"If Mr. Harper wishes to act in the best interests of the country, it may be time for him to consider removing [himself]. With a different Conservative leader in place, the coalition could lose some of its lustre – or at least its urgency – for the opposition parties. For Mr. Harper, who has built his government's image almost entirely around his own and controls nearly every aspect of its operations, relinquishing power would be a terribly bitter pill to swallow. He is the type who would rather fight than switch. That is his prerogative. But switching to another Conservative leader may at this point be preferable to a legacy as the man who gave Canada Prime Minister Stéphane Dion." - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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Interesting that one of his biggest cheerleaders has thrown him under the bus. I won't be truly impressed unless the Nazi Post does so, however. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Seriously? They're pretty centrist too. Holy cow. - Abby Martin
Didn't the G&M endorse Harper? Interesting... - Gabriel N.
"Traditionally, the G-G's role has been a largely ceremonial one. How bound is the G-G by protocol, and how flexible can she be in her decision? These conventions are unwritten. They are the unwritten parts of our Constitution. We rarely face the kind of situations we face now, to say the least. So there is always a bit of debate about what these prerogatives are, or the nature of her authority in these situations. So, she is bound, in a way, by precedents, but you have to apply these precedents and the unwritten rules to the specific facts of the case. So, in that sense, a big part of it is judgment — you can't just apply a formula." - Cecily
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"As leaders of the opposition parties, we are well aware that, given the Liberal minority government, you could be asked by the Prime Minister to dissolve the 38th Parliament at any time should the House of Commons fail to support some part of the government’s program. We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. 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. Your attention to this matter is appreciated." -- signed Gilles Duceppe, Jack Layton and Stephen Harper - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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Here's what's changed in four years: the shoe's on the other foot now. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
The dude has to go....even if only for the sake of his own party. - Chris Luckhardt
"The King-Byng Affair was a Canadian constitutional crisis that occurred in 1926 when the Governor General of Canada, Lord Byng of Vimy, refused a request by the Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to dissolve parliament and call a general election." - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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""Stéphane Dion and the NDP want to make this happen by accepting support from a party intent on destroying the country," he said." - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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I'm sick of hearing both Conservative and Liberal politicians accusing each other of conspiracy with the Bloc Québécois. It demeans everyone involved to smear the duly elected representatives of the people of Québec, and it ensures further division. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
"The federal Liberals have laid out a potential plan to bring down the Harper government by putting forward a motion they could use to defeat the Conservatives on Monday and replace them with a coalition made up of themselves and the NDP." - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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""But if we are not careful, if we don't Christmas shop for example, we can actually unwittingly contribute to our economic challenges," he said." - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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Once again, we are called upon to do our patriotic duty and be mindless consumers, putting ourselves further in debt. Stupid, stupid, stupid. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
For some politicians, the opening of a new session of Parliament is like back-to-school – reuniting with old friends, meeting new seat mates, feeling excitement about the possibilities at hand.
For Justin Trudeau, it was all those things and more. - Chris Luckhardt
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""We all agreed that we should see infrastructure spending accelerated," Harper said at the conclusion of an afternoon meeting billed as the first of a series of first ministers "workshops" on the economy. "Today was a very preliminary discussion on a wide range of issues."
In its first three budgets, the Harper government set aside more than $37 billion in infrastructure spending." - Shey
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CTVglobemedia has a clear political agenda, and keeping a united left from forming is at the top of its list. I find CTV and the Globe and Mail only slightly less obviously biased than Fox News. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
"Backroom veterans Brian Topp and Leslie Campbell discuss the state of their party, whether it's time to unite the left and where it should stand on Afghanistan " - Abby Martin
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Is the Globe and Mail no longer Canadian? They should have titled this article "Whither the NDP?" - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
Mme. Hébert says that the appointment of Jim Prentice to the Environment portfolio means that Harper is finally serious about the Environment. My take: if Prentice handles Environment the same way he delivered deplorable copyright legislation while heading Industry, then the environment had better get ready for a good solid screwing. - Chuck LeDuc Díaz
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""For those with a stake in the opposition of Jim Prentice's C-61, the Canadian DMCA, this previous week's election results will be displeasing. The Conservative Party, which promised to reintroduce the DMCA if elected, gained 19 seats this election, mostly at the expense of the flagging liberal party, a mere 12 short of a majority government. The increase in Conservative representation, as well as the relatively low profile of this issue amidst other, more pressing concerns, increases the likelihood that the son of C-61 will come to fruition. On a positive note, the number of MPs supporting Geist's copyright pledge has increased to 34. Given the Conservative Party's historic disregard of public opinion, however, the efforts of the copyright-pledge MPs will have to rally the full opposition across three major parties in order to defeat the bill. A mere 12 MPs now stand between the Canadian public and the MAFIAA's hungry maw."" - Chris W
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"Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is expected to announce on Monday that he will resign as party leader, after a growing chorus of MPs have been calling for him to step aside, including two party veterans and a newly elected member.
Liberal insiders say Dion, who hasn't been seen in public since conceding the federal election on Tuesday night, has accepted that he can't survive a May leadership review vote and will announce his decision to step down, the Canadian Press reported Friday." - Cecily
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