Pol l ' IS IGGY LYING ABOUT A COALITION?

[stubblejumper]

We in the west should be like Tom and friends in Alberta and form another Conservative party because the one we have now isn't working.

[dalek]

"Down with the Count"

[bucket]

The problem with Paul Martin is he has a sweetheart deal shipping grain through the great lakes with deals through the cwb that are none of our business.

Meanwhile he is heavily invested in one earth farms, which is also something he started while prime minister.

[rockpile]

Hmm! First off, it was Paul Martin who called on the
Gomery Commission, I'll be it, under pressure. But
note: in Ottawa, nothing happens without pressure.
As for Harper, I just don't trust the guy. Is he
suddenly the warm, caring, fuzzy, centrist piano
playing guy who goes to bed at night saying -
'gosh, I just want to do the very, very best for
Canadians'. Or, underneath is he still the just a little
bit right of a Libertarian, a wing nut graduate of the
'Calgary School' who helped pen the doctrine to
build a firewall around Alberta, who in a speech at
a University in the US said that 'Canada doesn't
even deserve to be a Country', who in his Masters
Thesis wrote that 'any Government that runs a
deficit deserves to be strung up', and who in Tom
Flanagan's book is described as someone who feels
it's alright to bend the rules or do whatever is
necessary to achieve your aims and goals. I just
don't trust the guy. If a Prentice or McKay were
leader - you wouldn't even be seeing this post. My
hope - no majority for anyone until we get some
pure and honest leadership.
As for Sk's question - give your head a shake. A
coalition with the Bloc would be dysfunctional
before it was even announced. It would be like you
and Burburt suddenly working together on a
common cause.

[stubblejumper]

Stephen Harper clearly tried to seize power through a coalition agreement after coming second to Paul Martin's Liberals in 2004, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe charged Saturday at the start of Canada's 41st federal election campaign.

Duceppe held up the letter to the Governor General he said Harper signed as Official Opposition leader to Martin's government.

Duceppe and Layton say they got together with Harper and drafted the letter to tell then-Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson that Harper was prepared to form a government if Martin lost the confidence of the House of Commons.

"He finished second in that election," Duceppe said in French. "If he says that's undemocratic, well, that's exactly what he was asking for. So let's not play games with history. He has to take responsibility

[cottonpicken]

As much as duceppe is a la douche bag,im thinking
join him and separate our asses from him.

Pound for pound nobody can compare to us.


"Ya but cotton we cant ship uranium or potash
because ontario/quebec said so"-response;"china
wants their pot...NOW"

[parsley]

Can't tussle with you Rocky. In 4 minutes, UFC on Spike.

I want to learn a slick move where I can stack Layton on top of the Harvard wimp, and serve the sandwich to stubble for breakfast.

Have to practice a bit, tho. Pars

[gregpet]

Were his lips moving? If so, good chance he was lying.

[stubblejumper]

Deal in 2004 had Harper singing different tune on opposition collaboration
Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:20:00 CST Share |


The letter signed by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP Leader Jack Layton asking to form a coalition of three parties in 2004 is shown during the Bloc news conference Saturday, March 26, 2011 in Montreal. Canadians will go to the polls for a federal election May 2. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonOTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood outside Rideau Hall on Saturday railing against the idea of opposition parties trying to band together and form a government.

But seven years ago, Harper sent a letter to the same address suggesting he'd be open to that, right down to working with the very party he now says should have no role in the government.

It was the fall of 2004 and Paul Martin's newly elected minority Liberal government was teetering towards a non-confidence vote over the speech from the throne.

The opposition Tories, Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats got together to discuss what to do.

All three wanted amendments to the throne speech and had managed to agree on what they should look like.

Unlike the non-confidence motion that toppled Harper's government on Friday, the one facing Martin in 2004 came only weeks after the election.

If he lost, it didn't mean Parliament had to be dissolved right away. Rather than plunge the country back into a campaign, the governor general had the option to turn to the three opposition parties and see if they could take the reins.

So, the parties sent then-governor general Adrienne Clarkson a letter saying they'd welcome a chat.

"We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation," the letter read.

"We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority."

The letter didn't mention a coalition government and at the time, Harper was quoted as saying he wasn't attempting to form one.

"This is not a coalition," he said. "My staff asked me what we should call this arrangement and I said it's the opposition parties co-operating. Maybe it's a co-opposition."

While Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe told reporters on Saturday that they didn't discuss a coalition, a message posted from his Twitter account suggested that was on the table.

"I do remember my meeting with Mr. Harper in 2004. He definitely talked about a coalition," said the Twitter post.

Harper has now picked a new word to define it: illegitimate.

"If Canadians elect the other party, even by minority, you respect that judgment," he said at his campaign kickoff on Saturday.

"It is illegitimate to attempt to overturn that and if you want to overturn it you go back to the people and get a mandate to do so."

Kathleen Monk, a spokesperson for the Layton campaign, said the 2004 letter was only the first step in negotiations among the parties on what would happen if they defeated defeat Martin.

Since Harper had won the most seats of the opposition parties in that election, he wanted to take the lead, both the Bloc and NDP say.

Harper invited Layton and Duceppe to the initial meeting, and talks progressed to the point where Harper was asking what the Bloc would like in a new throne speech, Duceppe said.

"What do you want from the speech from the throne?," Duceppe said Harper asked.

"What do you want from the budget?"

There were no talks about allocating cabinet seats among the parties.

Those are the kind of conversations Harper swears will happen between the Bloc and the Liberals if the Tories lose this campaign.

"It is not principled to have a party dedicated to the breakup of the country having a hand in the running of a government," he said.

It was the promise of a larger role for the Bloc that saw Layton break away from the talks in 2004.

"I was not about to participate in any scheme cooked up by the Bloc and the Conservatives that would put the country in the hands of Stephen Harper," Layton wrote in 2005.

In the end, the Liberals accepted amendments to the throne speech, avoiding that non-confidence vote.

Paul Martin's government lasted 17 months, before going down to another non-confidence motion

[stubblejumper]

Harper=hypocrite

[newguy]

Harper is a dictator at heart. He tried to cut funding to opposition to cripple them. No respect for Canadian political system.

[HFL]

You like handing out your tax dollars to political parties? Giving tax dollars to the Bloc? Tax dollars to a party whose main goal is the destruction of Canada. Political parties can raise their own money. They don't need tax dollars.

[HFL]

If you guys want to talk about what Harper did in 2004 then you better talk about what the Liberals did back then to. They stole 100 million from Canadain taxpayers. Everytime this is brought up the Liberals say "oh thats ancient history" Liberal=lier.

[wmoebis]

Have we not been under a coalition for the last 7 years?

reform Alliance PC = Con

[silverback]

I don't really care about a coalition, just campaign on it out front and in the open. Don't be a weasel. Don't expect us to believe you after the lies of the past. Don't expect us to believe you until you pay back the money you pocketed.

You liberals and socialists can talk about it all you want.

How about we now talk about the real issues that affect this country. The economy maybe? Tax policy maybe? Crime?