was Martin telling students in Surrey, B.C., that he believes in an elected Senate, said Kilgour, who left the party over the government's policy toward wartorn Darfur and the sponsorship scandal.

 

He described asking Martin to appoint winners of Alberta's Senate selection race and the prime minister "mournfully" deciding it would be too disruptive, and instead appointing loyal Liberals.

 

"I'm ashamed to have been associated with that," Kilgour said from Ottawa.

"I door-knocked in Mill Woods last year and heard so many people say 'We like you, David, but it's time for a change.' "

 

He stopped short of endorsing Lake, but predicted the Conservative will win handily because people want a change in government, which Kilgour said is essential for the health of democracy in Canada.

 

He also praised Tory policy announcements on issues such as child care, saying "what I have heard so far from Stephen Harper is eminently responsible and doable."

 

His comments did not sit well with Amarjit Grewal, the Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont.

 

"He has many friends who have helped him, and if he wants to stab them in the back, that's his policy," Grewal said.

 

He said he supported Kilgour for three or four elections, raising money, helping his nomination and getting out the vote, and said it's "dishonourable" for Kilgour to turn against people who have helped him. "He should have been quiet and respected people," Grewal said.

 

Lake said he has also been hearing that many people who backed Kilgour in the past were planning to vote Conservative this time.

 

"Kilgour was like a party unto himself," Lake said.

 

"He served the people well, and as someone aspiring to his role I can learn a lot from what made him so successful."

 

Kent Davidson, prairie vice-president for the Liberals, said Kilgour was only a Liberal when it suited his purpose.

 

"His problem is that unless everybody agrees with everything he's got to say, then everybody is incorrect," Davidson said. "He's never been much of a team player. It's pathetic he should feel the way that he does after his years of service. He has taken a great deal from the Liberal party."

 

Kilgour was originally elected as a Conservative in 1979, but jumped to the Liberals in 1991 after being kicked out of the Tory caucus for refusing to support the Mulroney government over bringing in the GST.

 

Under former prime minister Jean Chretien, Kilgour became secretary of state responsible for Latin America, Africa and Asia Pacific, which he said in previous interviews was better than getting a full cabinet job.

 

Kilgour Kilgour said he had no intention of offending those who helped him out in previous elections. "Please say to Mr. Grewal that I'm sorry, but I'm not going to put a rock on my conscience because he helped me get elected."

 

msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

 

 

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