It looks like Stéphane Dion might just make it to the Prime Minister's office after all, at least for a little while. According to frenzied reporting out of Ottawa, opposition parties in Canada's Parliament (who, while not forming the government, hold the majority of seats between them) are preparing to topple the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
According to initial reports, Dion would become Prime Minister until the spring, when his party chooses a new leader.
It will go down on Dec. 8, when opposition parties will table a motion of no confidence in the House of Commons; the motion will endorse a coalition of parties forming a replacement without running a new election.
All this is nearly unprecedented in Canadian politics (nearly unprecedented because the last true coalition government was during WWI) and pretty much unvarnished good news for the environment.
Dion has gotten a lot of positive press for his environmental policies. Too bad he was a better environment minister than political leader, or else his party might not now be looking for his replacement.
The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois are all further to the left and much, much better on environmental questions than the current government. Between a change in Ottawa and the change in Washington, it looks like the last of the roadblocks to serious climate change action in North America are falling.
But we'll see what happens Dec. 8.
Children and riot police face off in Canadian “Moms” video
The violent twilight of oil and a strategy to expose it
Comments
View as Flat
Easterbunny Posted 11:13 pm
30 Nov 2008
Permalink
sindark Posted 12:47 am
01 Dec 2008
a sibilant intake of breath
Permalink
tidal Posted 1:32 am
01 Dec 2008
But I think there is a much larger issue at play.
In the last Parliament, also a CPC minority, the Tories governed as if they had a majority. They basically sneered and bullied and dared at the opposition, and rammed through the key platforms they had on their mandate from the last election.
The intent of calling the last election (against Harper's own call for fixed date elections... and conveniently just in advance of the US elections...) was to secure a Tory majority. Having failed in that, the agenda was to start governing "as if a majority" again.
This f-up has basically served notice to (a) the Canadian people that the Tories were prepared to govern with disregard to their minority status and (b) the Tories that the opposition is not going to play that game any more.
Again, my bet is that Harper and the Tories are still in power 8 days from now, but that this near-death experience, the legitimacy of a coalition government alternative, and the change of government in the US all contrive to mean that this Parliament is going to be much more, er, flexible than the last on a variety of issues.
Permalink
John former Marine Posted 3:28 am
01 Dec 2008
Il faut cultiver notre jardin.
Permalink
katakanadian Posted 6:31 am
01 Dec 2008
The Conservative Party abandoned the Progressive part of their name years ago both in letter and spirit.
I am hopeful for the prospect of a coalition government.
Permalink
tidal Posted 7:02 am
01 Dec 2008
Like I said upthread, I think the best outcome here - and a desireable outcome at that - is a massively humbled CPC-lead minority government for the next few years... but we shall see...
Permalink