And with that, the gauntlet has been thrown.
Last night, Governor General Michaëlle Jean delivered the much-ballyhooed Conservative Throne Speech from the... well, throne. There were enough election-minded rumblings in the days leading up to it, including Prime Minister's Stephen Harper's expectation that, should the speech pass, there would be full support of all the main elements mentioned therein, and oh, p.s. everything's a confidence motion, now.
The New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois have firmly stated that they will not support the Throne Speech - which leaves the Liberals with the make-or-break votes. This morning's Toronto Star blared the headline "D-Day for Stephane Dion" (on the website, though, they've toned it down to "Election Hangs on Dion's Call") - the change itself indicates to me that even press understands that this was, perhaps, not the smackdown they expected.
The Globe and Mail managed to see through Harper's transparent posturing and called this a "Blueprint for an election" (seriously, since January 2006, when HASN'T Harper been itching to pull the election trigger?).
And this is precisely what irks me. It's clear that Harper wants an election like nothing else - that he's engineering everything so it will fall - but the blame will be placed on one of the Opposition parties. Everywhere, I keep hearing, "Whomever pulls the plug will suffer." But the Conservatives are the ones with their hands on the cord! Liberal leader Stephane Dion has already publicly stated that the Grits want to make this government work, so we'll have to see how the electorate responds to this.
For the Liberals, though, I think most commentators have already gone through this, but the speech is very dodgeable bullet; this is not a binding resolution, it's not a bill. Front bench can vote against this, back bench will mysteriously all have the flu, and we've staved off another election - at least for a little while. Better to save the drama for a worthier cause.
Anyway, the main points included:
- Afghanistan - extension of the mission until 2011,
- Kyoto - killing it dead,
- Tax cuts (GST and income tax being the focal points),
Afghanistan - we need to know in what capacity Harper intends for Canada will serve there until 2011. We cannot continue in a combat context (there's waning popular support for it anyway), and at the very least, this issue will require heavy debate in the House of Commons. But as a vaguery in the Throne Speech, I can't really say how this will go. There could be support for it if we take on a peacekeeping and aid role exclusively and reduce troop levels there, but it remains to be seen.
Kyoto - Stephane Dion is the champion of Kyoto. The Liberals cannot and will not let it die. There's no two ways about that. But we will have to re-tool some things, straighten out some numbers and present a reasonable new timetable that will bring us back on track with our previous commitments.
Taxes - Okay. Cuts are all very well and good (and they scream "ELECTION! VOTE FOR ME!", but that's another story). But at the same time, in terms of the GST - the cities have been lobbying for one percent of it in order to help support urban infrastructure. Help on transit is nice, but that's just one element out of many. And cosmopolitan cities such as Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal cannot be allowed to crumble because of a lack of tax revenues supporting its coffers. Especially since we're supposed to be flush with a $14 billion federal surplus. Admittedly, better economic planning is required (I'm looking at you, David Miller), but urban centres should not be expected to respond well in votes to a party that consistently ignores their needs. Just sayin'.
Opposition party leaders are expected to respond later this afternoon.
** Update **
It appears that cooler heads have prevailed. This afternoon, Dion announced that the Liberals will not topple the government on the Throne Speech. Amendments will be proposed for the speech, however, the party will abstain from voting should they be rejected.
Long story short: no election. Thank goodness.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The Great Red Spot
Thoughts and commentary on Canadian and international politics with occasional musings on art and other daily goings-on.
Blog Archive
Canadian News
International News
Blogs I read
TTLB
7 comments:
If the Liberal front bench says one thing and the leader of the party arranges for backbenchers to absent themselves from the House, what message does this send to voters?
That the Liberal Party is a party with courageous leaders, who could be trusted to govern the country?
That the Liberal Party is a party of its convictions, and not a party of cowards?
That the government should be replaced by such men and women, as the country will be safe in their hands?
Not likely.
Voters will see the Liberals as inept, untrustworthy, afraid and unworthy of becoming the government of Canada.
Who in their right mind would vote for a party with its tail between its legs?
The Liberals should support the Throne speech. To do anything else they will face a wipeout.
Times have changed, if the Liberals are wiped out they will never recover the way the Conservatives did.
Steffi...get down on your knees
Curiousitycat,
I understand your point, but as I see it, there is nothing cowardly about a tactical retreat. There is nothing to gain by a "courageous" move forward when the elements are not in our favour.
At this time, we have to pick our battles, and there are worthier ones than the Throne Speech. No one can fault the Liberals for disagreeing in principle for now.
The electorate doesn't want a federal election after a huge wave of provincial ones; you get voter and volunteer fatigue. If we acknowledge that fact, hopefully we can gain their respect for, at the very least, trying to compromise and to make this government work.
It's not a "tail between [its] legs", it's laying in wait.
Re: “... Governor General Michaëlle Jean ...”
The Governor General of Canada is a “corporation sole”, according to Elizabeth II in this document. A “corporation sole” is defined and recognized as being a corporation.
It is a fiction that a corporation is a person.
“A corporation is a fiction, by definition, ...”, according to Patrick Healy in a statement found in evidence provided to Parliament's Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in 2002.
“A corporation is a ‘fiction’ as it has no separate existence, no physical body and no ‘mind’”, according to Joanne Klineberg in a presentation to the Canadian Aviation Safety Seminar in 2004.
Do Canadians want businesses, companies, their government, and their Queen to operate in the realm of reality, or in the realm of fiction?
Aoede said...
It's not a "tail between [its] legs", it's laying in wait.
Sure, just lay in wait til the next federal budget then because you are already laying down you will be buried that much easier.
This was Dion's chance to show that he had some stones. He blew it. When the next budget comes out, there will be so many cherries for the average Canadian that the "mushy middle" will move to the conservatives and the Libs and the NDP will be busy fighting the Greens for the tiny remaining far left vote.
Sorry Libs, its gonna get much worse before it gets any better.
"This was Dion's chance to show that he had some stones."
The CRAPers are all pissed tonight because they thought they (oh so sneakily) had baited the Liberals. They got outplayed and now are spewing vehemence all over the place. I guarantee had Mr. Dion brought the government down they would not be giving him credit for his "stones."
Is your faith such that you believe a corporation is real? Who would be a defender of faith like that?
Post a Comment