Opposition parties use no-confidence vote to bring down government
Nadya Bell CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief
Photo by Dave Weatherall.
OTTAWA (CUP) — Prepare for political arguments over the holidays, as Canada’s Liberal government was defeated by a non-confidence motion Monday night, Nov. 28.
Paul Martin will visit the Governor General and ask her to dissolve parliament Tuesday morning.
The Globe and Mail reported on Monday that the election would likely be called for Jan. 23, 2006.
There was a last-day-of-school atmosphere in the House of Commons as the vote to defeat the government passed with the support of Conservatives, Block Quebecois, New Democratic Party and the three independent members.
But political pundits are widely predicting there will be a very negative campaign.
Question Period was nasty and noisier than usual the day of the vote, with accusations of insider trading due to an information leak from the finance minister’s office.
Opposition MPs shouted “Where is the Money?” during questions on the Gomery report.
Spending announced by the government in the past week could be reversed or simply not carried through after the election, including the fiscal mini-update, which announced billions of dollars for student grants and a student aid overhaul.
When the government falls, all bills are scrapped, although the Liberal government has often reintroduced old bills after elections.
Over 200 private members bills are also defunct, including two bills for students that would have made it easier to declare bankruptcy on a student loan and qualify for disability relief by NDP education critic Alexa McDonough.
