  We obtained new UBV photometry and spectroscopy of Blue Plume (BP) stars in
fields near the center of the Canis Major Over-Density (CMa). We combined
analysis of the color-color diagrams with a new comparison of the hydrogen
Balmer-line profile to the reddening-free Q parameter to improve the reddening
and extinction estimates for this low-latitude, differentially reddened, area
of the sky. Results of our stellar parameter analysis for B/A spectral type
stars associated with the BP show that the majority of the stars have
main-sequence surface gravities placing them at an average heliocentric
distance of <D> = 6.0 +/- 2.7 kpc. This distance is more consistent with
membership in the intervening Perseus spiral arm and strongly suggests that the
BP stars are not associated with the other stellar populations previously
reported to make up the CMa. This result casts serious doubt on the proposed
dwarf galaxy origin for the CMa.
