But if the NDP and Bloc vote against the Harper budget, and Ignatieff leads the Liberals to prop up the faltering Tory government, then I shall post the following:

A Sad Day for Canada

Michael Ignatieff has lead the Liberal Party MPs to support the budget tabled by Harper, and in so doing, has parted company from the Bloc and the NDP.

He has also turned his back on the commitment by the Government of Canada to the G20 countries, which required a stimulus package to be implemented equal to at least 2% of the national GDP; the Harper budget with its stimulus package of just over $20 billion falls shy of this target.

Ignatieff has also turned his back on the Accord which all three opposition parties signed in December, under which the three parties agreed to comply with the G20 agreement, and to push through a stimulus package in accordance with the principles spelled out in the Accord.

Finally, Ignatieff has sided with Harper and turned his back on Canadians, who are now at the mercy of a prime minister whose career has been based on the reduction of the power of the federal government, and who believes in a limited role for such government. Harper has shown that his ideological fixation blinded him to the oncoming economic tsunami, and caused his government to proclaim that Canada was an island unto itself, immune from the international financial meltdown and the international recession.

At a time when governments of all industrialized nations are realizing that their stimulus packages of 2% might in fact be insufficient to protect their citizens from the ravages of deflation, Harper has tabled a limited stimulus package.

By supporting the Tory government, Ignatieff has joined himself to Harper at the hip, and has in essence entered into a de facto coalition with the Tories, instead of becoming the prime minister of a Liberal-NDP coalition government.

Ignatieff and the Liberals will now be responsible to Canadians when the Harper too-little, too-late budget proves insufficient to protect Canadians.

Canadians who lose their jobs because the stimulus package did not cover the items set out in the Accord, or amount to the proper sum (at least 2% of GDP for now), should blame not only Harper when they lose their jobs, their homes and their livelihoods, but more particularly, each and every Liberal MP, and vote accordingly at the next election.

Because the Liberal MPs had a choice.

They could have voted to install a progressive centre government, with a more realistic stimulus program.

Instead, they supported Harper, who could not find it in himself to honour the commitment made to the G20 countries and provide a $32 billion stimulus package in 2009; instead, faced with the ongoing deficit of $13 billion before the stimulus, Harper balked at a total budget deficit of $45 billion and so settled for the lesser figure of $20 billion or so.

By supporting Harper now, Ignatieff has ensured that he will lose the leadership of the Liberal Party at the review called after the Liberal loss in the next election, and also his chance to become prime minister of Canada.

At a time when courage was called for, the Liberals offered cowardice.

In Canada, ‘Yes we can’ has become ‘No, we dare not.’

What a sad day for Canada.

An Angus Reid poll (as adjusted by me) shows that it is probable that a majority of Canadians (61%) who support the Liberals, NDP and Tories are in favour of the coalition government taking over next week if the Tory budget is defeated by a vote of confidence in the House.

The latest Angus Reid poll has some interesting polling results. The published results do not break down the party affiliations or support of the respondents to the question whether, should the Harper Tories be defeated on the budget next week, an election should be held, or the coalition government should take over.
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In a speech on January 23 to The Canadian Club of Toronto and the Empire Club of Canada, Michael Ignatieff spelled out in detail why he has no confidence in the current Tory government lead by Stephen Harper:

“Canadians expect their leaders to have a plan—a plan that responds to the challenges at hand, while laying the foundation for a better future.

A competent plan.

A plan to manage the problems.
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If, as many Canadians hope, the three opposition parties vote against the Harper government on the vote of confidence next week, the Governor General will have to decide what to do. In doing so, she will follow certain well established parliamentary conventions.

Because so many Canadians do not know enough about how these conventions work, a group of 39 eminent constitutional lawyers have published their legal conclusions regarding what the GG should do, based on our parliamentary government system.
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Obama phones Harper

Barack Obama called Prime Minister Stephen Harper today to discuss the auto industry, the economy, environment, energy and Afghanistan. Barack Obama has already committed to making Canada his first foreign visit and there are a lot of key issues between our countries that need to be discussed between the two leaders. It is expected that he will meet with Stephen Harper sometime in late March or early April assuming the budget passes. Overall it is good to see Obama make Canada one of his first priorities for a phone call and it is also great to see both leaders already working together to address the economy.
-Darryl

Ignatieff names shadow cabinet...interesting who has been left out


Today Michael Ignatieff named his shadow cabinet. It is smaller than the Conservative cabinet with some critics serving in multiple portfolios. There is no deputy leader and Mr. Ignatieff himself will hold the critic position for Intergovernmental Affairs. What I found interesting is some of the names not included.

Stephane Dion: Former leader of the Liberal Party appears to have been shut out of the shadow cabinet with no clear responsibilities.

Justin Trudeau: No cabinet post for the son of former Prime Minister Trudeau?

Ralph Goodale: Once considered a possibility for interim leader now appears destined for the backbenches.

Ujjal Dosanjh: Once considered a potential leadership contender, today the former BC NDP Premier finds himself out of the shadow cabinet.

Irwin Cotler: A top mind on justice and international law; does anyone else find it odd that he wasn't selected for the shadow critic role?

Marlene Jennings: Lots of experience in previous cabinet and critic roles, but seems Ignatieff took a pass on her this time.

Hedy Fry and Joyce Murray: Two prominent Liberal women from BC also shut out.

