Good!!

“I can’t believe the number of emails I have received from people saying they were staunch Liberal supporters in the past, and they are shocked at what has been going on.”

Sounds like he has received none.

Awesome! The Governor General has ordered a time out! Now maybe they will all be good little MPs. A sit facing the corner to consider their behavior might just prevent them from receiving a good spanking!

Whats to allow or disallow? The rules of parliament are clear. Whatever party or coalition of parties has the most votes gets to rule. That Harper has been the first Prime Minister in Canadian history to prorogue parliament to avoid a vote should be seen as a shameful thing. Canada now joins Zimbabwe in suspending Parliament when it does not suit the acting governments purpose.

I wouldn't be at all surprised that, if an election was forced on Canadians right now, a majority Conservative government could be the outcome.

So there is now a reprieve. That is fine, and it might even help to cool things off a bit.

The question is, though, what is Harper going to do during the next seven or eight weeks? Is he going to use the time to continue to attack the opposition parties? Will he continue to denigrate elected Mps from Quebec? Or, will he attempt to reach a compromise with other MPs and parties so that some useful action that satisfies the majority of them?

In other words, will he behave in the interests of the country or will he behave in his own personal interest?

That should be:
so that some useful action can be taken that satisfies the majority of them?

Harper is going to spend mega bucks on political advertising to show us how good a Conservative gov't is for the country and then work on a budget that will avoid a non-confidence vote.

We have just found out that our votes mean nothing. We are now ruled by the Queen's representative (a CBC journalist) instead of our votes.

Whatever happened to the Magna Carta? It's now time to secede from the Commonwealth and become the Republic of Canada.

Iam disappointed in the GG's decision making ability. Her decision closes the doors of Parliament for seven weeks and sets the precedent that if it is not working out for the Prime Minister he can prorogue parliament.
Jack Layton and Stephanne Dion with their parties have served Canada well in preserving our democracy. I hope they don't give up.

On the CBC web site this morning 10 t0 1 disagreed with the GG decision. Most feel that that the coalition should of been allowed to go ahead. As ammonra has pointed out what will Harper do in the two monts reprieve he has been granted,

We know this that parliament is not sitting so what else can he do. Grind away at the coalition. The economuy is in the dumper and Harper has been given a nice christmas break.

And for those that think a cooling off period is good think again. When parliament goes in on January 26 they will be madder then ever looking for Harper blood and the economy will be evern in a bigger free fall to give them more ammo to shoot back,

In a democracy Harper should face the music and if its a coalition so be it. You have to dance with the one you brung.

Cheers
Cheers

The GG should have also told the PM and the other party leaders that if the Government falls in January, she will call an election, because she will not allow a lame duck Liberal leader to become a Lame Duck PM. This would give the Liberals enough time to elect a new leader for an early - mid March election.

The rhetoric we are going to hear from the Fab Four in Ottawa for the next seven weeks is basically election campaigning, so let's call a spade a spade and get ready right now to go back to the polls.

Interesting that no one is discussing the situation in Canada in 1926. Mackenzie King led a minority government facing a non confidence vote. He tried to call a snap election to avoid the vote, but the governor general refused. The Conservatives and the Progressives formed a government that lasted only three days, and in the subsequent election, King prentended that this had been a consitutional crisis, and convinced the Canadian people to give him a majority government.

I only mention this because there seem to be some similar themes running through the situations. In the '20s, one side claimed that the other side was acting within the constitution, while the other claimed the opposite. Will the parties today spend the next month or so claiming that the other side was acting unconstitutionally? I would bet the farm on that one. Today, the Conservatives and the Opposition were actually acting legally (I'll leave for the reader to decide the morality of each side), but I'm certain we will hear a huge amount about the "violations of the constitution" by both groups. I hope people will realize that these pronouncements are attempts to muddy the water rather than debate the merits of their positions.

Who said Canadian politics is boring?

Cheers

The GG is just harper's puppet.

If the GG had not granted the reprieve she risked civil unrest.

This gives the MPs a chance to grow up and think about what their constituents elected them to do. Canadians did not elect the MPs to waste taxpayer dollars on mudslinging...we voted for them to govern and to work collaboratively. That is what a minority government means to the average voter.

No one wants an election. Would the House look the same as it does now? Probably. How much work would get done?

I am not prepared to see taxdollars thrown at bandaid solutions that will only serve to bleed us dry in the long run.

ALL MPs, regardless of stripe, need to come back January 27 with an adult approach with compromise in mind. Otherwise I am perfectly happy to vote in an election - I would vote for western separation. I have had enough of the MP bickering and mudslinging. They can save that crap for election campaigns, imo, and leave it outside the House of Commons once elected to office.

