CTV.ca | Harper says he'll push party for quick = election

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Harper says he'll push party for quick election

CTV.ca News Staff

Unimpressed by the deal between the federal Liberals and NDP,=20 Conservative leader Stephen Harper says he'll push his party to = defeat the=20 government at its first opportunity.

During a speech in Amherstburg, Ontario on Wednesday, Harper = vowed to=20 convene a party meeting on the subject as soon as MPs return to = the=20 capital.

"Let me be as clear as I can be today, our caucus will be = meeting in=20 Ottawa next week," he said. "This is not how Parliament should = work, and=20 as soon as we get back I will be asking our caucus to put this = government=20 out of its misery."

A short while earlier, Harper told reporters in nearby = Ridgetown that=20 there is no way he can support the Liberal government's fiscal = plan, now=20 that it's been turned into an "NDP budget."

"I'm flabbergasted by the amount of taxpayers' money these guys = are=20 prepared to throw around to keep themselves in office," he said, = blasting=20 Prime Minister Paul Martin's announcement of an extra $4.6 billion = in=20 spending requested by NDP leader Jack Layton.

"It will be impossible for us to support an NDP budget," he = added.=20 "We're already dealing with Liberal corruption and an NDP budget = gives us=20 no reason to support Liberal corruption."

In Saskatchewan, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale made no = apologies as he=20 refuted suggestions his budget has been overtaken by another = party's=20 priorities.

"I would have preferred my original plan, but obviously that = was not=20 going to succeed in the House of Commons," he said. "In a = minority, you=20 have to be flexible enough to make a minority work."

At his own press conference in Montreal, Bloc Quebecois leader = Gilles=20 Duceppe said, despite the apparent government's eagerness to = incorporate=20 other priorities, he sees nothing in the deal to inspire his = party's=20 support.

"We cannot support the government any longer," Duceppe said, = noting his=20 opposition to climate change provisions in the budget plan. = Besides, he=20 continued in English, whatever the terms of the deal, the Bloc is = only=20 interested in backing what's good for Quebecers.

"If it's good for Quebec we will support it, if it's not good = for=20 Quebec we won't support it. And the Layton-Martin deal is not good = for=20 Quebec," he said.

Talking to high school students in London, Ontario, Layton = nevertheless=20 stood behind his deal to help prop up the Liberal minority.

"We're not in a rush to judge on the corruption," he said. = "That will=20 happen. We're in a rush to get something done ... for = Canadians."

Deal details

Martin announced his deal with the New Democrats late Tuesday, = in an=20 attempt to bolster his minority government against parliamentary=20 collapse.

According to their "agreement in principle", which trades = corporate tax=20 cuts for new spending on social programs, the NDP's 19-member = caucus is=20 committed to voting with the Liberals until the federal budget = plan=20 receives royal assent.

"Why are we doing it? We're doing it to make Parliament work," = Martin=20 said of the deal Tuesday night.

In an interview with CTV's Canada AM the next morning, both = Treasury=20 Board Secretary Reg Alcock and NDP finance critic Judy = Wasylycia-Leis were=20 on the same message track.

"It's about working together and finding cooperative solutions = that=20 allow us to do the things we've committed to do on behalf of = Canadians,"=20 Alcock said.

"Finally getting down to a relationship in the House over how = we can be=20 more productive and get things accomplished."

But that security came at a price.

To secure the support of the NDP, Martin had to agree to = guarantee=20 $4.6-billion in new investment over the next two years.

The money will come out of a projected surplus (before = contingencies)=20 of approximately $9-billion, and will go toward the environment,=20 affordable housing, foreign aid, training, and post-secondary=20 education.

A good chunk of the money -- $1.6-billion -- will go to new = affordable=20 housing programs. Another $1.5-billion will be given to the = provinces for=20 reductions in post-secondary tuition fees and for training = programs for=20 the unemployed.

Martin said his party also reached an agreement with the NDP to = put off=20 tax cuts for large corporations -- but keep them for small and=20 medium-sized businesses.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the prime minister = said=20 the large corporate tax cuts will instead be put into a = separate=20 piece of legislation to be introduced when it can find support in = the=20 Commons.

"The corporate tax cuts remain intact. It's going to be up to = the=20 Conservatives to tell us whether or not they will support them,'' = he told=20 CP.

And through it all, Martin stresses that at least $4-billion = will still=20 go to debt-repayment.

"Under no circumstances will we go back into deficit," Martin = said as=20 he announced the deal. "The fiscal integrity of this country ... = remains a=20 fundamental element of our ability to finance social programs and = our=20 ability to create jobs."

The deal also includes:

$900-million for environmental programs and public transit;=20
$500-million for an increase in foreign aid; and=20
$100-million for a workers' pension protection fund. =

Is NDP support enough?

The Prime Minister will likely need the support of all 19 NDP = seats in=20 the House of Commons if he hopes to get his budget passed.

A combined Bloc Quebecois-Conservative alliance amounts to 153 = votes,=20 versus 151 for a Liberal-NDP combo. That's a very narrow margin = for a vote=20 that could push the minority Liberal government into an = election.

With that in mind, Jane Taber of the Globe and Mail says the = deal=20 merely forestalls the inevitable.

"They still fall short when you add up the Bloc and the = Conservative=20 seats," she told Canada AM from Ottawa.

"And it just depends on who's away, who is around and who shows = up"=20 when a vote is called.

One of the potential swing votes could be cast by Independent = MP Chuck=20 Cadman, who is undergoing chemotherapy at his Surrey, B.C. = home.

"You're free from party policy and you're free from caucus = solidarity,"=20 Cadman told Canada AM, explaining his parliamentary freedom. "So = you just=20 have to rely on the will of the constituents."

But that, Cadman says, is changing with every new report Ottawa = and the=20 Justice John Gomery's inquiry in Montreal.

"I'm in a position where I'll practically have to make a = decision when=20 a vote comes because everything is in such a state of flux, so = volatile=20 that I want to reflect the will of the constituents."

Independent Carolyn Parrish has said she will vote for the = Liberals=20 because she doesn't think Canadians want to go to the polls. = Ex-Liberal=20 David Kilgour has not clearly stated how he would vote.

Meanwhile, a poll conducted after Martin's televised speech = last week=20 suggests that the event did not help boost his Liberals.

The Decima Research poll, conducted Thursday to Sunday, put=20 Conservative support at 32 per cent, compared to 27 per cent for = Liberals.=20 The NDP received 21 per cent support, and the Bloc Quebecois came = in at 58=20 per cent in Quebec.

The Decima survey of just over 1,000 Canadians is considered = accurate=20 to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

With a report from CTV News and files from The Canadian=20 Press

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Harper says he'll push party for quick election

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