No, aside from bringing in same-sex "marriage", they'd have time to throw additional billions at every whining, anti-majority special interest in the nation and spin, spin, spin ...
No matter, come MAY 18TH ...
... butter 'em, they're done!
Posted on 05/10/2005 3:37:53 PM PDT by GMMAC
Opposition pass vote in bid to topple government
Last Updated Tue, 10 May 2005 18:30:32 EDT
CBC News
OTTAWA - Opposition MPs passed a motion Tuesday night that they claim should topple the government – but the Liberals have dismissed the vote as nothing more than a procedural matter.
The motion passed by 153 votes to 150.
Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs voted for the motion calling on the public accounts committee "to recommend that the government resign."
The NDP and two Independents voted with the Liberals against the motion.
Liberals have rejected claims by the opposition that this was a confidence vote, saying it is just a set of instructions to a committee, and that the outcome won't affect the government.
Two cabinet ministers, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and Natural Resources Minister John Efford, were not there for the vote.
Despite the Liberal refusal to treat it as a matter of confidence, the Conservatives have said they'll come to work as usual and look for other opportunities to force an election.
Earlier Tuesday, Liberal House leader Tony Valeri announced that the opposition parties will have three days at the end of May during which they can introduce formal non-confidence motions.
On those days, the opposition controls the parliamentary agenda.
"We're not afraid to be held accountable," Valeri said at a news conference. "There will be legitimate confidence votes."
The Liberals have already dismissed a similar motion – involving the finance committee and scheduled to be voted on next week – as a procedural matter and not a matter of confidence.
Republicans might become a footnote in history. The whole party would be tainted, and political poison for some time at the very minimum.
In Canada,the socialist Liberal party,the ones who have sent federal money to quebec to kick it bakc into Liberal party coffers, still ride high enough in the polls to win the next election.
What does that say about Canada ?
Well Canada builds your FR screen name :)
Nor are elections set, and timing is everything.
Canada is hardly going to reject all its liberal leanings even if it rejects the Liberal Party for its misdeeds. But it seems as if there will a backlash to some extent no matter what.
This is the way I feel, also.
Let the Liberal b*stards twist in the wind for months and months, and drag the conniving NDP down with them.
Exactly why they have the gun registry...up to 2 billion dollars now...
Agreed, drag them into the streets and shoot them...
So the libs have imploded ... many of us saw it coming. The fact that they won't accept it should nail their coffin shut.
The Speaker of the House is a liberal ... what should one expect?
Gay rights activist Defense Minister.
French Favouritism in culture, gov't and handouts to
Quebec along with plush civil servant jobs for Quebecers....especially in ottawa....just
try looking at a box of cheerios.
Appeasing the minorities, refugees and new immigrants
at the expense of the majorities.
Now we have to modify the Canadian Food Guide geared
towards immigrants. Ontario now does it.....they have
the punjabi and mandarin versions.
I need a drink.....maybe 10.......
Bear in mind that if they refuse to step down the opposition can bring the government to a standstill. They will not have the money to pay any bills beyond the summer without Commons approval so they are setting the stage for every piece of housekeeping being subjected to a recorded vote.
The latest polling shows them in the lead but that's almost entirely due to support in Ontario. In Québec and the West they'll be wiped out and in the Maritimes the best they can hope for is a 3-way split, so their best-case scenario would be about 130 seats. That'll probably be the largest caucus in the House but I doubt the NDP will have enough to keep them in power, so the most likely scenario is the Tories forming a government with Bloc support. The Libs will scream about this being a threat to national unity, but in fact that would be better for the country than having a government propped up by Ontario in opposition to everyone else.
How can the liberal party just dismiss a no-confidence vote?
Considering the Bloc Quebecois joined up to vote for it, and the libs said "no way", it gives Quebec more ammunition to break away.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050511.wpoll0511/BNStory/National/
PM's honesty an issue as Tories lead in poll54% find Martin hypocritical; many ready to make sponsorship scandal the foremost election issue By BRIAN LAGHI
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Updated at 12:01 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa -- The federal Conservatives have edged back in front of the Liberals in a startling new poll that finds Canadians questioning Paul Martin's honesty and ready to make the sponsorship scandal the foremost election issue.
The poll, conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV, finds that 31 per cent of voters would opt for the Conservatives if an election were held today, while 27 per cent would back the Liberals. The Tories are up three percentage points from late April; the Liberals are down three.
