New Coalition Threatens Conservative Minority
Canada's Parliament Sent in Crisis by Threat of Non-Confidence Vote
Dec 8, 2008
After the last Canadian federal election, despite growth in the number of seats won by the federal Conservatives under Stephen Harper, he still has a minority government. He made it no secret when he first called the election on September 8th, 2008, that his goal was to achieve a majority government for his party. It didn't happen.
Nevertheless, from his government’s first Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister made it look like this time he was ready to cut the partisanship and stop playing political games with Opposition Parties. His government’s primary job would be to help Canadians through turbulent economic waters.
It seemed everything was going well until the federal Government tabled its first Economic Statement on November 27, 2008. Among its plans for this statement was a ban on the right to strike by federal public servants and the elimination of taxpayer-funded subsidies to all political parties, as well as some moderate measures to freeze salaries of top civil servants and politicians. However, nothing was introduced to even put a jump start on the economy.
While seemingly neutral on the surface and a good sell to conservative-thinking voters, the consequences of these actions would bankrupt the opposition parties to the point they would be unable to finance the next election. To cynical observers, this was a ploy for Stephen Harper to push for another election and obliterate the Opposition. The tax-funded subsidies were given to political parties when prior electoral reforms that banned election contributions from unions and corporations started.
When these changes were made, any party winning five per cent or greater of the popular vote on a national level would be granted $1.95 per vote received. Political parties that got more votes received more funding. These funds would pay for the party’s operations and help it develop strategy for the next federal election, in addition to whatever other monies parties are able to raise from individuals.
Because the Conservatives have managed to collect a significant amount of donations from their wealthy supporters and other individuals, they were less reliant on the funds received under this program. The Liberals having gone through an expensive leadership contest that resulted in the election of Stephane Dion and the previous election before Harper first got elected, their coffers are almost empty.
It was a combination of Harper’s direct attack on his Opposition and the fact that there was nothing for the jobless, nor for the declining infrastructure of this country, in his Economic Statement. All of this was supposed to come in January, although some economists are worried that January may be too late for a stimulus package of this type.
On November 28th, 2008, something strange happened. The Opposition banded together and formed a backbone. They collectively dropped their political differences and formed a coalition of political parties that comprise the majority of seats in Parliament. Over the weekend, the caucuses of all three parties hammered out a deal that would make Stephane Dion the interim Prime Minister of a government that would include 25% of its representation from Jack Layton’s New Democratic Party, including Cabinet posts. The Bloc Quebecois, while not formally part of the Coalition, would not vote this coalition down in confidence votes.
Harper delayed the non-confidence vote on the Economic Statement until Monday, December 8th, 2008. He was hoping to buy time to convince Canadians that the coalition government would not be effective. This coalition almost instantly turned Canadians against one another, Parliamentarians against other Parliamentarians, and a viral development of Face Book groups for and against, as well as radio call in shows on the topic exploded almost overnight.
The Conservatives, seeing the writing on the wall, immediately withdrew from their more controversial proposals and promised to focus again on the economy.
