[R-G] Liberals, NDP firm up deal to topple Tories

[Anthony Fenton]

Liberals, NDP firm up deal to topple Tories
Parties agree to form coalition that would last 2½ years with NDP  
taking six cabinet seats; Liberal leadership of alliance undecided

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081130.wottawa1130/BNStory/National/home

CAMPBELL CLARK AND BRIAN LAGHI

 From Monday's Globe and Mail

December 1, 2008 at 1:00 AM EST

OTTAWA — The Liberals and NDP have reached a deal to bring down the  
federal Conservative government and form an unprecedented coalition to  
take its place that would last 30 months and include cabinet seats for  
both parties.

Sources confirmed Sunday night that the two sides have ironed out an  
agreement that would see a cabinet of 24 members — 18 Liberals and six  
NDP. The Liberals are expected to meet in caucus Monday, where MPs  
will be able to discuss the arrangement.

The Harper government, meanwhile, scrambled over the weekend to save  
itself from a historic parliamentary defeat, backtracking on two  
contentious measures even as the opposition moved forward with plans  
to forge a coalition government.

Such a coalition would put the Canadian government into uncharted  
waters. The only true coalition cabinet to have ruled Canada was  
Conservative prime minister Robert Borden's Union government during  
the First World War, which included Liberal members.

The key question of who would lead the first coalition government of  
modern times remained unsettled Sunday night, as Liberals differed  
over whether Stéphane Dion should take over as interim prime minister,  
or a new leader be chosen — and leadership contenders Michael  
Ignatieff, Bob Rae and Dominic LeBlanc met to discuss how to proceed.

That meeting took place against the backdrop of frantic efforts to  
avert the downfall of the Conservatives, who announced they will  
withdraw measures that would have banned civil-service strikes for  
three years and eliminated the $1.95-a-vote subsidy for political  
parties, which the opposition relies on.

The Tories also unveiled a surreptitiously recorded tape of a New  
Democratic Party caucus meeting, alleging it showed a long-existing  
cabal with the Bloc Québécois to defeat the government — and there  
were rumours that as a last resort, Mr. Harper might seek to prorogue  
Parliament, ending the session to avoid defeat in the Commons.

On Sunday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who did not unveil an  
economic stimulus plan in his economic update Thursday, announced he  
will deliver a "comprehensive" budget earlier than usual, on Jan. 27,  
and that it will contain measures to stimulate the economy, probably  
including one-time spending to help ailing industrial sectors.

"There will be further stimulus to the Canadian economy. [It's]  
inevitable given the continuing challenges that we're facing in the  
Canadian economy," he told reporters.

"Too little, too late," NDP deputy leader Thomas Mulcair replied  
later. "We saw the real face of the Conservatives this week:  
doctrinaire, ideological, trying to please their Reform base. That's  
the game."

Liberal finance critic Scott Brison said the promise of economic  
stimulus will not change coalition plans. "Mr. Flaherty is still only  
providing words, but no plan for the Canadian economy," he said.

Meanwhile, teams of opposition negotiators were holding three sets of  
talks involving the Liberals, NDP and Bloc on a deal that would see a  
Liberal-led coalition government that would include NDP ministers.

The Liberal-NDP coalition would be supported by the Bloc on confidence  
votes in the Commons through an accord that would guarantee its  
survival for at least a year, Liberal and NDP sources said.

Liberal sources said the party is planning to unveil a team of high- 
profile economic advisers, possibly including such figures as former  
deputy prime minister John Manley and former New Brunswick premier  
Frank McKenna, to provide a Barack Obama-style heavyweight team to  
offer advice on the economic crisis.

Mr. Mulcair said the coalition talks are well advanced, and include  
discussion on both the government's structure — how key posts will be  
divided — and on the main elements of its political program. He said  
the talks have gone extremely well with both parties and are "arriving  
at their final culmination point."

The talks have been conducted on the assumption that Mr. Dion would  
take power as prime minister until May, when he would be replaced by  
the winner of the Liberal leadership race.

But while some Liberals insist Mr. Dion is the only option during a  
leadership race, others argue the coalition would lack credibility if  
the just-defeated leader took power as a short-term caretaker in the  
midst of an economic crisis.

Another option would be for Liberal MPs to choose a new leader. Mr.  
Ignatieff is seen as having the strongest caucus support, but it is  
unclear if he wants to take power as an unelected prime minister not  
chosen by a party convention.

One source said Mr. Rae was to argue at Sunday night's meeting in  
favour of retaining Mr. Dion until the leadership convention in May.

On Friday, Mr. Harper went before television cameras to slam a  
potential Stéphane Dion-led government as illegitimate because he lost  
the Oct. 14 election, and should face the public.

But the Liberals and NDP argued that those arguments were undercut by  
Mr. Harper's 2004 letter to then-Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson,  
which requested that she turn to him if Paul Martin's newly elected  
government were defeated in the Commons.

"We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together  
constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation.  
We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should  
give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult  
the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before  
exercising your constitutional authority," the letter stated.

The Conservatives engaged the opposition in a no-holds-barred battle  
for public opinion, with Mr. Flaherty appealing for a stable  
government in the face of economic crisis.

The Prime Minister's Office released a secretly taped recording of a  
conference call of the NDP caucus in which Leader Jack Layton refers  
to having "locked in" the support of the Bloc early.

Mr. Harper's aides argued it showed a pre-existing NDP-Bloc agreement  
to look for an excuse to defeat the Tories that had nothing to do with  
last week's economic statement.

In the recording, Mr. Layton is heard telling his MPs they have plans  
to cope if the Bloc goes "offside" during the coalition.

"I actually believe they're the least of our problems, but in case I'm  
wrong, let's just say we have strategies. This whole thing would not  
have happened if the moves hadn't have been made with the Bloc to lock  
them in early, because you couldn't put three people together in one,  
in three hours. The first part was done a long time ago, I won't go  
into details …," Mr. Layton said.

Mr. Mulcair insisted that while the two parties have spoken about co- 
operation on issues like employment insurance, the first NDP-Bloc  
talks about a coalition took place only after elements of the  
government's economic update were revealed last week.

He said the party mistakenly sent the conference-call number to a  
Conservative MP, who dialled in and recorded the meeting. He said the  
NDP plans to raise the action as a violation of parliamentary ethics  
and will consider pressing charges.

Mr. Mulcair said the Tories "illegally" recorded a private meeting,  
and called it "scandalous."

"It shows the desperation of the Conservatives," he said.

There were also rumours that Mr. Harper might prorogue Parliament,  
ending the current session so he cannot be defeated in the Commons —  
although some said that was a last-resort option that would look  
desperate.

Even if he escapes defeat, Mr. Harper's reputation as a cunning  
tactician appears to have been scarred by what many Conservatives  
consider a major miscalculation.

Several Conservatives grumbled over the weekend that his decision to  
use the economic update to announce measures that galvanized the  
opposition, like slashing their funding, was a fiasco. One MP told The  
Globe and Mail that his constituents were upset with the party for  
playing politics under the cover of the economic crisis.

The opposition's coalition efforts are being spurred by a poisoned  
atmosphere of distrust — and the argument that if they do not unseat  
Mr. Harper, he will try similar moves again, when his position is  
stronger, daring them to face an election.

Mr. Flaherty told reporters on Sunday that the Conservatives will  
campaign on eliminating the $1.95-per-vote subsidy in the next  
election campaign.