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Coalition Stirs as Ignatieff Speaks Out on Harper Budget Leaks

by Tina Kells | January 23, 2009 at 01:54 pm

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Stephen Harper and his Conservative minority government have made sweeping changes to their budget plans in an effort to quash any further talk of a coalition government, but newly appointed Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is not interested in playing any games.

Ignatieff has kept cautiously mum on the depth of his dedication to the coalition agreement the Liberals signed with opposition colleagues, the NDP and the Bloc Quebec in December, but he has warned Tories that he has no patience for manipulation.

So Fridays leak of budget details by Tory insiders has left Ignatieff unimpressed and resurrected rumblings of an opposition coalition and a vote of non-confidence against Stephen Harper's government.

"The release of this budget information was irresponsible and costly to our economy," Ignatieff said in an address to a joint luncheon of the Canadian Club and the Empire Club in Toronto.

"I asked Mr. Harper not to play games like that. I told him, 'Put the facts and figures on the table. Don’t let them slip out at his convenience.' But the guy just can't help himself. He thinks it is all some kind of political game."

The Liberal leader's comments came as government officials leaked more details from the federal budget on Friday, including a $1-billion fund for hard-hit industries ranging from forestry to agriculture to manufacturing.

On Thursday, a senior government official said the federal government will run a $64-billion deficit in the next two fiscal years in the Harper government's plan to provide a stimulus for the Canadian economy.

It is a stark contrast to the small surplus the Conservatives predicted for the next fiscal year in their economic update just two months ago.

Following that economic statement, the Liberals threatened to defeat the minority government and entered an agreement with the NDP to form a coalition government with support from the Bloc Québécois.

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sara star

at 09:30 on January 30th, 2009

Sorry about the late reply.

Thanks Tina for keeping us abreast on Ignatieff and the Coalition. If not for them we would not have today's budget, and Harper would not be held accountable.