Makes sense to me. Thats when the budget comes up for a vote.

I think the liberals just killed their party though. Layton can get out of this as an opportunist with nothing to lose and argue he was reaching out for common ground with Quebec... but Dion took his horse out and shot it. Harper lost confidence and will have to work very hard if he is to regain it.

The Canadian people told Harper (via election) he could lead as long as he worked with the other parties. Instead he continued to act like a dictator instead of a leader of a group. The net result was logical and to be expected. As a result of his refusal to act as his mandate told him we now have no house in place when one is sorely needed. by running for his life he has once again abandoned the people of Canada. Perhaps he was blind to the fact that he only received 31% of the vote. We need leadership and instead we get a running coward. Thanks Stevie.

Regardless of what happens at the end of January –coalition or election in 30 days – the one good thing is that with luck more people will participate next time there is an election
Merry Christmas All

"The question was: Do you think the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc should be allowed to form a coalition government?"

The question was incorrect. The coalition is between the Liberals and the NDP only. The Bloc simply promised in writing to give support by always voting with the two party coalition and not defeating it in any confidence vote for a period of 18 months.

Let's see now:
About 6 weeks ago we had a federal election where we saw the Tories gain more seats and the liberals and the NDP lost seats, even the block gained seats.
Then we had the threat of a liberal leadership race to get rid of moronic Dionne.
Now he is the proposed leader of a proposed coalition with a labor party and a separatist party.
Can I have some of those drugs?

The GG did the right thing to cool off parliament for a month.

Your splitting hairs,diplomat. The MP for quebec are also democraticaly elected to represent the the people of Quebec. Is there a hiddden agenda only they will know.

In the mean time the affairs of the people are stalled in these time of uncertainty in our economy. And two months can be a lifetime og regrett. You can be certain that nothing will have changed in January when the House goes in. To prorogue the government at this time will only add fuel to the fire.

Cheers

I think that it is a real possibility that 12 or more Liberals could cross the floor before Jan 27th as they realize that their constituents are not going to forgive them for the people they are about to get into bed with. BANG - majority!

I have seen poeple suggest that in the next election the NDP and Liberals will agree not to run head to head in any districts and as a result will crush the Cs. I would suggest that the 'merger' of these parties would move the Liberals to the left (obviously). As a result the Cs would move left toward the gap that the Liberals created and, as the new centrist party, would possibly become a powerhouse. We all talk about Ontario like it is a labor powerhouse, but TO has the highest earnings per resident in the nation (after Alberta falls back to earth, at least) and all those workaholics on Bay Street arent gonna want NDP rule. At that point the Cs become the only practical alternative in alot of areas of Southern Ontario that voted Liberal in October.

...as I said.... if an election were held...a strong possibility it would be a conservative majority...although they have now lost some ground by poroguing (is that a word) the government.

The coalition now has the time to go raise money from all of their committed supporters, and get of the welfare system

Well, if nothing else, this issue has polarized Canadians, and made many of us more aware of the politics involved in government. I bet if there was another election right now, we would see a lot more people out to the polling stations to cast their vote. Maybe these interesting times will remain in the collective memory until the next election.
We do indeed live in interesting times.
metalman.

Who would want a prime minister who lost the elections and don't speak english?

I demand an apology !!

I demand an apology from Jack Layton, and I demand an apology from Stephan Dion, for collaborating with the enemies of a United Canada, for making backroom deals knowing full well it would destabilize this great Country, and for deliberately attempting to set up an unholy coalition they were well aware would hand the balance of power in the affairs of this entire Country to a gang of self-centered seperatists, totally bent on enhancing the fortunes of only themselves and one Province, that being Quebec !!

I am totally SHOCKED at how low these two men have stooped, and will never, ever listen to anything they, or their respective parties have to say ever again, except to listen to them apolgize for their actions, -- which I know I'll never hear. Every time they open their mouths from this point on, I'll know its nothing but LIES !! This is an emberassment to every citizen of Canada, and I will never, ever forget what the Liberals and NDP are prepared to do to you and I to enhance their own personal political and financial fortunes.

palomino

I would favor a coalition if it consisted of Liberals and NDP and perhaps the Independents, but not with the Bloc. The Bloc MPs are only interested in anything that will have a positive effect on Quebec. Any move by the proposed coalition that is a negative for Quebec will see them walk away and leave the govt. hamstrung. IMO, the Bloc can not be trusted. Their goal is to see Quebec separate from Canada and/or drain as much money as they can from the rest of Canada.

It will be interesting to see how many Liberals and perhaps a few NDP and maybe the two independents will walk across the floor to join the Conservative. All they need is 12 to give them a majority.

