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You aren't just saying that Proroguation is not a big deal. You are saying that losing the confidence vote of a Throne Speech following would not lead to the GG asking the opposition to form government.
True.
Which for me just pushes back through the causal chain to the reason for the deep unlikelihood of Harper risking an election. I've been saying for a long time that until he is quite confident that a majority will be the result of an election, we will see Harper pull back from the brink of risking an election where losing power is the likely result for not achieving a majority.
Everything he has done in the last year has been consistent with that limit, and if it is operative, then he is even less likely to use proroguing to escape the current PR problem, when a likely result is an election that he is substantially less likely to get a majority out of than he was for the previous year when he has already consistently skated away from actions that had a reasonable chance of precipitating an election.
Well there you have it folks, Harper & MacKay have just delivered a big fuck-you to Parliament.
MacKay won't resign over torture scandal
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/12/14/ns-mackay-torture....
was anyone seriously expecting a resignation???
This is even worse.
Top general changes story on Taliban suspect Beaten man had been in Canadian custodyhttp://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/12/09/natynczyk-detainee.html
Yea right they didn't know.
Hillier, O'Connor should have been aware of beaten Afghan detaineeFederal Court testimony shows former CDS Rick Hillier and former defence minister Gordon O'Connor should have known two years ago.
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/detainee-12-14-2009
The two heroes in this case thus far, are Richard Colvin and Gen. Walter Natynczyk. It takes a lot of courage to speak truth to power. In the case of Gen. Natynczyk, it takes a lot of courage to admit to oneself and publicly that one is wrong. This is more than can be said about Harper and MacKay.
I suppose if Harper prorogues again, the NDP will have no choice but to vote to defeat the government upon its return.
boo boo removed
I'm still waiting for news of the cabinet shuffle. Given today's poll showing the Liberal-Conservative spread narrowing to 7 points, I think they will wait until the doldrums of early January to avoid giving the Liberals any extra momentum. I also don't think that any shuffle will be that huge. I think Don Martin has it called relatively right. The Tories just want to suit up for the new legislative session.
Get ready for the following words once February hits: *Olympics*Olympics*Olympics* The Tories are planning on conflating themselves with national pride.
Who is Potato Head and why do we call him that?
What should Stephen Harper do?
What did you kill? Bungalow Bill.
Shut down Parliament, replace Jean, save Harper - Rumours on the Hill
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-22884-Canada-Politics-Examiner~y2009m...
Travers: Who's boss, the PM or Parliament?
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/738780--travers...
Afghan affair more than 'nitpicking'
The irritation of members of the Harper government has been palpable in recent weeks as they tap their toes impatiently, wondering when they can return to the serious business of waging war without all these rude interruptions about torture.
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/738692
I think some people were thinking he might, but I didn't think he would.
It might be good for the opposition that he won't resign. It gives them more ammunition.
Afghan detainee hearing
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/conservative-boycott-shuts-...
double post.....
This is great news
Great because it portrays the Conservatives badly?
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2009/12/16/colvin-letter.html
Colvin's letter:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/further-evidence-special-committee.pdf
I am not a whistleblower. Rather, I am a loyal servant of the Crown who did his job in Afghanistan to he best of his abilities, working through internal and authorized channels. [...] I testified in Parliament because I was summoned by the Committee and legally compelled to speak the truth. I feel it is my duty as a public servant, when commanded to appear before the Parliamentary Committee, to give evidence that is full, frank and fair. I feel duty bound to be frank and thorough in responding to the Committee's inquiries.
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2009/12/from-the-desk-of-richa...
I hope Sweatervest Stevie has to go to the Governor General on bended knee again to try to save his bacon.I hope this time she says no...
Captain Sweatervest is starting to feel the heat!!!!
That letter is just devastating to the generals' testimony and credibility, and to the government's issue management approach.
Someone should nominate Colvin for the Order of Canada.
Hey Potato Head, what's it gonna take for you to resign?
The Harper test for calling a commission of inquiry
This decision set a bar. If the prime minister strikes commissions of inquiry only when Brian Mulroney requests them, he should say so. If resolving Colvin’s allegations is not in the public interest, the prime minister should explain why not. If the proper response to unproven allegations is no longer to seek proof or disproof, the prime minister should tell us why that is no longer his response. If Richard Colvin, who remains a salaried and trusted public servant, is less credible than Karlheinz Schreiber, who was the subject of concerted extradition efforts by the German government at the time he made his allegations, the prime minister should explain why Colvin’s credibility is so limited, and why he continues to be entrusted with serious responsibilities on behalf of the Canadian federal state.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/12/16/the-harper-test-for-calling-a-commission-of-inquiry/
I don't agree with calling Peter MacKay a potato-head, but I do think Paul Wells hit the nail on the head with that blogpost.
The Prime Minister is not going to get away with not doing something. He's lost the key opinion leaders that matter to his government (Wells, Spector, Don Martin), and badly so. The opposition is not letting go. And the media are competing to outdo one another as the pace of leaks from frustrated public servants is picking up.
Harper really scotched things up. He may need to throw MacKay overboard to save himself.
Who here thinks that Peter MacKay would ever be dropped from cabinet?
Who would replace him as a Nova Scotia cabinet minister?
Gerald Keddy? Not a snowball's chance in Hell!
Greg Kerr? Possible, given his previous experience as a provincial cabinet minister, but he's in one of the most volitile seats in the country, with no certainty of re-election next time.
Newly elected Scott Armstrong? See Keddy's chances!
Besides, if Alexis MacDonald finishes her 6-month term in Africa by April, she'll be back in N.S. hopefully to try one more time to beat MacKay. Given the 2009 provincial results, the third time would definitely be the charm for her I believe.
Throwing MacKay overboard doesn't necessarily mean he's out of Cabinet.
I would like to see MacKay go down to Alexis MacDonald, but it's going to be tough for anyone to dislodge him.
Luckily for him he is running in his father's seat and a historically Conservative one. If he didn't have those advantages I don't think he'd get elected.
Hey, he's still got Christie Blatchford & Don Cherry