NDP, Liberals reach deal to topple minority Tory government

[kpete]

Source: CBC News

NDP, Liberals reach deal to topple minority Tory government

Last Updated: Sunday, November 30, 2008 | 9:51 PM ET

The NDP and Liberals have reached a deal to topple the minority Conservative government and take power themselves in a coalition, CBC News has learned.

A deal has been negotiated between NDP Leader Jack Layton and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion that would see them form a coalition government for two and a half years, the CBC's Keith Boag reported, citing sources.

The NDP would be invited into cabinet and get 25 per cent of seats, Boag said, adding that the party wouldn't get the position of the finance chair or the deputy prime minister's post.

"That's the big step forward tonight," Boag reported.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/30/canada-coalit...

[rockymountaindem]

1. So much for all my gloating

My many Canadian friends were never going to hear the end of it that we elected Obama but they were stuck with Harper. Now we're not even going to get one day of overlap between the Obama and Harper administrations. Woe is me.

[Clintonista2]

2. Things are still a little shaky

The cons have launched a massive propaganda war against the coalition, calling it a "coup" and "undemocratic." It doesn't seem to matter to them that 60% of the country DID NOT VOTE FOR HIM.

[Amonester]

3. Harper_is_a_lot_like_bush

In fact, commander AWOL is his role model...

I soooo hope the center-left parties will kick his "do-nothin" authoritarian butt!

[jeff30997]

5. American or Canadian,...

the conservatives are a bunch of crybabies that scream "undemocratic" only when things

are not going their way.

[Mudoria]

11. You read DU?

[Posteritatis]

28. If this goes through they'll be demanding a constitutional convention in hours

Pull out of the Commonwealth, presidential-style republic, forbidding confidence votes, the works.

All the parties up here have a thing about wanting to change the system whenever they fail to win an election within it, but the Conservatives are particularly bad about that.

[DeepBlueC]

6. democracy's a bitch, ain't it?

I'm liking the parliamentary version a bit better tyhan I have been in the last few days.

[Acadia Blue]

24. Parlimentary procedures here might have gotten rid of bush

[DeepBlueC]

4. yay!

Oh the comeuppance is so SWEET! I can't believe all the good news I have been getting...I wonder, am I still myself? I'm so unused to it.

[nyy1998]

7. would Layton become the new PM?

or would the Liberal Party get to choose? aren't they currently leaderless at the moment?

[Clintonista2]

8. The NDP say that they are fine with Dion as PM

It looks like it's going to be touch and go at this point, but I highty doubt Layton would be PM.

[nyy1998]

9. that's a shame

it would be nice if Layton could get it, but would it necessarily go to Dion since he resigned as leader?

[grantdevine]

29. They've all agreed to give it to Dion, who will give it up to a new Liberal leader in May...

...and I think Dion will do fine. Not a shame at all.

[Amonester]

10. On edit: breaking news - Ignatieff could become PM ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Oregone]

16. Or Rae...since this will be a center-left coalition...

Or maybe even Kennedy will become re-interested.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. Leader for Liberal-NDP coalition unclear as deal moves closer

What remains unclear is who would lead the coalition. Dion, who is set to resign in May, has been blamed by some for the poor showing of the party in the October election. The caucus, which is to meet Monday, is also expected to vote in a secret ballot as to who should lead the coalition.
...
The National Post reported that a deal had been worked out that would make Ignatieff, who has the support of a majority of Liberal MPs, the prime minister in a Liberal-led coalition, with Rae being named to a senior post.

But in an interview with CTV's Canada AM, Rae said there was no discussion at the meeting among the leadership candidates that someone other than Dion would lead the coalition.

Rae officially filed his nomination papers with the party early Monday in a move to counter rumours that he was about to withdraw from the leadership.

An e-mail message sent to Rae organizers by his campaign chief, Jonathan Goldbloom, says Rae resents the spin being circulated that he has thrown his support to Ignatieff.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/12...

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. Harper is trying to run his weak minority like a 250 seat majority

The problem is that to have a successful minority government you have to be extremely conciliatory and work the room for every last vote to survive non-confidence motions, because ultimately a minority government only sits at the leisure of the opposition who can turf them at will. Harper has just counted on the opposition being too weak to even try.

When the government falls on a non-confidence motion, the Queen of England by way of the Governor General calls on the opposition to form a government, which is usually impossible and then calls for new elections.

The last time there was a Liberal-NDP coalition was in the 70’s so it isn’t unprecedented.

[w4rma]

13. Awesome. (nt)

[OswegoAtheist]

14. I miss Canada.

Are there any openings for an English teacher-to-be?

Oswego "Parliament Funkadelic" Atheist

[TrogL]

23. Yes, we need teachers here

Check the Government of Canada immigration link below to see if you have enough points to qualify.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-wh...

