What election? There was an election in Canada back in 2006. The next one shouldn't be due until 2009.
The last election ended in a minority government. Historically, minority governments only last about two years in Canada, sometimes less.
The Conservatives seem to want an election now, probably because with the U.S. already in a recession, our economy will start to head into the toilet sometime this year, and they don't want to have to call an election during a recession, because the incumbent governemnt rarely wins an election in hard times.
Some of the Liberals also want an election, and the indications are that the Party Leader is one of them.
What's funny is that the Conservatives recently passed an electoral reform law that no longer allows the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament and call an election at a time of his choosing - now we're supposed to have elections every four years, unless the governemnt falls on a no confidence motion.
So the government is trying very hard to force the Opposition defeat them on a confidence motion. It's led to some hilarious moves of late. For instance, the Government brought in a motion - and made it a confidence motion - censuring the Senate for not immediately passing the government's crime bill (alreeady passed through the House of commons) even though (1) the Senate does not answer to the House of Commons (2) the crime bill has not been in the Senate for any longer than any other bill normally is and (3) the bill is flawed, and the Senate is performing its constitutional responsibility as the chambre of "sober second thought."
Obviously the government hoped that the House would fall on this motion and they would be able to paint the Liberals as "soft on crime," crime being a major issue here these days. The Liberals instead rose and walked out of the House when the vote was called, which was fun. Obviously the motion passed, but as the Senate is not answerable to the House, it's meaningless.
So right now we're watching our politicians play a peculiar game of "chicken" as each party tries to figure out which issue it's best to bring down the house on, for them anyway, with of course the caveat that anything could change if the polls shift and someone decides that an election right now is too dangerous.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-02-17 11:54 pm (UTC)The last election ended in a minority government. Historically, minority governments only last about two years in Canada, sometimes less.
The Conservatives seem to want an election now, probably because with the U.S. already in a recession, our economy will start to head into the toilet sometime this year, and they don't want to have to call an election during a recession, because the incumbent governemnt rarely wins an election in hard times.
Some of the Liberals also want an election, and the indications are that the Party Leader is one of them.
What's funny is that the Conservatives recently passed an electoral reform law that no longer allows the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament and call an election at a time of his choosing - now we're supposed to have elections every four years, unless the governemnt falls on a no confidence motion.
So the government is trying very hard to force the Opposition defeat them on a confidence motion. It's led to some hilarious moves of late. For instance, the Government brought in a motion - and made it a confidence motion - censuring the Senate for not immediately passing the government's crime bill (alreeady passed through the House of commons) even though (1) the Senate does not answer to the House of Commons (2) the crime bill has not been in the Senate for any longer than any other bill normally is and (3) the bill is flawed, and the Senate is performing its constitutional responsibility as the chambre of "sober second thought."
Obviously the government hoped that the House would fall on this motion and they would be able to paint the Liberals as "soft on crime," crime being a major issue here these days. The Liberals instead rose and walked out of the House when the vote was called, which was fun. Obviously the motion passed, but as the Senate is not answerable to the House, it's meaningless.
So right now we're watching our politicians play a peculiar game of "chicken" as each party tries to figure out which issue it's best to bring down the house on, for them anyway, with of course the caveat that anything could change if the polls shift and someone decides that an election right now is too dangerous.
Sometimes politics is the best show in town.