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Canadians should expect an election call sometime this week
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by Tina Kells | September 2, 2008 at 08:30 am
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Canadians should be prepared for an election announcement this week, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Stéphane Dion failed to reach an agreement that would keep the Conservative minority government afloat.
"It will happen between [September] 5th and the 7th," a senior government source told the Canadian Press.
"There will be an election kickoff between Friday and Sunday."
The news came just hours after Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion came out of a brief meeting with Harper in Ottawa saying he had no doubt Canadians will face an election this fall.
Calling the meeting a "charade," Dion said the two were unable to agree on how to make the upcoming session of Parliament, slated to begin Sept. 15, more productive.
"There is no agreement … but there wasn't one six months or 12 months ago," Dion said outside the gates of the prime minister's official residence, less than 30 minutes after the meeting began. "There's nothing new there. It's nothing but an excuse."
Prime Minister Harper is expected to ask Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve parliament and announce an election for October 14, 2008. This is one full year ahead of the fixed election promised by Harper as part of his much touted election reforms.
Harper rallied hard for a fixed election schedule when his party was elected to a minority government just 2 years ago. Both critics and opposition leaders are expected to use this fact to call his credibility, and the credibility of the Conservative party, into question.
"The prime minister is not going to respect the fixed-date election legislation that he himself proposed and got passed in the House," Dion said.The Liberal leader said he told Harper "it was really unfortunate that he has so little respect for the rule of law here in Canada."
In defense of the apparent disregard for his own law, the Prime Minister pointed the finger opposition leaders and their refusal to work with his party to keep the government alive. He stated that fixed election dates can't work with a minority government situation since the parliament must be dissolved if opposition parties do not support the ruling party.
Harper has said fixed election dates do not apply to minority governments. His spokesperson, Kory Teneycke, said Monday that a fall election called at the behest of the prime minister is perfectly legal."The fixed election date law provides for this exact situation. It's not a violation of that law. Mr. Dion may not understand what that law is, but this is clearly provided for," Teneycke said.
"If Mr. Dion wanted to avoid an election date … he would give some assurance that the government could survive until [2009]."
Opposition leaders have said that it is Harper who is refusing to co-operate and that the Conservative party wants an election. An official announcement is expected as early as Wednesday.
Political observers are expecting that any election called now will result in another minority government, suggesting that the entire situation is an exercise in futility.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 12:48 on September 2nd, 2008
Tina Kells, I like this story. It's good stuff.
The Conservative Governments continued frustration over getting bills passed in the Liberal dominated Senate, bills in which they were elected on, but the Liberal majority Senate stonewall every time, pretty much put Harper in a position to "Fish or Cut Bait", because if a government is unable to pass bills which help it get elected, they are pretty much dead in the water. One hopes a majority government given to the Conservatives will one day give them the punch and mandate to pass bills they built their party platform on.
Rest assured Tina, there will be some political horsetrading of favours from all political parties from all provinces. Let's hope BC is not left out in the cold, if a liberal sweep in BC comes our way.
at 18:14 on September 2nd, 2008
Tina Kells, I like this story. It's good stuff. It's always fun to see how other nations conduct their business.