Harper Delays Confidence Vote By A Week As He Fights To Save Tory MinorityFriday November 28, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
No matter which political party you support, you have to admit one thing: this has been one of the most extraordinary 24-hour periods in the history of Canadian politics.
It began Thursday with an economic statement that cut taxpayer funding for all political parties in Canada. It continued Friday, with outrage from the opposition, which stood to lose millions in cash from the proposal.
It led to the revelation that those against Stephen Harper's government were planning to form an unprecedented coalition to topple him.
And it ended with a defiant Harper confirming the Tories intend to put off their apparent fate for another week. The vote will now be held on December 8th.
The Prime Minister has decided to delay the confidence motion he was to face in the House of Commons Monday night until next week, buying his government a little more time to maneuver.
He was exceedingly blunt in characterizing both the Liberals, its leader Stephane Dion, and the NDP, as irresponsible in their actions, accusing the Grits of trying to stage a political coup.
"They want to take power, not earn it," Harper charges. "They want to install a government, led by a party that received its lowest vote share since Confederation. They want to install a prime minister - Prime Minister Dion - who was rejected by the voters just six weeks ago. They want to install a coalition that they explicitly promised not to support.
"The Liberals campaigned against a coalition with the NDP precisely because they said the NDP's policies were bad for the economy. And now they plan to enter into the very same coalition under the guise of strengthening the economy.
"Stephane Dion and the NDP plan to make this happen by accepting the support of a party that wants to destroy the country. The opposition has every right to defeat the government. But Stephane Dion does not have the right to take power without an election."
It's the latest move in a chess game that has stunned political observers across the country.
And it all happened in a head spinning hurry.
It centres on Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's plan to cut the $2 subsidy all parties get for every vote they receive. That would leave the cash strapped Liberals and their counterparts, the NDP and the Bloc, without the funding they need to challenge the well-off Tories in future elections, an act they call an attack on democracy.
But Flaherty stood firm, insisting it was a matter of confidence and if those opposed rejected it, it would bring down the government and trigger an election just over a month after the country last voted.
Immediately after the speech, the parties got together and began talking about wresting power away from the Conservatives, a plot that would see an unprecedented coalition that has only happened once before in Canadian history.
By Friday, something was clearly in the wind and that was apparently enough for the Tories to pull back and proclaim that the controversial idea - while still on the table - wouldn't be part of the motion.
Sensing blood, the so-called 'coalition' prepared to move in for the kill, insisting it wasn't just the subsidy that was the problem, it was a lack of a stimulus package in melting economy that made them sure they should bring down the Conservatives.
Just after noon, the Liberals announced they would be introducing a non-confidence motion on Monday that would force the Tories out.
The motion, which has the support of the other parties, reads:
"In light of the government's failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada's economic situation and its failure in particular to present any credible plan to stimulate the Canadian economy and to help workers and businesses in hard-pressed sectors such as manufacturing, the automotive industry and forestry, this House has lost confidence in this government and is of the opinion that a viable alternative government can be formed within the present House of Commons."The other parties - the Grits, the NDP and the Bloc, planned to then go to the Governor-General and ask her to dissolve Parliament and appoint them as a new caretaker government.
"The NDP is going to stand four-square against this government's right-wing agenda, they have a minority situation, they don't respect Canadian voters," said NDP MP Thomas Mulcair.
"If this government believed in fiscal stimulus they would've acted yesterday," said Liberal representative John McCallum.
But talk about strange bedfellows. Sources indicate the de facto Prime Minister in this new world order would be none other than lame duck leader Dion, whose Liberals went down to ignominious defeat last month and who will be replaced next May.
Despite these bizarre machinations and the decision to delay the vote, Flaherty, who was in Toronto for a speech Friday, remains defiant.
"We were just elected by the people of Canada with an increased number of seats, the people of Canada clearly viewed our party as the best party to steer our country through what is a serious economic downturn, and we put forward yesterday, after deliberation, our plan for the country.
"So we expect it to have the support of Parliament given the will as expressed of the Canadian people."
