Canada government set for defeat on sleaze, waste

Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:05am EDT

* Polls show ruling Conservatives would retain power
* Canada PM says election would threaten economy

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA, March 25 (Reuters) - Canada's minority Conservative government looks set to fall on Friday over charges of waste and sleaze, bringing a May election that Prime Minister Stephen Harper says could hurt one of the best-performing industrialized economies.

The three opposition parties, with a majority of seats in the House of Commons, say they will back a nonconfidence motion at 1:30 p.m. Eastern (1730), launching Canada into its fourth election in less than seven years.

Only two parties can realistically win the election -- the Conservatives or the main opposition Liberals -- and both stress the need for fiscal austerity and the importance of paying down Canada's record budget deficit.

The Liberals vow to scrap C$6 billion ($6.1 billion) in corporate tax cuts and end what they say are extravagant multibillion-dollar plans to buy new fighter jets and build prison cells.

The opposition parties also said this week they would reject the federal budget, a move that would also bring down the government should Friday's motion fail. [ID:nN22192715]

Harper, highlighting risks to the economic recovery, says his opponents are treating the economy as "a political game." [ID:nTOR007972]

Canada's budget deficit hit a record C$55.6 billion last year, but that's tiny compared to a projected $1.645 trillion U.S. shortfall in 2011. The Canadian jobless rate is 7.8 percent compared with 8.9 percent south of the border.

Although polls show the Conservatives would retain power -- likely with another minority -- the opposition thinks it can benefit from a series of ethical scandals to hit the Conservative Party, which came to power in 2006 promising to clean up Ottawa. [ID:nN23241074]

"Will the prime minister now admit he is just a defrocked televangelist of accountability?" Liberal legislator Gerard Kennedy asked in Parliament on Thursday.

Police are investigating allegations of misconduct by a former Harper aide, and last month, four Conservative officials were charged with violating election financing rules in 2006.

This week, a parliamentary committee slapped the government with the first contempt ruling in Canada's history, saying the Conservatives had hidden the full costs of a spending program from Parliament. [ID:nN21299652]

The Conservatives have responded with charges the Liberals, the left-leaning New Democrats and the separatist Bloc Quebecois are planning to form a coalition government.

"The Liberal Party is showing outrageous contempt for Canadian voters by saying that it does not matter which government they elect. It will form a coalition ... and make reckless decisions," government House Leader John Baird told legislators on Thursday.

($1=$0.98 Canadian) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

Pot meets Liberal kettle at contempt hearings

Pot meets Liberal kettle at contempt hearings

Tim Powers 

Globe and Mail Update

Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2011 10:30AM EDT

Last week when House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken brought down his privilege rulings, which were critical of the government, the Liberals began a preachy discourse in defence of democracy and in particular the supremacy of Parliament. In some ways who could blame them, because they weren't really getting much traction on the other issues they were taking to the political market place. Ironically, though, they were setting themselves up for trouble.

You see the Speaker said his rulings needed to be studied further by a parliamentary committee. The first set of those committee hearings began Wednesday. However, before the sun even set the Liberals had issued a press release condemning the government, which brought forward new information and a legion of witnesses to address the concerns raised by the Speaker. It is hard to conceive how the Liberals, if they were serious about reviewing the material and testimony to make democracy work for Canadians, would be blasting the government before dusk on Day 1. I am a speed-reader myself and am not bad at multi-tasking, but what the Liberals did in terms of reflection must set some Guinness Book record.

Legitimacy would have required some real investigation and analysis, not a Viagra-like induced rush to a conclusion that suits their own political desires. If you are going to accuse the Harper government (I wasn't mandated to use that title) of hypocrisy, it is probably not wise to behave in such an obviously hypocritical manner yourself.

For all I know the government material may not have met the conditions set out by the Speaker. But the way the Liberals handled things Wednesday clearly illustrated the only democracy they're interested in involves them running it. The criticism of the government last week was in some ways deserved but the Liberal antics this week make them look like co-conspirators to democratic diminution.

Pot, meet kettle.