Opposition parties could topple government (Canada)

[depakid]

Source: International Herald Tribune

TORONTO: Canada's opposition parties are exploring the possibility of toppling the Conservative minority government and forming a coalition government, officials said Friday.

The opposition Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois are discussing the option despite a national vote just last month won by the Conservatives, said Karl Belanger, a spokesman for NDP leader Jack Layton. Belanger said former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien and former New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent are involved in the talks.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced a budget update on Thursday that was criticized by the opposition and economists. Opposition members said they cannot support the government's updated fiscal plan because it offers no stimulus package to deal with the global economic crisis.

Flaherty said that rejection of his updated fiscal plan could topple the government if the opposition parties vote against it. A vote on a money matter is an automatic confidence vote in a minority Parliament.

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/28/america/NA-Ca...

[LeftishBrit]

1. Hope so!

[achtung_circus]

2. Holy shit!!

We haven't had a coalition government since WW I. Of course Harper is ground-breaking, let's hope this ground gets broken too.

[TrogL]

13. How does a coalition government even work?

Do multiple party leaders approach the Governor General saying they will form a government?

[Clintonista2]

19. Yes

It's up to the GG to decide whether or not to accept, but her role is almost purely ceremonial. There have been cases where the GG has refused, though.

[HeresyLives]

3. Harper is already blinking on the

$1.95 deal, but no one likes the rest of the 'economic update' either, so it may go completely.

In any case, I hope they work out a coalition agreement for use in just such emergencies as this.

[achtung_circus]

4. I should have actually read the paper this morning,

instead of packing and dreaming.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.200811...

Stephen Harper's six-week-old minority government is already in danger of falling, with the Liberals warning that the Prime Minister has four days to change "unacceptable" elements of yesterday's economic fiscal package.

The other three parties in the House of Commons responded scathingly to the government's economic statement yesterday for its failure to offer economic stimulus. And they were furious at the Prime Minister's brinksmanship in linking the statement with an attempt to end public financing of political parties.

Liberal MPs were locked in meetings last night, struggling to determine what to do in the lead-up to a vote on the package on Monday that could topple the government. Their options are to fight another election mere weeks after the last one with a lame duck leader, or join forces with the New Democratic Party in an attempt to form a coalition government.

[BlueManDude]

5. the left needs to get their shit together up there.

[achtung_circus]

9. Ah,

but what is "the left"?

We have a multiplicity of parties.. a successful coalition would have to include the Bloc Québécois (regional), the Liberal Party (centre-left) and the New Democratic Party (leftish).

The Conservatives used to be a centre-right party, including some member who leaned left on some issues (Red Tories), but since the amalgamation/takeover by the Reform party has become more rightist.

More complex than a 2 party system.

[xchrom]

6. recommend

[Anarcho-Socialist]

7. A rainbow coalition would be preferable to Tory rule

I just wonder how possible it is, regarding what concessions BQ would like, and whether LPC right-wingers would tolerate concessions to the NDP.

[whosinpower]

8. Harper is getting MAJOR flack on this one

And is already backing down from withdrawing the $1.95 subsidy. I predict the opposition will be working very hard to cobble together an opposition government. I think he forgot that Dion has already announced he will step down as soon as another leader is chosen. Dion has absolutely nothing to lose - so will not vote in favour of this. The conservatives are in a minority position - they need opposition support to get anything passed.

Another very negative point of this plan is that it makes public workers going on strike illegal, pay equity is another thing that was put on the back burner. The whole thing stinks, but the most partisan, most polarizing feature was withdrawing the political subsidy bill that Chretien wrote when he wanted to rein in lobbyists from donating to political campaigns.

For once, our opposition seems to have grown balls......and we desperately need them to do so.

[Posteritatis]

10. *blink* Wow, I can't think of when we last had one of those

Opleaseopleaseoplease. Let's get rid of this guy.

[achtung_circus]

14. Borden, WW I. nt

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. I should think so.

[Joe Chi Minh]

12. Deleted repetition.

[go west young man]

15. As a former Montrealer I would love to see it!

[acmavm]

16. Is the fact that we gave the boot to our elitist 'conservative' assholes in

the White House, Senate, and Congress any kind of an influence up there? Are people seeing that the word 'conservative' describes people who firmly believe they are meant to rule, the rest of the world are meant to obey?

[Doctor Cynic]

20. Nothing much.

Harper proposed to cut all public funding for political parties, based on the number of votes they won in the last election. Officially this is to cut spending during the economic difficulties, but anyone with a brain can see what's happening.

All the other parties saw this as a declaration of war on them.

[TrogL]

35. The other parties tend to be Keynesian

Harper says he's influenced by Keynes but his polices are Struass through and through.

No infrastructure-based stimulus, no government.

[daleo]

21. There could be some spillover

I think this is one of the reasons that the Conservatives in Canada chose to call an election before the U.S. election - they were concerned that an Obama victory would provide momentum to the centre-left in Canada.

[pinto]

17. Interesting parliamentary maneuver. Go for it Canada.

[gula]

18. Any info on the meeting between Ed Broadbend and Jean Chrétien

to talk over a possible coallition. I just got back so I didn't hear any news during the day.

[HeresyLives]

22. Latest on this:

They have announced they have a viable coalition, and the government will likely fall on Monday.

"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."

A source says the opposition parties have agreed that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion would lead the government for the next few months.

[sarcasmo]

23. Remove your wingers Canada.

[Clintonista2]

24. Canadian Liberals will try to bring down government, form coalition

Source: CBC news

The federal Liberals plan to bring down the government and propose a governing coalition, saying the Conservatives have failed to recognize the seriousness of the economic downturn.

A non-confidence motion drafted by the Liberal Opposition could be introduced in the House of Commons as early as Monday.