Harper originally called the election on the pretext that Parliament was dysfunctional and the government couldn't get its agenda passed. But if the Tories thought things were bad before, just wait. This latest roller coaster ride is just beginning, but it could also mark the end of many Canadians' patience just six weeks removed from the last long and expensive nationwide vote.
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Text of Harper's Announcement"Less than two months ago, the people of Canada gave our party a strengthened mandate to lead Canada during the most serious global economic crisis in generations. Since that time, we've acted, acted on our commitment to keep cutting job-killing taxes - business taxes.
"Acted to expedite the constructions of roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Acted to strengthen Canada's already strong financial system by injecting tens of billions of dollars of liquidity into Canada's credit markets.
"Acted to ensure a long-term structural balance in the federal budget. And acted to demonstrate leadership by proposing to reduce taxpayer subsidies for political parties.
"Our actions have been proactive. They have been responsible. And they have been in keeping with our commitments to Canadians. More so, these actions represent our first steps.
"In the next couple of months, the government will present a budget that outlines our next move forward. A plan that will include expected stimulus measures worked out in consultation with Canada's provinces and in concert with the other members of the G20.
"While we have been working on the economy, the opposition has been working on a back room deal to overturn the results of the last election without seeking the consent of voters. They want to take power, not earn it.
"They want to install a government, led by a party that received its lowest vote share since Confederation. They want to install a prime minister - Prime Minister Dion - who was rejected by the voters just six weeks ago.
"They want to install a coalition that they explicitly promised not to support. The Liberals campaigned against a coalition with the NDP precisely because they said the NDP's policies were bad for the economy. And now they plan to enter into the very same coalition under the guise of strengthening the economy.
"Stephane Dion and the NDP plan to make this happen by accepting the support of a party that wants to destroy the country. The opposition has every right to defeat the government. But Stephane Dion does not have the right to take power without an election.
"Canada's government should be decided by Canadians, not back-room deals. It should be your choice, not theirs. And it's now up to all of us to stand up for the right of Canadians to choose their own government.
"On December the 8th, the House of Commons will have an opportunity to vote on the opposition's attempt to overturn the results of the last election. Until then, we will continue governing.
"In the meantime, Canadians can make their views known on this issue to all of their Members of Parliament. Thank you very much and I hope you will all have a good weekend."
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Oh man, ...if this coalition went down... it would be so kewl!
It would be the exact same thing Bob Rae of the NDP did yrs ago here in Ontario, that defeated the provincial conservative government at the time, and put David Petersen of the Liberal party in power.
I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it... and it can happen without another election!
We'll have a Liberal Prime Minister, a Liberal Premiere, AND the Dems in the Oval Office, the Senate and in Congress.
It don't get any better than this.
...well, actually it could better. We could see impeachments, and trials for treason and war crimes,
... but hey, ...I'd be happy with this for the time being.
Ever since getting into office, he's pouted and bullied his way through telling opposition members if you don't like this, if you don't support or go along with that, I'm calling an election. We don't want 3 elections a year, ...we want you to get in there and run the f-ing government, not play chicken and waste millions of tax payers money every few months on a new election.
Of course I blame this all on that power-hungry SOB Paul Martin who forced Chrétien out.
If not for that, ...we'd probably still have a majority Liberal government still in place today.
I guess when Harper saw how well it worked for Martin, he gave it a try himself.
His first attempt at a non-confidence vote to trigger an election failed.
His second attempt at dissolving parliament work, ...he got elected.
He kept threatening to dissolve parliament as a bully tactic, ...and this last time he did it, despite no one wanting another election, he got re-elected with even more seats.
So now Harper wants to try another kick at the can while opposition members are in disarray?
I hope Canadians from coast to coast write their opposition MPs and say
"Form a Coalition! We don't want another election, ...but take over the reigns of government." That'll teach that fvcker to play chicken!
If you keep playing Russian Roulette long enough, ...eventually your number comes up!
There has only ever been one official federal coalition government in Canada since Confederation and it was formed under extraordinary circumstances as a result of World War I.
Click here for the details of when and how it happened.