[Oregone]

15. This makes me happy to be here....

Very happy. I hope they don't screw up their chance and hand the conservatives a majority. They have to govern near perfect to pull this off.

[BobTheSubgenius]

18. I worry about the backlash, too.......

....but a "no stimulus package" budget in THIS economic climate? It seems to me that the Harperites are going to, or even TRYING to make a drastic mistake in waiting for the big downhill slide before doing anything, instead of making things better BEFORE they get worse.

It OUGHT to be an easy sell, but neither Layton nor Dion - especially Dion - could make an effective case for Salk vaccine. I'm not at all sanguine about this non-confidence motion.

[Winnipegosis]

20. If the Liberals had a good leader they might be able to pull this off.

Of course, they might have won the election, or obtained a minority position on Oct.14th.

As it stands now, I don't see this as being good at all. The Liberals need a new leader, and Layton has no national mandate to do much of anything.

And what are they going to do about the BLOC, a party that wants to destroy CANADA?

The Liberals have a much better chance of forming government if they wait, and pick a new leader before the next election, IMO.

[BobTheSubgenius]

17. Sadly, Harper IS our PM, but how he got there is sadder still.

Liberals (capital "L" - the party) got complacent and grew a very large entitlement complex.....and I don't mean in the sense of programs. In the sense that "We can do political favours - even throw money to our friends - and still be elected."

In truth, I think they did a pretty good job of running the country. The economy was going well, and I believe our national debt went in a positive direction for 8 consecutive years. (something that I HOPE will help a lot in this current climate). Before they got caught with their hands in that cookie jar, (PR funds directed to friends) the previous big "scandal" was a staffer that was part of a Liberal politician put unauthorized expenses and overshot the limit on his expense account. Something like $9000. (going on an aging memory here).

That was the worst the opposition could throw at them, as it seemed at the time, and it stayed in the press for weeks. Some scandal.

Oh yeah. Before "failing" as PM, Paul Martin was the Finance Minister that set the banking regulations back to "a little oversight and liquidity standards, please" from the "we're open for business *wink* " (lack of) regulations that the Cons hoped no one would notice. Thanks at least in part to Paul Martin, when I last heard, the hardest-hit Canadian bank in the derivatives fiasco was the CIBC at $5 billion.

On balance, and in spite of the massive thread drift, I think I'll take "regulated."

***Edited for a typo***

[Endangered Specie]

19. Wonder why it took em so long to decide to join together

[Caradoc]

21. Constitutional crisis...

The opposition needs to be really careful on this; if they move too quickly, as someone posted earlier, they could screw things up and hand the Harpercrites a majority. But, people are expecting a stimulus plan at the very least, and instead of delivering a plan, Harper delivered a shot to the chops of the opposition. Even die-hard tories are sounding a little embarrassed. It's going to get interesting...imagine if Stephane Dion, rejected by voters and his own party, becomes Prime Minister and then does a fantatstic job...talk about ironic.

[Vidar]

22. Bravo Canada!!!! Heat up the tar and bring on the feathers.

[Jack Rabbit]

26. Congratulations, Canada.

!!

[TrogL]

27. The Bloc has signed on the dotted line

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/12...

[depakid]

31. Harper can still move to prorogue Parliament

How can the Conservatives thwart the opposition parties’ plan?

Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, has a limited tools to stop the opposition from defeating his government, according to Ned Franks, a constitutional expert and emeritus professor at Queen’s University. He could use the government’s powers to adjust the parliamentary schedule, as he did last week when he moved the vote on the Liberal non-confidence motion from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8. He could attempt to negotiate a truce with the other parties, as Paul Martin, then prime minister, did in October 2004. Or he could ask Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General, to prorogue Parliament.

What is prorogation?

Prorogation ends a session of Parliament. The House of Commons is not dissolved, so Members of Parliament retain their seats and there is no need for an election. However, committees lose their power to conduct business. All bills and motions that have not received final approval are killed. Traditionally, the House of Commons is prorogued when the government has completed all the initiatives laid out in the Speech from the Throne. By proroguing Parliament, the government sets the stage for a new Speech from the Throne and frees itself to pursue a new parliamentary agenda.

How would prorogation help Mr. Harper?

If the House is prorogued, it would be impossible for the opposition to defeat the government with a non-confidence motion. Mr. Harper could buy himself considerable time if Ms. Jean granted his request for a prorogation. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms stipulates Parliament only needs to meet once a year, so Mr. Harper could wait until next November or early December to recall the House. However, it appears more likely that Mr. Harper would ask for Parliament to be recalled in late January for a new Speech from the Throne and a budget.

More: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive...

[grantdevine]

30. It's incredibly exciting. n/t