Navdeep Bains: Considered a rising star in the Liberal Party, Mr. Bains finds himself without a cabinet despite being in a vulnerable riding Mississauga-Brampton South.

Bryon Wilfert: Dion's most loyal supporter shut out by the new regime.

Jim Karygiannis: Always passed up for cabinet or critic roles it seems. Mr. Karygiannis was the loudest critic of Dion and some argue it was his comments to the media that accelerated Dion's departure paving the way for Iggy.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are shut out of shadow cabinet altogether. MPs such as Ruby Dhalla and Ken Dryden perhaps got lesser roles than expected. Overall there are 35 members of the Ignatieff shadow cabinet and that is three short of the 38 Conservative cabinet. I am assuming Jim Cowan will remain Leader of the Opposition in the Senate given that he was appointed in November as leader. Overall it will be interesting to see what the rationale there was for keeping members like Cotler, Trudeau, Dosanjh, Bains, Goodale and Dion out of the shadow cabinet. Are some of these names not running for re-election? Did they back the wrong leadership candidate? Does Ignatieff want to signal a changing of the guard in the Liberal Party? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Correction: I have just been informed that Goodale and Jennings will keep their roles as House leader and Deputy House leader. Given that Goodale is the only Liberal from Saskatchewan, I am still a bit surprised he was not assigned a formal critic role in the Ignatieff shadow cabinet.

-Darryl




Liberal Opposition Critics

Michael Ignatieff - Intergovernmental Affairs

John McCallum - Finance

Bob Rae - Foreign Affairs

Denis Coderre - Defence and Quebec Lieutenant

David McGuinty - Environment & Energy

Carolyn Bennett - Health

Marc Garneau - Industry, Science & Technology

Mark Holland - Public Safety & National Security

Geoff Regan - Natural Resources

Dominic LeBlanc - Justice and Attorney-General

Scott Brison - International Trade

Martha Hall Findlay - Public Works and Government Services

Todd Russell - Indian Affairs

Larry Bagnell - Arctic Issues & Northern Development

Joe Volpe - Transport

Gerard Kennedy - Infrastructure, Communities and Cities

Maurizio Bevilacqua - Citizenship & Immigration

Judy Sgro - Veterans Affairs, Seniors & Pensions

Yasmin Ratansi - National Revenue

Gerry Byrne - Fisheries & Oceans

Jean-Claude D'Amours - Atlantic Gateway and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Pablo Rodriguez - Canadian Heritage & Official Languages

Maria Minna - Labour

Dan McTeague - Treasury Board, Consumer Affairs and Consular Affairs

Mike Savage - Human Resources & Skills Development

Anita Neville - Status of Women

Wayne Easter - Agriculture, Agri-food and Canadian Wheat Board

Sukh Dhaliwal - Asia-Pacific Gateway & Western Economic Development

Ruby Dhalla - Youth & Multiculturalism

Keith Martin - Amateur Sport, Health Promotion and the Vancouver Olympics

Alexandra Mendès - Economic Development Agency for Regions of Quebec

Glen Pearson - International Cooperation

Raymonde Folco - La Francophonie

Ken Dryden - National Outreach Advisor, Working Families & Poverty, Special Liason, National Fundraising

Tory supporters (including those in the media) are agog with the latest very brief report from Reuters, which they maintain supports the view that Ignatieff has already decided to vote for the Harper budget next week.

To reach this conclusion, Tories are tying themselves into the most amazing pretzel-like contortions.

This is part of the article by Reuters:

“Canada needs an election over next week's budget "like a hole in the head," Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Wednesday, the latest sign that he will keep the minority Conservative government in power.

If the opposition Liberals vote against next Tuesday's budget, the government will almost certainly be defeated. That could trigger an election at the end of February or the start of March.

"We need an election in February like a hole in the head. It is not the preferred choice of Canadians. We're in a recession (and) Canadians all know that an election is expensive," Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff told a televised news conference in Montreal.

Ignatieff told Reuters on Tuesday that he was quite prepared to vote against the budget if he felt it could not tackle the growing effects of the financial crisis. He also said he was trying to calm political tempers.”

It is very clear that the Tories are petrified by the prospect of their budget being voted down, and the coalition taking over.

Read the above extract carefully.

Ignatieff says Canadians do not want an election in February, so soon after the last one. I guess everyone agrees with that, except the Tories, who claim that the only fair thing to do if their budget is voted down, is to have another election.

Ignatieff then also says that he is prepared to vote against the budget if it is inadequate, given the economic stress we now find ourselves in.

So, where does it say that Ignatieff will vote for Harper’s budget just because Canadians do not want another election?

Nowhere.

But consider this: if the Harper budget is inadequate (as it most probably will be), what happens if the three opposition parties vote against it, as they should?
Well, the government is defeated. Harper then visits the Governor General. He probably asks for the House to be ended and an election to be held. The GG will consider that an election was held a short few months ago. She will consider established parliamentary convention, which requires her to consult with the leader of the next largest party in the House, to see if he (Ignatieff) can put together a government. Ignatieff will say that he can, and point to the Accord and the agreement with the NDP. The GG will then give him the chance to form a government which enjoys the confidence of the House.

So, no election.

But also, no requirement for the Liberals not to vote against an inadequate budget presented by an untrustworthy prime minister in whom they have no confidence.

Tory pretzels; painful things.