IMO...I agree that there will probably be some tippy- toeing across the floor in the dead of night very soon.
And we do have to assume that not everyone in either the Liberal or the NDP parties agree with the coalition as such.
The party whips have done a good job of keeping them all in line until now,but that may not work for long.
If this coalition crashes and burns, as many think it will,there will a whole flock of political dead ducks wandering around looking for a home.
I think there will be some that bail before the stinky stuff hits the fan,
and I am also sure Harper would welcome them with open arms!
Liberals!...come on down!
I also think that should the Conservatives lose a confidence vote at the end of January,the GG WILL call an election.
By then she will have had time to test the waters and see just how much actual support there is for this coalition by canadians across the Canada.
Which is exactly why they wanted this done as quickly as possible.
There was also lot of very unhappy people at the stock market today and all this coalition hoopla is being blamed for at least some of the damage.
Dion is NOT a happy boy today and with good reason.
He has probably been examined very closely by his party and found to be quite edible.
I think they are going to devour him.
He let the party down in the last election and he just did it again by not pulling this off.
As usual,nobody worries too much about Jack Layton and the NDP and I admit, it is kind of hard to take them seriously, especially Jack!
;-)

Just one thing that all should remember is that Harper and company were elected as a minority government and as such have to get along with other people in order to stay in power. Just because he was re-elected as a minority government does not mean he can govern as majority government without talking to others.
I really hope that during the next 7 weeks all MPs will chill out and consider Canada instead of themselves and their version of parlaiment. Nuff said

OTTAWA - Almost three-quarters of Canadians say they are "truly scared" for the future of the country and a solid majority say they would prefer another election to having the minority Conservative government replaced by a coalition led by Stephane Dion, a new Ipsos-Reid poll says.


The poll also indicates Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives would romp to a majority victory with a record 46 per cent public support if an election were held today

Deal with it.

I was just reading that Death to Socialism.
This coalition is dead meat!
And so is Dion!

Oh oh!
It may be over....the first Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, just shot his face off to the media about Dion.
He doesn't figure the coalition will survive.
The knives are out.
That didn't take long!

I find it interesting that when the opposition decides to experiment with parliamentary convention its considered fair game, but when our rightfully elected officials throw cold water on a raging bonfire of political crapola with the sober, mindful consent of the Queen's Representative, its somehow an attack on freedom. The Governor General was appointed on Paul Martin's recommendation. She was briefed by nonpartisan constitutional experts on her responsibilities before her decision. The purpose of the Governor General is precisely to do what she feels is best for parliament.

If this was part of Harper's plan all along, he is a shrewd man and a force to be reckoned with. Nothing could have exposed the opposition's agenda and willingness to shoot themselves in the foot better than this incident.

It was interesting to listen to Gordon Gibson on CBC TV this morning. He said with five political parties we are going to have more minority governments and we had better learn to live with it. So there will be more alliances. Perhaps we had all better learn what the different parties stand for. I think a lot don't know the difference; they just shoot from the hip. We are lucky, this is an opportunity to study the different parties and decide who you want to see form the government and the opposition. Not all right wingers - we need a balance.

The coalition now has the time to go raise money from all of their committed supporters, and get of the welfare system


Zoom;I think the committed supporters are getting thinner by the minute.

The opinion polls are showing what many knew. The Conservatives are gaining support at the thought of a coalition of loons. Dion is no PM he's barely functional.

Time will expose the posers. Time will allow cooler heads to prevail. Time will allow everyone an opportunity to contribute something to the budget and stimulus package that will be palatable for everyone. How can you turn down a budget that includes most of the things you proposed? They won't be able to use the economic stimulus package as an excuse to overthrow the government.

If that doesn't happen, oh well, back to the poles. That was where we were probably headed in the first place. But, at least we have provided an opportunity for all of these MP's to work things out. Good decision on the part of the Governor General. Otherwise, we would have had a real mess.

Meet ~~~THE HAMMER~~~ Gilles Duceppe.
Check this guy's BIO out on wikipedia.
We had better watch who our leaders are.
go to, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Duceppe

Don't worry, Canada's an island. Glad I didn't listen to Steve-o and pick up some of those great stock deals a few weeks back. Cons prefer small governments with small spending? How about massive spending and Canada's second largest government, ever...?
Our banks are sound? Why have we thrown more money into the banks, per capita, than the U.S.? Why has ABCP trading in Canada been frozen since this summer? Because the paper is worthless.
Nothing to see here folks, no deficits, no recession, move along please.
There's a storm a'brewin', and we're all going to be in it. No party will be able to stop it.
But since everyone's climbing on the soapbox, please, stop lying to us all. Some people actually believe you clowns!