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Maverick MP Garth Turner was suspended indefinitely from the Conservative caucus Wednesday, after his often-controversial blog, the Turner Report, ruffled too many feathers within the Tory ranks.

The Conservatives cited confidentiality concerns for his suspension from caucus, but Mr. Turner said Wednesday it is his stance on certain policies that was the real issue.

Mr. Turner, who represents the Ontario riding of Halton, has railed against the Tory brass on issues ranging from same-sex marriage, to the budget, to the Tory's child-care plan, and the recruitment of Liberal MP David Emerson to the Conservative cabinet.

His combative stance, he says, is simply being accountable to his constituents first and his party second.

"I work for the voters — the people, the taxpayers. After that, I heed my party and the political establishment. All are important, of course, but the people come first," Mr. Turner wrote on his blog Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Turner was on-line Thursday afternoon to discuss his suspension and to take your questions.

You can still join the Conversation by submitting a comment. Your questions and his answers appear at the bottom of this page.

Mr. Turner is a millionaire author, broadcaster, columnist, speaker, and successful entrepreneur. He was a member of Parliament from 1988 to 1993, and was re-elected in the 2006 election.

Mr. Turner is as known for his strong views on fiscal management, debt reduction and the encouragement of small business and investment in Canada, as much as he is for his strong views on the environment.

He founded Toronto-based Millennium Media Television, one of the country's largest independent producers of network television programming and has garnered the moniker of being a digital populist due to his daily blogs, podcasts, and MPTV coverage of Parliament Hill.

Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length, clarity or relevance. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on Globe journalists, the guests or participants in these discussions, or questions/comments that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.

Rebecca Dube, globeandmail.com: Hello, Mr. Turner, and thanks so much for joining us on-line to take questions from globeandmail.com readers. As you probably know, your ouster from the Conservative caucus has generated a lot of interest and speculation. There's a huge amount of questions and comments waiting for you, so I'm just going to get right to the reader questions.

Miles Lunn, Vancouver: Hello Mr. Turner. Despite voting Liberal last election, I've been a big supporter of yours and many of the ideas you have been trying to promote. Unfortunately Independents have very little power to change things and nor would joining a small party such as the Green Party help either. I was wondering if you have considered defecting to the Liberals as many other former Progressive Conservatives have? Finally if caucus decided to re-admit you and let you run under the Conservative banner, would you do so?

Garth Turner: Defecting to the Liberals would clearly be a big step for a guy with blue blood in his veins, but the practical answer is I'd need to see who the new leader is and the direction of the "reincarnated" Libs. Rejoin the Tories? Well, it's all academic until I am asked -- which is going to come with the end of global warming.

Michael H., Edmonton: It seems that the timing of this is not a coincidence. The CPC wants to quell dissent related to the so-called Clean Air Act. Do you think that the timing of this had anything to do with the tabling of the Clean Air Act?

Garth Turner:Yeah, I think so. Actually in my infamous caucus dust-up yesterday, people did express concern that I might criticize the new green plan as being inadequate and unworthy if I remained a Conservative. As it turned out, they were right.

Gary Bushwell, Painswick: Is there a 'political playbook' that you subscribe to? In other words, who are/were your political mentors?

Garth Turner: Wish I had some, quite frankly. I am making this up as I go along, which ought to be obvious to you

Bill Simpson, Canada: Mr. Turner, I am a constituent of yours in north Oakville. As a fiscal conservative and social liberal I find myself evaluating both parties each election and have voted for each in the past. While I don't support the current conservative government's social policies and did not vote Conservative in the last election I have found that your work has been excellent. Personal political opinions aside, the people of Halton elected a Conservative MP. I feel that with your expulsion the Conservative government has rejected Halton, not entirely unlike when Mr. Emerson rejected his constituents when he crossed the floor immediately after the last election. My questions are this: Do you share the opinion that the government has snubbed Halton? Will you run in the next election? Will it be as an independent or are you going to move to the Liberals? Will you rejoin the Conservatives? Thank you for your time.

Garth Turner: Yes, the Conservative Party has tweaked the noses of us all. The MP, riding association volunteers and voters have been rendered irrelevant. This is not what I had expected of party with a legacy of grassroots populism. Sigh. But now we have to deal with it. Will I run again? No idea right now since I do not have a clear picture of how that will happen (I am still the duly-nominated Tory candidate here). However, the focus now is on representing you, not getting re-elected.

Chris Chen, Canada: Dear Mr. Turner, thank you for taking my question. Do you not think you could have handled your disagreement with the Conservative party and the Prime Minister in a less adversarial manner than posting your concerns on a internet blog? And do you not think that any leader who continually has to defend himself against something his own MP is saying would eventually tire of this and impart discipline?

Garth Turner: Good question, but bad politics. Mainstream parties are supposed to represent mainstream views and the last time I looked there was little unanimity on anything. Good MPs champion causes their voters want, and there must be room for this process to work, with respect. Please review the contents of my blog and judge for yourself. Is this beyond normal political comment, or the ability of a leader to deal with? Sure hope not.

Jonathan Ross, Vancouver: As someone who aspires to one day put my name forward for public office, I have always questioned when it is appropriate to speak on behalf of your constituents and/or personal views, and when to line up with your party. In reading your website, it seems that you often went out of your way to inflame situations with comments designed to get attention. How do you rationalize the balance between speaking up for what you believe and managing the responsibilities associated with being an elected member of a party that you have decided to be associated with?

