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.
Now the coalition needs to bring the Bloc onboard. They’ll likely do so with a supply and confidence agreement similar to the one the Ontario Liberals entered into with the Ontario NDP in 1985.
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Robert McClelland :
Nov 30, '08 :
-Democracy
184 [1] Every one who, by means of any electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, wilfully intercepts a private communication is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
[2] Subsection [1] does not apply to
[a] a person who has the consent to intercept, express or implied, of the originator of the private communication or of the person intended by the originator thereof to receive it;
[b] a person who intercepts a private communication in accordance with an authorization or pursuant to section 184.4 or any person who in good faith aids in any way another person who the aiding person believes on reasonable grounds is acting with an authorization or pursuant to section 184.4 ;
[c] a person engaged in providing a telephone, telegraph or other communication service to the public who intercepts a private communication,
[i] if the interception is necessary for the purpose of providing the service,
[ii] in the course of service observing or random monitoring necessary for the purpose of mechanical or service quality control checks, or
[iii] if the interception is necessary to protect the person’s rights or property directly related to providing the service; or
[d] an officer or servant of Her Majesty in right of Canada who engages in radio frequency spectrum management, in respect of a private communication intercepted by that officer or servant for the purpose of identifying, isolating or preventing an unauthorized or interfering use of a frequency or of a transmission. [1973-74, c.50, s.2; 1993, c.40, s.3.]
Layton held a telephone-conference meeting with his caucus Saturday morning that was recorded by a Conservative member. According to the audio tape, Layton appears to take credit for the possibility of a coalition.
Will we get to hear this tape if it exists? If it does exist, how and why did a Conservative member record an NDP caucus teleconference call?
Update II: Accidental Deliberations hits the nail on the head regarding these shocking! developments.
If anything, I’d think it’s a great sign that Layton not only recognized the potential to work on some of the opposition parties’ common ground long before the last week’s developments, but was able to work with the Bloc from the top to put a coalition structure in place. And the fact that the coalition isn’t merely an immediate creation should put to rest any concerns about it being hastily assembled or less than fully thought out.
Instead, it’s exactly the type of contingency plan which the opposition parties needed to have in place to deal with a power-mad Harper
Of course that won’t stop the usual suspects from crying that it proves! the socialists and separtists were plotting treason! all along.
Update III: Kady O’Malley has a transcript sent out by the PMO of the NDP caucus conference call.
I’m at the Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner right now and a quiet rumour among a small number of of the gathered people here is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper may prorogue Parliament until the new year…
UPDATE: 45 minutes later, the rumour has made it to the podium and was just announced to a surprised room.
The Conservatives must be totally shell shocked if they’re raising the spectre of this desperate gamble so early in the battle.
Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois, putting her spin on the chaos in the capital, said the crisis in Ottawa demonstrated the need for a sovereigntist majority because only the PQ would stand up to a federal government that doesn’t respect Quebec values.
She also attacked the Prime Minister for scheduling the confidence vote on the same day Quebeckers go to the polls.
“It’s completely disrespectful of Prime Minister Stephen Harper,” Ms. Marois said.
And the next swipe at the Stephen Harper pinata goes to the Premier of…stay tuned.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog from director Josh Whedon. Starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Fillion (Firefly) as Captain Hammer. Official fansite of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.
The collapse of Afghanistan is closer than the world believes. Kandahar is in Taliban hands — all but a square mile at the centre of the city — and the first Taliban checkpoints are scarcely 15 miles from Kabul. Hamid Karzai’s deeply corrupted government is almost as powerless as the Iraqi cabinet in Baghdad’s “Green Zone”; lorry drivers in the country now carry business permits issued by the Taliban which operate their own courts in remote areas of the country.
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Robert McClelland :
Nov 29, '08 :
-Afghanistan
NDP Leader Jack Layton has enlisted one of his predecessors to sound out former prime minister Jean Chretien on the possibility of a Liberal-New Democrat coalition government
Now a new study, obtained by The Globe and Mail, concludes the softwood lumber agreement has undermined the Canadian industry it was supposed to help.
Since the deal was signed in October of 2006, struggling B.C. forest companies have paid more than half a billion dollars in export taxes under the deal.
“The added taxes came at the worst possible time. With lumber prices plummeting due to a rapidly deteriorating U.S. housing market, B.C. forest companies were awash in red ink,” wrote forestry analyst Ben Parfitt for the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives. “The result was numerous mill closures in B.C.”
As Mark at Section 15 points out, the $1.95 per vote that each party gets is not the only public funding political parties in Canada receive.
Will Harper likewise withhold the huge tax credit given to those who donate to political parties? That’s a huge “subsidy” as well — one that benefits the Conservatives the most.
The first $400 donated results in the feds reimbursing $300 (75%). The next $350 reimburses 50% ($175), and the next $525 reimburses 33.33% for $175.
Donating the max of $1275 results in the feds reimbursing the donor one-half of the amount: $650.
Using an average of 50% as basis for the amount rebated to donors from the taxpayer, here’s where the 3 main federal parties stand on how much additional public funding they received from individual donations last year.
Conservatives: $8,495,383
Liberals: $2,268,983
New Democrats: $1,989,868
As you can see, the Conservatives receive four times the amount of public funding from individual donations that the Liberals and NDP receive.
