Coalition Deal To Topple Minority Tory Govt- [Update Parliament Prorogued until Jan]

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

The GG was appointed by Martin....do you think this will play into her decision?

I'm sure that during the interview she wasn't asked directly which political party she supports, but I would have to think enough research was done to ensure they know which box she marks an X next to on election days.

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

The Queen can also withdraw the governor General

but no beheadings.

Damn!

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

I was trying to understand what kind of Power the GG actually has, and something that came up was the fact that the queen still actually has some powers (is this true?) I was surprised to see that. And also that the GG has quite a lot of power but never actually uses it. Any experts on this?

The Governor General is Canada's Head of State, as the Queens representative.

Basically, she reigns supreme. However, that is merely tradition and her role is strictly regulated by the Constitution. An election can be called only by her office, and she does so on the advice of the head of the Legislative body (Prime Minister).

It's my understanding that most Canadians are now pretty much pissed off at all parties for this. No one wants to spend another bunch of money on an election, delaying actual government work (not that they do any really) just to end up with yet another minority government that will simply bicker till they dissolve in 4 months.

With this in mind, I can see the Governor General looking to the coalition to lead until they lose confidence.

The Conservatives revealed their naked power grab last week and are now biting it. Harper screwed up big time and if his government gets demoted, he's out as leader. Maybe McKay can clean things up, assuming he gets the social right under control. I for one would like to see the return of the true Tories rather then this current Reform rabble.

Really, all Harper needs to do is publicly invite all the opposition leaders to the table to participate in crafting a budget that satisfies all parties. Hell, satisfy just one party and the threat is gone, reputation is restored and the "coalition" looks like a bunch of coop opportunists. But instead Harper is digging his moralistic heels in, whining about "socialist policies" and destroying Canada's shot at a responsible government.

This is a minority government in action, but with players who don't even grasp the concept of such a beast.

The only thing that I worry about with the coalition is the thought of Dion being Prime Minister. If Ignatieff becomes leader of the party in the interim, I'll rest easier. Canada needs a strong leader, Dion is not that.

[CaptainCrunch]

Which would be a sad thing because the governor general has to be apolitical. It would look bad if the Queens representative to Canada was playing political patty cake with any party.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by ikaris

If you recall exactly, the price of oil was very high going into it in the late 70s. The NEP was a blatant cash grab from Alberta. This time, the price of oil is not high at all. Please explain how this is going to be replayed with a vengeance. I would like to understand the economics of this.

Are you friggen kidding me? It's 50USD/bbl. What do you consider high?

[Jason14h]

Are you friggen kidding me? It's 50USD/bbl. What do you consider high?

Anything over $100

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Are you friggen kidding me? It's 50USD/bbl. What do you consider high?

Seeing as OPEC wants 75USD/bbl as the target, no 50 isn't high.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I'm sure that during the interview she wasn't asked directly which political party she supports, but I would have to think enough research was done to ensure they know which box she marks an X next to on election days.

Is the Governor General allowed to vote? I know the Queen isn't allowed to vote in British elections.

[Bertuzzied]

Political scientiests thinks it Harpers fault. And one of them is even his friend! hehe.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgary...575/story.html

While all the parties wade into murky political waters, policy experts argued Harper made critical errors in last week's economic update, which precipitated the instability.
Barry Cooper, a conservative-minded political scientist at the University of Calgary and friend of Harper, said the prime minister "made a mistake" in trying to eliminate the per-vote funding for political parties, which would have crippled the opposition financially.
"They didn't learn,"he said of the Tories. "(Harper) is not listening."
The outlook for Harper is"pretty bleak" if he loses power, Cooper added, explaining "the person who will have to bear the responsibility is the prime minister."

Harper's best bet may be to buy time and hope the coalition falls apart, said Peter McCormick, political scientist at the University of Lethbridge. Otherwise, he may have to hand over power and hope to recover it in a federal election sometime in the next year amid a faltering economy.
"It's clear Harper and his brain trust are to blame for the mess his Conservatives are in," McCormick said. "I can't see a 'dump Harper'movement (within the Tories). It's more likely that Harper will dump himself if things unfold badly enough."

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by getbak

Is the Governor General allowed to vote? I know the Queen isn't allowed to vote in British elections.

Probably not, but she was almost certainly a voter prior to her appointment.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Which would be a sad thing because the governor general has to be apolitical. It would look bad if the Queens representative to Canada was playing political patty cake with any party.

At this point in the rhetoric, no matter what the Governor General decides, she's going to come across as pandering to one party or the other.

If she chooses the coalition (which I suspect she is obligated to do), the Conservatives will spend the next few months whining about how she is a Liberal supporter.

If she chooses to call an election, the coalition will accuse her of caving into Harper's demands.

