At this time Day attempted to solve the crisis by offering to take a temporary leave of absence from the leadership if the dissidents returned to the party, but he withdrew the offer after the dissident MPs refused his conditions."Dissidents reject Day's offer to take a `leave of absence': Leader proposes delayed departure as a way to avoid further divisions". Vancouver Sun, July 9, 2001. Through the summer, the MPs sat as "Independent Alliance Caucus", and were jokingly dubbed the "Rebel Alliance" by political commentators.