Garth Turner: It's a delicate balance, for sure. I've been an MP twice, a cabinet minister and a leadership candidate -- so I have a developed understanding of how a caucus should work. My blog comments are almost always policy-oriented, and nothing that any MP (or PM) would not hear in a community Town Hall meeting (if they have them). The problem may not be me, but rather then nature of our 19th Century political system, in which our elected reps become subsumed into a party and lose their ability to lobby for the voters. Am I an agent of change? Would that it be. And we need more young people like you to push this revolution forward.

Gary Wilson, Calgary: Mr. Turner, I'm sorry that this has happened and that it was handled in such an unfortunate manner. My question is why, in your opinion, does this Prime Minister keep such unprecedented constraints on caucus members' public communications?

Garth Turner: The current PMO seems convinced that message control is essential to governing, and examples of this policy in action abound. Obviously I disagree with it. The media is not the enemy, but rather a pipeline to the voters. Media people are professionals as are politicians, and some mutual respect would do a lot more for the political process than the spitting war to date.

Barry Mc, Oakville: Hi Garth, I am a resident of your Halton constituency and I must say, after all this I have a newfound respect for your credibility and representation. A question for you: Can you go to your "gut" and come up with one main concern (and its attendant worst case scenario) that you have for the current direction of the Tory party?

Garth Turner: Sadly, there appears to have developed a "bunker" mentality one would normally associate with a government that had been in office for many years, not a few months. Canadians were ready to cut this crew a great deal of slack, and yet the good will now seems to have dissipated. It's very hard for me to understand how my ouster helps the prime minister, the Conservative Party or the political process. So, my fear is the "new" government will look rather tired when the "new" Liberal team emerges. A classic opportunity lost.

Ken Olshaski, Calgary: The Conservative Government, with yesterday's action to oust you, gained nothing. In fact I would suggest they have lost with this move. What do you think you have gained by actively going against Government policy? In addition, do you think that all MPs should be able to voice their own personal opinion at any time, thereby creating creating Government policy that contains all kinds of mixed messages?

Garth Turner: It's not what I have gained by speaking my mind, but what my voters have gained and what Canadians have gained by having my causes -- such as an effective climate change strategy and income-splitting -- moved forward. This is not about me, but about the role of an MP. Champion of the people, or party militant? Obviously parties need a measure if discipline and control, but leaders need to learn how to lead by inspiration, not just the pointy end of the caucus whip.

Randall Johnston, South Etobicoke: Would you consider yourself a Libertarian conservative or an empirical economist?

Garth Turner: Holy crud I'm just a lowly MP trying to give voice to those who expect it. Read my stuff. Apply your own label.

Ian Berg, Canada: As an indepedent MP you may be in a position to cast the deciding vote on whether the next Tory budget passes or fails. What are two fiscal changes you would press the Tories to adopt?

Garth Turner: Tax reductions and more tax reductions. I have lobbied Jim Flaherty hard for income-splitting between couples in families with kids, and for pensioners, which could happen with a Family Tax Return. Beyond that, we need to dust-off a Conservative policy of an after-tax retirement savings plan like the Roth IRA in the US. I have (naturally), some thoughts on both of these published on my blog (reader caution now in effect). And I do expect him to chop another point off the GST while instituting a capital gains tax roll-over.

Gordon White, Vancouver: Given your past stance on the Emerson crossing, would you be willing to run in a by-election in your riding, if you accept an offer to join another political party or even as an independent?

Garth Turner: Possibly, depending on the circumstances and my voters' wishes. But let's remember that Emerson defected from the Libs to become a Tory cabinet minister. I was tossed out after being elected a Conservative. What's that called? Oh yeah, irony.

Remain Nameless, Ottawa: It seems to me this suspension from the Tory caucus will affect your ability to promote your pension-sharing agenda. Even if the caucus agrees to kiss and make up, by then your ability to rally them to support this notion will be gone. Does this mean that pension-sharing is dead?

Garth Turner: Absolutely not. I chaired a conference in Ottawa two weeks ago that attracted more than 30 MPs from all four parties. So long as people who want this change keep the pressure and lobby politicians, it will move ahead. I can honestly say that sitting beside Jim Flaherty in the cauucs room did not get us a centimetre closer to this goal of tax fairness. You can't make a man listen, after all.

Kevin Leicht, Georgetown: Mr. Turner, what are your thoughts on the "clean air" act announced today? Are you perhaps relieved to be out of the party?

Garth Turner:I was not in the lock-up today, and so can only respond based on media reports. To say I am underwhelmed would be a drastic statement. I was looking for absolute reductions in GHG-causing emissions and a permission-based industrial system. Climate change is a serious issue that goes far beyond air quality and needs landmark legislation. Cutting emissions by half in 44 years is not what my voters have asked for. Sadly.

Daniel Loftus, Ottawa:Are the Tories really just the "reformers of old" dressed up in a Tory blue? Do you sense they are moving toward an "American Conservative" position with a religious right, fear-and-terror communications for the masses, from the conservative fiscal and moderate social approach the Tories of old typically promoted?

Garth Turner: I have written a fair amount about the socon element within the existing Conservative caucus, and it is substantial. In fact, the depth and breadth of this sentiment was one of the big surprises when I entered the caucus room. There are likely a lot of relieved Tories in there that I will not be around when they come to stand on the same-sex marriage vote, and one very happy televangelist

Rebecca Dube, globeandmail.com: Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and participated in the discussion. There were a massive amount of questions, so we're sorry we weren't able to get to them all. Mr. Turner, thanks very much for joining us today. Any parting thoughts?

Garth Turner: Thank you so much to all G&M readers for the great questions and the interest in my fate I will keep you informed as to my interesting journey, and I'd love to come back and do this again. Cheers, all.