But perhaps the most stunning finding shows that 61 per cent of Canadians surveyed believe the prime minister is the federal political leader most likely to tell a lie if it would help him politically. Only 26 per cent believe that of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper
ping: see poll results from Globe and Mail.
Martin's credibility is slipping, poll finds
CTV.ca News Staff
While a federal election call looms ever closer, a new public opinion poll shows Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have surged ahead of Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals nationally.
In the total sample of the poll, conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail by The Strategic Counsel, Conservatives are polling at 31 per cent, up three points since April, while the Liberals have slid three points to 27 per cent.
The NDP has gained two points, at 20 per cent, while the Bloc Quebecois has stayed the same at 14. The Green Party lost three points, settling at seven per cent.
There's more ominous news for the Liberals in the key battleground of Ontario. The Conservatives have gained a narrow lead in front of the Liberals, with a five per cent surge in support to 35 per cent.
The Liberals dropped four points since April and now come in at 34 per cent, while the NDP has gained a few percentages, at 25.
In Quebec, the separatist Bloc has maintained its massive lead over the Liberals with 56 per cent of the vote, compared to the Grits' 16.
The leaders
The news gets worse for the Liberals when it comes to the personal performances of each party leader.
The sponsorship scandal and negative commentary over Martin's recent efforts to strike deals to keep his party in power seems to have eaten away at his once-vaunted credibility.
When asked to name which of the leaders is the most dishonest:
63 per cent of Canadians picked Martin;
20 per cent chose Harper;
5 per cent of respondents said NDP Leader Jack Layton; and
3 per cent named Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe.
The picture gets even bleaker for Martin: 61 per cent of Canadians say they believe he would lie if it would help him politically; 54 per cent call him hypocritical; while 47 percent say he's indecisive.
"Paul Martin is looking like a caricature of a stereotypical politician -- a person who is prepared to lie, a person who is prepared to bribe people with their own money," Allan Gregg, chairman of The Strategic Counsel, told CTV News.
Harper, meanwhile, has gained crucial momentum going into an election, with poll results indicating that Canadians are beginning to warm up to him and his vision.
However, he's yet to shake off the cool, remote image that many believe has been holding down Conservative support across the country.
When Canadians were asked which party leader they would most like to have dinner with, both Martin (23 per cent) and Layton (25 per cent) edged out Harper, who polled at 19 per cent. Duceppe trailed far behind at 10 per cent nationally, but not surprisingly won 35 per cent in Quebec.
Popular vote
Despite his party's perennial third and fourth place finishes, Canadians continue to see Jack Layton in a positive light.
The NDP leader scores strongly in areas of principle, honesty, charisma, and holding values that are important to Canadians.
Ottawa-based image consultant Bernie Gauthier says voters see Layton as less partisan and petty than the other leaders.
"He has done a terrific job, especially in the last week or so of taking the high road. It's the road less travelled now," Gauthier told CTV News.
Martin's track record
The Liberals acknowledge their own polling shows that their leader has been tainted by the sponsorship scandal. But Steve McKinnon, the party's national director, says the Liberals still view Martin as being their strongest asset.
"When Canadians must judge between Paul Martin, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe ... they will choose Paul Martin because of his track record," McKinnon told CTV News.
But Martin's eroding credibility explains why the Liberals have been desperately trying to delay an election, reports CTV Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife.
"Martin needs time to re-connect with voters, and the Liberal party needs to recover from the Gomery revelations," he said.
Polling details: This poll was conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail by The Strategic Counsel. Telephone interviewing was conducted between May 2nd and May 8th, 2005. The weighted nation-wide sample is based on 1,000 which yields a margin of error of 3.1 per cent 19 times in 20. (Note: Proportions may not sum to 100 per cent due to rounding.)
Based on a report by CTV Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife
"What does that say about Canada ?"
I would never judge that based on any polling.
While the Liberals have ruled Canada since 1993, they replaced a Progressive Conservative gov't that deserved to go down. Still, in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004 the Liberals never got close to even 50% of the vote. In the most recent elections it was Ontario that kept them in power.
The Reform then Alliance and now Conservatives enjoy over 70% of the votes where I live.
This next election will not tell us about Canada really... it will tell us about Ontario.
Frankly, if Ontario votes back in these thieves... I will personally weigh my options.
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