Tuesday, August 19, 2008

When is a fixed election contract not a contract?.....when Harper's name is on it.




Harper Says He'll Decide Soon on Election Timing

By Theophilos Argitis and Alexandre Deslongchamps

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated allegations that opposition parties are obstructing his agenda and said he'll decide in the coming weeks whether to call elections.

``What I will have to decide over the next few weeks is whether or not we can have a productive fall session of Parliament, or whether in fact a government needs a new mandate,'' Harper told reporters today in Hamilton, Ontario.

Harper's government is 27 seats short of a majority, meaning it must rely on backing from opposition parties to pass legislation and stay in power. Harper, 49, has been in office since February 2006 and up to this month had said he wouldn't use his authority to dissolve Parliament and trigger elections before completing a four-year term.

Under a law that fixed election dates, Canada's next vote is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2009, though one could take place sooner should the government fall or if Harper dissolves Parliament.

Stephane Dion, leader of the opposition Liberal Party, said the government is hampering the work of parliamentary committees and accused Harper of wanting to trigger an election before lawmakers finish a probe into spending practices by the ruling Conservative Party during the 2005-06 election campaign.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Dion said while he hasn't decided whether to bring down the government, voters seem to have more appetite for elections than they did last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah........what part of FIXED election date doesn't Harper exactly get?.....supreme jerk.

Anonymous said...

"Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated allegations that opposition parties are obstructing his agenda..."

That's right, in Deceivin' Stephen's Fascist Theocratic Dictatorship, any debate, discussion, concerns, challenges or suggestions for improvement w.r.t. policy or questions of ethical or criminal behaviour by his government on behalf of opposition parties is "obstructionism" and will not be tolerated.

The Berlin wall has been re-constructed in Canada, the citizenry is being thought-controlled by the propaganda ministry and Mugabe-style thugs have been let loose against the opposition.

The "End Of Days" is nigh.

Anonymous said...

"When is a fixed election contract not a contract?.....when Harper's name is on it."

You also forgot to mention when the opposition parties keep threatening to bring down the government before the fixed election date.

What is Mr Harper supposed to do, let Mr.Dion decide when it is advantageous for him?

What did Mr.Jean Chretien do when he was PM? Oh yea he called an election just after 2 1/2 years. Because Mr. Stockwell Day dared him to do it. The liberals didn't have to call one they had a majority. So please don't make me laugh with this crap.

Anonymous said...

Ah, Stockwell "Doris" Day...he - and Harper - of "the Earth is 6,000 years old" fame.

May you find "eternal bliss" with your mysterious Sky Captain in your forthcoming "World Of Tomorrow."

The Rapture is nigh.

Dr Mike said...

The Right is Where it's At said...

What is Mr Harper supposed to do, let Mr.Dion decide when it is advantageous for him?

Duh .... I guess so.

This was the way the law was constructed.

You guys voted it into law not me.

The enthusiasm from the Harper camp for this law could have been cut with a knife.

This was one on your election promises & you kept it.

We now expect you to honor it.

Or is this like the income trust promise----depends on the day.

Dr Mike Popovich--former life-long Conservative.