Both the Globe and Mail and the Nat Post are reporting that Jack Layton and Stephen Harper had "cordial" talks about what needs to be in the upcoming budget. The NDP have four points they want included. For me eliminating senior poverty by increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement so that no senior falls below the poverty line is something worth voting for, even if it means postponing an election for a year. The other three are outlined by the Globe which of course leads with its anti-NDP bias.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-and-layton-hold-cord...
The Nasty Post story is worse, and even less informative.
Layton is doing his best to make the story: the NDP wants the government to meet the needs of Canadians in the upcoming budget; and not, the NDP (and other opposition parties) want to force an unwelcome election (which is what Harper wants to put out).
With such a tiresome bunch of anti-NDP figures in the press and in the CBC, CTV, and Global newsrooms, it is a constant struggle just to be reported on at all. Layton manages to get coverage. As leader of the fourth party that takes some doing. It would be nice to see the NDP get a fair shake just once from the Globe or the CBC at least. Not in my lifetime apparently.