The Liberal motion 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 … this House has lost confidence in this government and is of the opinion that a viable alternative government can be formed."

It's still unclear who would lead a coalition, though the Canadian Press quoted a source as saying the opposition parties have agreed that Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion would lead the government for the next few months.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/28/fed-govt.html

---

Another one bites the dust.

[rockymountaindem]

25. So wait. Dion, after leading the Grits into that disastrous election, will still get to be PM?

Gotta love the Parliamentary system

[Clintonista2]

26. He controls the largest opposition party currently

[rockymountaindem]

28. I know. His party still lost seats in the last election

IIRC plenty of people in his own party were calling for his head on Oct. 15th. I thought he was going to be kicked out of the leadership.

[Clintonista2]

29. Dion is resigning as party leader, but staying on until the next liberal leadership convention

Just to ensure a smooth transition. Whoever wins the Liberal leadership will likely head the coalition.

[xchrom]

27. recommend -- from the liberals lips to god's ears. nt

[HeresyLives]

30. FanTAStic!

Get that born-dictator Harper out of there!

[glinda]

33. Is it true that harper's popularity

has to do with fulfilling his promises? Or at least that is what a Canadian friend of mine told me. She says the Liberals are too unorganized or do not have enough power. I had thought that Harper was in sink with Bush's vision. Can someone enlighten me on what is going on up there?

[HeresyLives]

34. Well so far, he's broken

every promise. Mostly he just drags his heels on things. The environment, the economy and so on, while messing about with things like the Senate than nobody cares about.

The Liberals last leader, Paul Martin, resigned after narrowly losing the election, so the party had to stop for a leadership convention, and then the new guy had to settle in,so they haven't been able to do much so far.

Harper then called a surprise, technically illegal, election. Caught everyone offguard. So voters returned things to pretty much where it was. Only a handful of seats changed.

Harper was considered Bush's lapdog, and it was noted that Harper is doing a reversal now that Obama is in. Or pretending to, as you can never tell with him. Probably all for show.

In any case, Harper never saw the economic problems coming, or if he did he lied about them during the campaign.

We had a surplus for years, and a contingency fund set aside, and Harper has spent it all and then some.

So now we're facing a deficit, there is no money to help anyone with the global financial mess, and Harper made a very unwise economic statement.

Which is when everything hit the wall.

[TrogL]

37. Dion has been an embarassment as a leader of the Liberal Party

However, no other party's leader would have sufficient support to make a go of it.

The Bloc's leader is an unknown, Layton is too "out there" and the other parties are too small.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

31. If this happens...

Alberta will be the next province to threaten to secede. And they will take their many strip clubs with them.

[TrogL]

36. that movement is dead in the water

I haven't heard a word out of them in four years.

[applegrove]

32. That sounds interesting.

[Doctor_J]

41. Any chance that HoF goalie Ken Dryden will be PM?

what a hoot that would be

[grantdevine]

47. Probably not going to happen n/t

[santamargarita]

38. Go for it - I hate these goddamn right-wing fascists, here...

...and anywhere else!

[TrogL]

39. Canada's Bloc says open to coalition government

Source: Reuters

OTTAWA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The leader of one of Canada's three opposition parties, the Bloc Quebecois, said on Friday he was open to a coalition that would replace the minority Conservative government.

"We are open to a coalition that would respect Quebec's interests more," Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe told reporters. A senior member of the main opposition Liberal Party, John McCallum, told reporters that if the Liberals replace the Conservatives in government, the fiscal stimulus that they would offer would be "a whole lot faster and a whole lot bigger" than what the Conservatives might offer. (Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Peter Galloway)



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/id...

---

I know there's another thread going, but the Bloc support for this is big news. The Liberals are also saying they have a viable plan for a coalition government.

Monday could get real interesting.

[VADem11]

40. Interesting

But doesn't this totally undermine everything that the Bloc supposedly stands for? The concept of a separatist party having seats in the national legislature is a little weird in the first place.

[SidDithers]

42. IMO, right now the Bloc is less about sovereignty...

and more about protecting Quebec's rights within confederation.

I think they know that the sovereignty question is pretty much dead for the time being.

Sid

[TrogL]

43. Canadian politics tends to be surreal at the best of times

During the election that just finished the leader of the Green party was encouraging people to vote NDP.

There are liberal Conservatives and conservative Liberals.

At present the Bloc has abandonned any attempt at separatism and acts merely as a foil to the Liberals. With a coalition, they get the best of both worlds.

[TrogL]

44. Harper blinks

http://www.cknw.com/News/National/Article.aspx?id=68000

Harper averts immediate political crisis

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is moving to avert a major political showdown, pushing off the earliest non-confidence vote in his government by one week.

Harper's dramatic move late Friday follows a day of political turmoil in Ottawa as the opposition parties threatened to bring down the minority government and form an unprecedented coalition.

Harper said the next opposition day will be set for Dec. 8, giving his government a week's breathing space.

He also cancelled a Ways and Means committee meeting that could have caused the government to fall. The Governor General was making plans to fly back in case things got crazy.

[whosinpower]

45. Oh - this is more than a blink

Harper made a critical mistake - he really figured the liberals would just roll over, like they always did in the past. He figured that because they lost many seats, they lacked the balls to overthrow his rule - but his critical mistake is that Dion is already out - and he has absolutely nothing left to lose.

Him moving things back and cancelling meetings means that he is in full panic mode. They now have one week to provide a juicy enough stimulus plan that the opposition will accept I think.

Or - maybe he can drag things out until after the Christmas/New Year holidays, when parliament breaks.

[RC]

46. Go Harper. Go away. Go now.

Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train wreck after all.

[New Dawn]

48. K&R - we can only hope.