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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Thu May 12, 2005 11:34 pm Canada's House of Commons Shut Down |
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Canada's House of Commons shut down
Opposition attacks minority Liberal government
OTTAWA, Ontario (Reuters) -- Canada's two main opposition parties shut down the House of Commons for the second day running on Thursday to try to demonstrate that the minority Liberal government no longer has the confidence of Parliament.
And for the first time, opposition Conservative leader Stephen Harper brought the role of the Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, who has the power to dismiss a government and call an election, into the political discussion.
He said he did not plan to visit her for now but said it was evident that the government did not have the mandate to govern since it was unable to control the House.
"I think the governor-general herself will have to watch what's occurring here. I think she should be concerned that she has a government that does not have a mandate from the House of Commons," Harper said after the 152-144 adjournment vote.
The governor-general represents Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth, and normally has only a ceremonial role but her function can take on importance at a time of uncertainty.
Prime Minister Paul Martin, under fire for a Liberal corruption scandal, repeated his pledge on Thursday to hold a vote on his budget next Thursday, which would bring the government down if it was defeated.
"There will be a non-confidence vote next Thursday. I believe that Canadians expect us to put in a full day's work between now and next Thursday," he said. Earlier the Liberals blocked a Conservative move for budget votes this Thursday.
Martin brushed off a question as to whether he would move it up in light of the fact that a cancer-ridden Conservative member of Parliament, Darrel Stinson, is having an operation next week. Stinson was in town this week.
The prime minister says a series of motions this week -- including one instructing a committee to recommend his government's resignation -- were merely procedural.
In the meantime he announced a C$170 million ($136 million) aid package for the trouble Sudanese region of Darfur, a main item of concern for independent legislator David Kilgour, whose vote might determine whether Martin survives.
"We are not doing that because we are looking for votes," he insisted. "It's important for Darfur, it's important for Sudan and it's important for Canada."
But Kilgour, who has had two lengthy meetings in the past two weeks with Martin over Darfur, said the package, which is primarily humanitarian aid but also includes up to 100 military experts, was "not nearly enough."
"It's closer to tokenism, because it shows that the prime minister does not understand the genocide problem that's going on there," Kilgour told CBC television.
Kilgour did not say definitively how he would vote, but after repeated questions at a news conference he gave the impression he was leaning against voting confidence in the government, unless more help were announced next week.
The government and its allies have 151 seats, plus the Liberal speaker, who only votes to break ties.
The Conservatives and the allied Bloc Quebecois have 153 seats. If Stinson were absent that would be only 152 but it could be boosted back to 153 if Kilgour voted non-confidence.
One other independent member of Parliament, Chuck Cadman, who is also suffering from cancer, has not signaled his voting intentions though he said this week that there may not be any point in prolonging the life of a gridlocked Parliament.
If the government does lose, an election would normally be called for June 27. The Liberals lost their parliamentary majority in an election on June 28, 2004.
Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Canadian PM Paul Martin
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Fri May 13, 2005 8:34 pm |
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I won't pretend to understand Canadian politics very well, but this is deeply disturbing. I sincerely hope that a resolution to this problem can be found in a timely, unchaotic manner without compromising the operation of the Canadian government.
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Fri May 13, 2005 8:52 pm |
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| Zeke Zabertini wrote: | | I won't pretend to understand Canadian politics very well, but this is deeply disturbing. I sincerely hope that a resolution to this problem can be found in a timely, unchaotic manner without compromising the operation of the Canadian government. |
It's not going to end until there is an election--the Conservatives won't let it.
My problem is that the Conservatives are largely paralysing the government with their counterproductive actions. Martin promised an election within 30 days after the final report from the Gomery Inquiry is published (the inquiry looking into the sponsorship scandal), which will be sometime later this summer. The Conservatives don't wish to wait for this, but I think they should. Rushing things now is just leading to more chaos. . . .
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