[redforever]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
After watching the news last night and doing a little research, its likely that Harper will approach the governer General and ProRogue the parliment or shut it down. The GG does not have decision making ability on this, if its recommended by the Prime Minister, then Parliment is shut down, until the end of Jan. There will be no votes and no motions.

Then its likely on the first day back that the Conservatives will make a new crown speech that includes the Federal Budget. This obviously puts the opposition in a bind at that point. This is going to allow public sentiment to build against the coaltion, and if the Harper Government is smart they'll be all kinds of (I don't agree with it) stimuli in the budget kicking the legs out of this coalition.

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

I heard that it was still up to the GG to approve ProRogue.....at the end of the day it seems the GG has a fair amount of power over the outcome of this mess.

I was listening to a constitutional expert yesterday and they concur with Captain Crunch. The GG will have to abide by the wishes of the PM on such a manner. And the constitutional expert said that when Cretien was PM, he alluded to that fact many times.

[ikaris]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Are you friggen kidding me? It's 50USD/bbl. What do you consider high?

The price of oil would need to be around $80USD/bbl to be considered high.

http://www.inflationdata.com/inflati...ices_Chart.htm

Right now it has leveled, causing many projects to be delayed in Alberta. This coalition can't just take money from Alberta when there isn't any excess money to take. When the NEP was instituted initially, oil was peaking.... right now the economic conditions would not make sense to for anyone to put an NEP style policy through. I was just addressing the people that were saying that this is all about raping Alberta.

On a side note, one of the options for the GG could be to resign. This would force another election. This wouldn't be a bad idea as then she personally doesn't have to take responsibility for anything (and she shouldn't have to, the position is supposed to be just a figurehead).

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by llama64

The only thing that I worry about with the coalition is the thought of Dion being Prime Minister. If Ignatieff becomes leader of the party in the interim, I'll rest easier. Canada needs a strong leader, Dion is not that.

Whoever wears the crown is irrelevent. He will be nothing more than a puppet to Layton and Duceppe. There is a reason why these coalitions are so unstable.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

Interesting, B/C on CBC Radio it was the opposite said.....

Oh, the CBC......... right

[ok, ok,....I get it]

Originally Posted by redforever

Oh, the CBC......... right

Hey I agree....CBC is , but they are presenting a different version on this particular point.......that was why i was questioning.....

[Russic]

Originally Posted by llama64

It's my understanding that most Canadians are now pretty much pissed off at all parties for this. No one wants to spend another bunch of money on an election, delaying actual government work (not that they do any really) just to end up with yet another minority government that will simply bicker till they dissolve in 4 months.

With this in mind, I can see the Governor General looking to the coalition to lead until they lose confidence.

The Conservatives revealed their naked power grab last week and are now biting it. Harper screwed up big time and if his government gets demoted, he's out as leader. Maybe McKay can clean things up, assuming he gets the social right under control. I for one would like to see the return of the true Tories rather then this current Reform rabble.

Really, all Harper needs to do is publicly invite all the opposition leaders to the table to participate in crafting a budget that satisfies all parties. Hell, satisfy just one party and the threat is gone, reputation is restored and the "coalition" looks like a bunch of coop opportunists. But instead Harper is digging his moralistic heels in, whining about "socialist policies" and destroying Canada's shot at a responsible government.

This is a minority government in action, but with players who don't even grasp the concept of such a beast.

The only thing that I worry about with the coalition is the thought of Dion being Prime Minister. If Ignatieff becomes leader of the party in the interim, I'll rest easier. Canada needs a strong leader, Dion is not that.

I pretty much agree with everything here. I'm not a McKay fan by any stretch but I think the conservatives could have grabbed a majority if he was leading instead of Harper and we could have avoided this mess.

I don't support any of the major parties and this whole experience is doing nothing but solidify those beliefs.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Not only was she appointed by a Liberal, but the knock against that appointment was that her and her husband were both confirmed Separatist sympathizers.

I am not worried about who appointed our present GG and I do not think she is a Separatist sympathizer either.

I am not a Liberal supporter but I do think their choices for GG have been quite outstanding.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by llama64

At this point in the rhetoric, no matter what the Governor General decides, she's going to come across as pandering to one party or the other.

If she chooses the coalition (which I suspect she is obligated to do), the Conservatives will spend the next few months whining about how she is a Liberal supporter.

If she chooses to call an election, the coalition will accuse her of caving into Harper's demands.

There are actually three options as I understand them.
Choose the coalition - you'll hear whining about liberal bias
Refuse to bring down the government and tell them to work it out - calls of conservative bias
Call an election - really the only option that's fair to the parties and voters. a pretty terrible option but the best of the three.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by ok, ok,....I get it

Hey I agree....CBC is , but they are presenting a different version on this particular point.......that was why i was questioning.....

Call it whatever version you want, fact of the matter is, the role is quite defined for the GG and a lot of it goes by what precedents have been established.