Modeling Journey

Gilles Duceppe

As reported in Quebec’s French-language daily La Presse, the Bloc Quebecois has returned speculation about a future anti-Conservative coalition to the forefront of political discussion. The party has declared that it retains the right to support a coalition of parties in the event of another minority government. While no parties were named, based on current polling trends, that could only mean supporting the Liberals and the NDP to block the Conservatives from forming another government.

On the other front, by musing openly about supporting a coalition with the Liberals, Duceppe has put the Liberals back on the defensive, with Montreal MP Marc Garneau quickly denying that the Liberals have any plan to form a coalition with another party.

But on Wednesday, Harper said he still believes the system should be abolished. "I think we've been pretty clear that we don't think there's really strong justification for this direct subsidy to parties." ... Harper said it's clear that he couldn't accomplish this in the current Parliament because the opposition parties would block him.

"It will be a clear plank in our platform. But as I say, voters shouldn't hold out any hope that we're going to get any support to do this from the other parties."

Harper, prime minister with a minority government, has used his newly-acquired majority in the Senate (courtesy of the Liberal Party) to stop legislation passed by the majority of MPs in the House. 

The bill was killed without debate — the first time in at least 70 years that the Senate has killed legislation from the Commons without a hearing, according to parliamentary experts.

“What he’s done is morally wrong,” an outraged New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton told reporters in the Senate foyer. “This is one of the most undemocratic acts we have seen in the Parliament of Canada . . . This Senate should be abolished. It should be ashamed of itself.”

Hat tip from Leonard Cohen

Elizabeth May will be an intervenor in a court challenge arguing that the first-past-the-post electoral system contravenes the fairness required by Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Fair Vote Canada has also been granted intervenor status in the case.  Spearheaded by L'Association pour la revendication des droits démocratiques (ARDD), a Quebec democratic rights group, the case (Gibb v. Quebec's Attorney General and Quebec's Director General of Elections) is currently being heard in the Quebec Court of Appeal, and is expected to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

A very interesting development is likely to take place on Thursday night this week, The Cat believes. Even though the Conservative Party might gain most seats in Britain's Parliament, it will fall short of a majority. It will then be up to Nick Clegg and his Liberal Party to decide who should form the government.

I am sure that the Liberals will choose the Labour Party to be the government, rather than the Tories.