If any of you out there have an interest in how other forms of government operate, it may be time for you to tune in to one or more of the Canadian news services (CBC, CTV, etc.). [Otherwise you may want to just delete this message now.] As you may recall, we Canucks were bragging, back in October, that we had an election campaign that took all of 36 days (rather than the now-customary two years in the US), and we had gotten pretty much what we had had before -- a Conservative minority gov't. Things seemed to be going on as per usual (the leader of the main opposition Liberal Party had resigned and a campaign for a new party leader was beginning to get underway) when the Conservative gov't put forward an economic update that did not include an economic stimulus package (unlike every other country in the G-7). Within a period of days, the Liberal Party (with their lame duck leader) managed for come to an agreement with the New Democratic Party (the social democrats) whereby they would vote down the Conservative gov't (which is always a possibility in minority situation, but doesn't typically happen a mere six weeks after the last election), and form a new coalition government. What made this particular proposed coalition controversial is that in order for it to be stable, it would require (and got in writing) the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois (though they wouldn't actually be members of the governing coalition). Well, to put it mildly, all hell has broken loose.
The Conservative Prime Minister has invoked a power that allows him to put off the threatened non-confidence vote (which was supposed to happen today) for a week. He is threatening further to prorogue Parliament (effectively ending the Parliamentary session) before the non-confidence vote is held. But in order to do so, he requires the permission of the Governor General (the Queen's representative in Canada, which is primarily a ceremonial position, but its occupant -- who is currently a woman who immigrated here from Haiti in her childhood and who has past ties to separatist politics -- is empowered to referee these kinds of situations). The Governor General's refusing the Prime Minister's request to prorogue would probably lead to a constitutional crisis (look up the 1926 "King-Byng affair" for details of the precedents involved). But her permitting him to prorogue Parliament for no reason other than to evade a non-confidence vote would set a terrible precedent as well. If the vote goes through, the Governor General will have the unenviable choice of either asking the Liberal-NDP coalition to form a government (though they had just apparently lost an election) or she could call new elections (less than 3 months after the last, and which will, in all likelihood, end up pretty much the same again, all at much-resented great taxpayer expense). Exciting times for the Parliamentary system! Political scientists the world over are watching. Regards, -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
