HILL TIMES: Harper Suspects Defeat Of Next Budget
There is an interesting interview with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the January 15th edition of the Hill Times. The interview was conducted by Angelo Persichilli and actually became testy at one point:
"Mr. Harper, I don't want to know when you want an election. I want to know when you expect one.
"Well, I will say what I want too. We have a bill before Parliament. It's Bill C-16 and that will set an election for October 2009. [Ontario] Premier [Dalton] McGuinty and I are from different stripes, but one thing I agree with is to set a fixed date for an election. The opposition could, of course, defeat us sooner. I don't expect them to defeat us sooner than the budget, but I'm telling my people that they could defeat us on the budget and I'm telling my people to be ready. I don't want an election, I don't think that the Canadian people want an election.
The Hill Times
"Mr. Harper, I don't want to know when you want an election. I want to know when you expect one.
"Well, I will say what I want too. We have a bill before Parliament. It's Bill C-16 and that will set an election for October 2009. [Ontario] Premier [Dalton] McGuinty and I are from different stripes, but one thing I agree with is to set a fixed date for an election. The opposition could, of course, defeat us sooner. I don't expect them to defeat us sooner than the budget, but I'm telling my people that they could defeat us on the budget and I'm telling my people to be ready. I don't want an election, I don't think that the Canadian people want an election.
The Hill Times
Bill C-16 does exactly nothing to change the rules around calling elections in Canada.
Since nothing in it limits the right of the Governor General to dissolve parliament, it still requires (by convention) the PM to petition the GG to dissolve parliament.
In other words, the GG doesn't _have_ to dissolve parliament in time for the fixed date "election".
Like Harper's half-baked "senate reform" legislation, this bill has little or nothing to do with reality.
Posted by
MgS |
6:35 pm, January 15, 2007
Amazing! (and did you notice how tense harper was?)
Posted by
leftdog |
6:54 pm, January 15, 2007
Of course - the man lusts after power. The one thing that would make him tense is the prospect of losing it.
Posted by
MgS |
10:16 pm, January 15, 2007