In this Week In Canadian Politics, the first Conservative Budget was presented and there was a chance that Prime Minister Steven Harper could have seen another federal election, but he was bailed out by a surprising ally. Then Cindy Sheehan came to Canada, oddly after the US State Department listed Canada as a “terrorist haven”, even though Iraq was not. Also a couple more candidates threw their hats into the leadership race for the Liberal Party, except one that may be the King maker in the whole thing.
This Week in Canadian Politics is a summary of postings at Maple Leaf Politics.
The Budget and the Bastard
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives unveiled their first budget on Tuesday. There were some posturing by the Opposition parties that they would not vote for the Budget unless it provided for certain key elements. Harper was going to need the votes of one of the three Parties.
The Liberals wanted to see their income tax cuts and provisions for childcare. A tall order and very unlikely, so most of us knew that there was no chance that the Liberals would support the Budget. Also, the Liberals wanted to put the NDP and the Bloc Québécois on the spot. They both sided with the Conservatives to make the previous Liberal government fall, they wanted to make the NDP or Bloc to prop this Conservative government up.
The NDP wanted to see provisions for childcare and employment insurance. Again another tall order. The NDP won seats in the last election and may actually have a stomach to go through another election even if it meant that the Conservatives could actually win a majority in another election. It was very likely that the NDP would vote against the Budget.
That left the Bloc Québécois, the seperatist party from Quebec. They also wanted similiar things that the NDP wanted, but also they want the fiscal imbalance issue, the flow of money from Ottawa, addressed. The Bloc going in was the question mark. They lost seats in the last election, some of those to the Conservatives. Recent polls in Quebec showed the Conservatives more popular that the Bloc. If there would be an election, the Bloc would probably lose even more seats and become a very weak party in the federal government. So if there was the chance that the Bloc would give Harper the votes he needed.
We did not have to wait too long. On Tuesday evening, just hours after the Budget was released to the public, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe stated that his party would vote for the Budget, giving Harper the votes. In other words, the Bloc knew that they were already defeated and if they wanted to have more time in some sort of power, they would be Harper’s bitch.
Interestingly, the Bloc may be voting for their own demise. Harper’s Budget effectively takes away the economic argument for the Bloc and their cause.
The Conservatives have promised to deal with the difference between the amount of money Ottawa collects from the provinces in taxes and the amount returned to the provinces so they can run programs.
The Conservatives say they want to begin talks with the provinces to find a solution to the problem, and then have the money set aside to fix it, by next year.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said that firm commitment from the federal government was reason enough to support the budget.
But federalist politicians in Quebec believe a new relationship with Ottawa would undermine the sovereigntist argument.
“I think the big loser in all this is the Parti Québécois,” said Mario Dumont, leader of the Action démocratique du Québéc.
He said a new deal would leave the PQ without an economic argument for Quebec independence.
Duceppe decided to stay in power than to take on Harper. This is going to be interesting, because Harper may have gotten rid of the seperatists in the long run. The issue is that now Canada has to deal with him longer.
Terrorists Heart Canada
According to the US State Department, Canada is a “terrorist haven“. Maybe we shouldn’t have allowed Cindy Sheehan to visit?
In its annual Country Report on Terrorism, the State Department expressed growing concern about the presence of “numerous” terror plotters in the country, and said political fallout from the Maher Arar case continues to hamper information-sharing between Canadian and U.S. intelligence agencies.
“Terrorists have capitalized on liberal Canadian immigration and asylum policies to enjoy safe haven, raise funds, arrange logistical support and plan terrorist attacks,” the State Department said.
The U.S. noted “only one person” has been arrested under anti-terrorism legislation passed in Canada after terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.
Interesting, maybe there is something call “reasonable cause” when you go investigate and arrest a person. How many people has the US actually convicted of terrorist actions?
But the big kick in the butt is that in the eyes of the United States, Iraq is not a haven for terrorists.
The State Department’s harsh language on Canada contrasted with its statements in the report of Iraq, which it said was “not currently a terrorist safe haven” despite the continued attacks carried out by al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and other groups in the country.
Huh? So Iraq is the model of efficiency when it comes to destroy terrorist havens? I guess this is more of that stellar conservative logic.
The Arar case involves the Ottawa engineer and Canadian citizen, who was expected of terrorists ties. He was detained by US officials in New York and sent to Syria, oddly one of those countries that Washington has issues with. It was discovered that Arar was tortured while in Syrian custody. The US said that they receive information about Arar from the RCMP. Since then there has been restrictions put on information sharing between the two countries. Wonder why?
Liberals Coming Out Of the Wood Work
The position of Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada has become a very popular position. By this weekend, there will probably be 12 committed candidates to the race. It is getting a bit crazy. Most of the Canadian blogsphere has started to wonder out loud if it is getting out of hand.
However, this week one person that many thought would make a run announced that he would not run – Montreal MP Denis Coderre. Coderre has a lot of clout in Quebec, so when he said that he would be endorsing one of the existing candidates soon, may ears perked up. Coderre may be the “King Maker” in the race, because he can provide a lot of support to the person he endorses, both finacially and in terms of supporters.
Coderre hinted that the candidate that he would support would be male, from Ontario, and would be bilingual. The betting crowd is that it will be Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff.
Other Links
Well that is all for this Week in Canadian Politics, talk to everyone next week.
If Bird Flu Strikes, Border Closes
Is Harper Stacking the FAA Committee?
Barenaked Ladies’ Steve Page Writes Op-Ed
Who’s Endorsing Who In The Liberal Leadership Race
