Green Party MP Bruce Hyer speaks at a press conference after being announced as the party's deputy leader by leader Elizabeth May, right, in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
January 27, 2014 - 9:48 AM
OTTAWA - Green party Leader Elizabeth May has named former New Democrat Bruce Hyer as her deputy chief.
Hyer announced in December that he was joining the Greens — doubling the federal party's elected caucus from one member to two.
The new title gives him a say in the party's internal operations, including fundraising efforts.
The MP for the northern Ontario riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North was first elected in 2008 under the NDP banner, and again in 2011.
But Hyer left the New Democrats in April 2012 in a dispute over NDP policy on the gun registry and what Hyer described as the "mindless solidarity" of party discipline.
Hyer and May are maintaining there will be no lock-step voting in Parliament for the Green party caucus, May says she actually looks forward to the first time she and Hyer vote on opposite sides of an issue.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014