THUNDER BAY – Bruce Hyer is no longer an independent member of parliament. The former NDP MP has reported he has joined the Conservative Party, and will sit as Environment Minister in the Harper Government.

Hyer reports that Prime Minister Harper has given him the freedom to make the needed decisions to put forward changes in Canada’s environmental legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Bruce Hyer – Environment Minister

NetNewsledger would like to thank you for enjoying our annual April 1st / April Fools Day story. Each year we have published a piece on April 1st, from wind turbines on the Sleeping Giant, draining Lake Nipigon into Lake Superior, or the “Sleeping Giant View Tax”.

An elated Hyer says, “I was very pleased to have gained the confidence of the Conservative Prime Minister, as a former small business owner, I have always felt that there were some areas of common ground between my views and those of the Conservative Party of Canada”.

Richard Harvey, the Mayor of Nipigon, and Conservative candidate in the last federal election has extended his support to Hyer.

Hyer also shares, “As one of my first duties as Minister, the Experimental Lakes Area will be re-opened. Prime Minister Harper and Kenora MP Greg Rickford will make the trip to Northwestern Ontario next week for an announcement”.

The news on this fast moving story started leaking out from Ottawa late Sunday. The Prime Minister is expected to make a more formal announcement before noon on April First.