Liberal senators made some noise today after removing measures from the budget approved by the elected Liberal caucus in the House of Commons, begging the question does Ignatieff have any control over his people in the upper chamber? If this gets kicked back to the elected house, it could lead to a confidence vote very quickly out of the gate. It is unclear whether the Liberals will change their minds and vote against the confidence motion that they previously approved. Either way it will put the Liberal leader in a very difficult position, suggesting that today's actions did not occur with his approval.
It was very bizarre how the media spun this story today. The Globe had a similar headline to the Post, "Tories threaten election over omnibus budget bill", when all that happened is a Tory senator reminded everyone that the Conservatives are ready to go at any time and can go to the polls if the senate wants to gut the budget. There wouldn't have been anything to comment on had the budgetary provisions not been removed; instead the story is blame the Tories for election readiness reminders while the Liberals are taking actions which could lead to a confidence vote.
We will see how this story plays out. The Senate hasn't finished with this one yet.
From what I've read, the bill was broken into pieces in committee.
ReplyDeleteIt can be reconstituted in a general vote of the Senate.
The Liberals need to actually show up.
Conservatives: 51 minus 1 for speaker is 50
Liberals: 49 minus 1 for suspended is 48
Others: 4
Vacant: 1
If only 3 Liberals don't show up they lose.
My take is the Liberals are making one last wheezy attempt at asserting themselves before they finally lose control of any part of the Senate.
But if they do succeed, the original bill will be voted on again in the Commons and Iggy will have to explain again why he was for something before he was against it.
How embarassing for Ignatieff that his Liberal Senators will thumb their collective noses at the House of Common. And people ask why we need to revamp the Senate especially time served. We need term limits! Cheers.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wierd budget bill, though, one has to admit. It is interesting that the Canada Post sell-off got through the house, as the union gang hates this stuff.
ReplyDeleteWere the opposition parties too tired and lazy to read the bill, and just wanting to go home and avoid a June election face-off? Get on with summer and on to the "Iggy Try-Out Campaign Tour"? Could the under-the-bus tour be the reason: issues to continue the fake lake scare into fake? enviro irresponsibility???, build on fears of selling off Canuck technology and jobs for posties?? Build the fear all summer and it will all be the Senate's fault in Sept? "We did not want an election: the Senate made us do it".
The Liberals want a quick death for Iggy now and the only way, save his resignation, is an election. As usual, they know how to waste our tax funds.
They could then re-set the Liberal clock for a new late winter/spring 2011 leader race after a fall Tory minority win. I really think that no one in Canada wants a fully merged Liberal-NDP coalition. Cost for Canada: a useless 3M election; benefit - a year or two of strategic CPC cost cutting of useless government programs and grants. In any scenario, CPC is in a good position, as we will get our conservative spring 2011 budget. If the Liberals wait until March 2011 and vote that down, they will still lose.
There was a lot in the bill. I do not really get the environmental review stuff, but there is probably excessive federal over-sight/overlap, but, again those in the know should look at it further. I am not ready to hand BC envir review off to Campbell, unless BC is really duplicating. He was the one whining the loudest and we no longer trust him. The AECL sell-off does deserve some thought, although Paradis made some sense (not very persuasively due to his lack of communication skills in both languages). He said it would take time, but I did not get why the government needs instant flexibility. None of these sound like CPC poison pills, though, so I think they probably had good reasons to package them with a routine govt. ops budget.
Minority governments suck, especially when the Humpty Dumpty Canada is getting better, finally, and without Power Corps in the driver's seat wrecking the wall. I really wish Ontario would wake up!
begging the question does Ignatieff have any control over his people in the upper chamber?
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope not. That would undermine the very purpose of a senate, whether elected or appointed. It is not a rubber stamp body and, as Marjorie LeBreton the Conservative Leader in the Senate herself said in admonishing Harper's PMO recently, they do good and valuable work.
As for a senate majority on this vote, there are a number of Conservative senators who don't like this stupid dog's breakfast of a bloated budget bill. It is sneaky and underhanded and deals with many matters that are not budget matters.
I would love to see Harper explain to Canadians that he broke his fixed election date law, again, because he didn't want a separate vote on 4 non-budgetary items he jammed into a budget bill.