July 30 to August 26 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears ready to call a federal election this fall despite the fixed-date election law passed by his government. Harper cites opposition threats and parliamentary deadlock as grounds for an early election.
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion criticized Harper for breaking the spirit of his own fixed election date law, yet continued his threats to defeat the government sometime before the fixed election date in October 2009.
The cash-strapped Liberal Party was widely expected to defeat the government when the House returns this fall, but only after they receive a $2 million rebate paymet from Elections Canada in October.
January 28 to February 13, 2008 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Stéphane Dion are approaching a compromise on the future of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.
Harper set a conciliatory tone and Dion eventually dropped his long held demand that Canada exit combat operations in February 2009.
October 19 - 24, 2007 - Liberal leader Stéphane Dion addressed the House of Commons and announced his intention to abstain from the vote on the government’s Speech from the Throne despite previous threats and objections to the proposed legislative agenda.
The tactic is known as a ‘whipped abstention’ because MPs are compelled to abstain from the vote or be expelled from the party caucus.
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion has backed away from his Throne Speech ultimatum in which he threatened to defeat the government unless it meets 4 Liberal Party demands.
All three Opposition parties have set conditions for supporting the Throne Speech, and an election will be called if they follow through on their threats.
However, Stéphane Dion now says he will take a ‘wait and see’ approach. The change comes amid ongoing divisions in the Liberal Party, and after an October 13 Ipsos-Reid poll showing 40% of Canadians would vote Conservative, and 67% think Canada is moving in the right direction.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper challenged the opposition parties to either give the minority Conservative government a mandate to govern, or force a general election.
Both the Liberal Party and Bloc Québécois have threatened to reject the government’s Speech from the Throne on October 16, unless it meets their demands. The government will fall and there will be a general election unless it can win the support of at least one opposition party.
The government is unlikely to agree to all of Stéphane Dion’s demands, or all of the Bloc Québécois’ conditions. NDP Leader Jack Layton said he will wait and see whether any of his concerns are addressed.
Stéphane Dion says the Liberal Party will vote to defeat the government unless the Speech from the Throne addresses four key issues. The government will be defeated if it loses the Throne Speech vote in October.
Dion says that in order to guarantee Liberal Party support of the Throne Speech, the government must:
Immediately inform NATO that Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan will end in 2009
Stephen Harper has already committed to a vote in the House of Commons on extending the Afghan mission, and he unlikely to commit the government to any policy beforehand, putting him at odds with Dion’s first demand.
If we don’t have these 4 priorities, we will not be able to support this Throne Speech.
All three political parties must vote against the Throne Speech in order to defeat the government.
Like the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois has also promised to defeat the government if it doesn’t commit to ending the mission in Afghanistan.
The NDP also want the government to pull out of Afghanistan, but so far have not threatened to defeat the government over the issue.
Update, September 16 - This video has received a several hundred views from the Small Dead Animals blog, not to mention dozens of interesting and insightful comments from regular readers of the Roadkill Diaries.
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