But this isn’t the end of public funding. Every riding association that garners at least 10% of the popular vote is entitled to a 60% rebate of their expenses from the taxpayer. Using an average of $60,000 which translates into a rebate of $36,000 as the basis for the amount rebated to each riding association from the taxpayer, here’s where the 3 main federal parties stand on how much additional public funding they will receive from the 2008 election.
Conservatives: $10,800,000
Liberals: $9,756,000
New Democrats: $8,748,000
Combined with the $1.95 per vote each of these parties will receive their total public funding comes out to:
Conservatives:$29,295,363
Liberals: $19,724,983
New Democrats: $15,637,868
Now here’s the catch. Under the current system the Conservatives would receive 48.5% more public funding than the Liberals. Under the new system where the $1.95 per vote is removed however, the Conservatives would receive 60.5% more public funding than the Liberals.
Harper’s move to eliminate the $1.95/vote public funding is not only an attack against the opposition parties it’s also an attempt to insure that the Conservative’s are even bigger pigs at the taxpayer funded trough when compared to the opposition parties.
Currently, the major federal parties get $1.95 per vote on an annual basis. In the last election, roughly 14 million eligible voters cast their ballots, which translated to $27 million in taxpayers’ money for the parties each year.
Under the new proposal, this is how much the parties stand to lose:
Conservatives: $10 million
Liberals: $7.7 million
NDP: $4.9 million
Bloc Quebecois: $2.6 million
Green Party: $1.8 million
Undoubtedly the NDP and Bloc will vote against this while the Liberals will roll over and pee on their bellies.
“This is huge. This is so audacious and outrageous,” said Pat Martin, an NDP MP from Winnipeg. “This means war.”
I’ve been against a 3 party (NDP-Bloc-Liberal) coalition government in the past simply because it has always felt to me that creating one was nothing more than an attempt to circumvent democracy. However, in light of this latest attempt by the Harperkhans to once again use the levers of government to attack our democracy I think the three opposition parties should begin formal discussions in order to do just that.
Update II: Reaction from some of the right whingers. It’s predictable.
“The Conservatives are dealing a massive body blow to Canada’s left wing parties, perhaps even their death blow.”–Blogger Right As Rain.
“Lessee if the Libs have no money to fight any election Harper has a majority no? Gotta love it!”–Commenter Joe at Small Dead Animals.
“In this, the Conservatives aim to level a strategic blow to the Liberals…”Blogger Stephen Taylor.
Update III: An “I Support Public Campaign Financing” facebook group has already popped up and I’m hearing a somewhat credible rumour that the NDP, Liberals and Bloc are or have already held a teleconference to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition government.
While everyone was busy howling over the affairs of student councils out in the real world our government was quietly announcing another troop escalation in Afghanistan.
The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, today announced that eight CH-146 Griffon helicopters will be deployed to Afghanistan in early 2009 as part of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTFA) – Air Wing.
As David Pugliese points out, those would be the same CH-146 Griffon helicopters that the CAF said couldn’t operate in Afghanistan’s heat and high altitude.
One thing I’d like to see the NDP do during the new session of Parliament is stop playing defense so often when it comes to budget cuts and start hitting back by proposing cuts of their own. And here’s the first one to help them get the ball rolling.
The Conferance of Defense Associations: This military advocacy group receives $100,000 per year from the Department of National Defense to lobby the government on their behalf. This is money the government of Canada cannot afford to spend as we head into Flaherty’s “technical recession” and it should be the first item on the chopping block.
So if it’s true, as conservatives claim, that a surplus means we’re overtaxed then doesn’t it stand to reason that the opposite–a deficit means we’re undertaxed–is also true.
A Tory MP said Mr. Rae would be the easier opponent “because of his managing of the Ontario economy when he was premier. I think he would have been the stronger candidate if we were in good economic times, or on foreign policy issues, but Ignatieff is the stronger choice for Liberals now.”
One Conservative aide took pride in pointing out that his party fabricated an internal party memo suggesting their troops were most afraid of Michael Ignatieff - and most anxious to face Rae.
The Alberta government announced Wednesday it will offer resource companies starting new projects on or after Jan. 1 a reduced royalty rate in the short term to encourage new drilling in the province…
Stelmach announced $1.8 billion in royalty savings over five years for new oil and natural gas wells that are within 1,000 and 3,500 metres in depth and started between 2009 and 2013.
Oil and gas extractors: Third straight double-digit increase
Oil and gas extractors earned $11.2 billion in operating profits, up 15.1%, as firms benefited from crude oil prices, which reached notable levels in the first part of the quarter. Since then, firms have indicated a potential for slower activity in light of retreating prices and tighter credit conditions.
What will the free screechers say now that a “real” court has upheld the ruling of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal against Terry Tremaine.
In her decision, Justice Judith Snider wrote that the tribunal’s rulings were reasonable.
“The tribunal noted the extreme and violent nature of [Tremaine's] postings and concluded it would offer readers reason to hate and to be suspicious of minorities,” Snider found.
“It must also be noted that the tribunal was careful to balance Mr. Tremaine’s freedom of expression right with the equality rights of all individuals in reaching this decision.”
Update: Some background info for anyone not familiar with who Terry Tremaine is.
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Robert McClelland :
Nov 20, '08 :
-Hate Speech
