The Road to the 2011 Federal Election: Part Two

March 30th, 2011 by Michelle Gatien Comment button

After the October 14, 2008 Federal Election returned the third minority government in a row, returning the Conservative party back to power with a slightly stronger minority government.

Parliament resumed on November 18, 2008 and immediately tabled a fiscal update that would limit the rights of civil servants to strike, the sale of some Crown assets and the elimination of some existing political party subsidies. The opposition parties immediately rejected the fiscal update because the update contained no economic stimulus or protection of Canadian workers during the economic downturn.

The rejection of the fiscal update spurned discussion of the opposition parties forming a coalition government, taking the Conservative Party out of power with a non-confidence vote. In the following maelstrom, the constitutionality and legality of a coalition government came into debate and whether or not Harper would either resign or ask the Governor General to suspend Parliament.

Parliament prorogued and then recalled

In early December, after intense debate across the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked then Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue Parliament. Prorogation essentially pushed the restart button on Parliament, closing it down as of December 4, 2008.

The inability to gain seats in the October 2008 election and the prorogation of Parliament threw the Liberal Party of Canada into the throes of a leadership race, after Stéphane Dion stepped down as leader. At the December 2008 leadership convention, Michael Ignatieff was voted and ratified as the new leader of the Liberal Party with 97% of the convention delegates.

Parliament was recalled on January 26, 2009. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled a new federal budget, which introduced “Canada’s Economic Action Plan”. This budget promised to deliver economic growth across the country through the worldwide economic recession. This budget promised financing to build infrastructure to support economic growth and create employment, a renovation tax credit for home owners, providing funding for the Canadian Skills and Transition Strategy and action for individual Canadians, business and communities.

Opposition threatened budget

Once again, because the budget contained a massive deficit, the opposition threatened to defeat the budget, but after negotiations Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff declared that the Liberals would support the bill on the promise that the Government would present regular updates on the status of the budget and it’s stimulus on the floundering economy.

During the 40th Parliamentary session, Prime Minister Harper appointed 3 sets of new senators to the Canadian Senate. In blocks of 18, 9 and 5, Prime Minister Harper changed the balance of power in the Senate from the Liberal Party to the Conservatives.

Parliament prorogued again

On December 30, 2009, just a year after the firestorm of prorogation, Prime Minister Harper announced that he would be proroguing Parliament through the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. This was immediately condemned by the opposition as a way to muzzle the government over the Afghan detainee affair. This second prorogation sparked protests and demonstrations across Canada.

Questions surrounding the Afghan detainee affair came to a head in 2009, when allegations arose that Canadian soldiers were handing over prisoners in Afghanistan who were later tortured. The House of Commons demanded that the Government turn over all documents relating to prisoner transfer in Afghanistan in their unredacted form. The Government refused, stating that the documents contained sensitive information that could put Canadian soldiers at risk. This controversy escalated when Parliament was prorogued in December 2010. In March 2010, the debate came to a head and finally the Speaker of the House asked the Government and the opposition parties to work together to determine which documents were sensitive or not and could be released without risking Canadian security.

The Government of Canada was one of the first responders after the devastation of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010. The Government matched private Canadian donations and sent aid and assistance for the initial recovery and long-term rebuilding of the country.

The Canadian Government played host to both the G8 and G20 summits in June 2010, with the intention of showcasing Canada on the International stage while discussing matters of international economic importance during the ongoing global economic slump. Both summits drew intense criticism from the opposition and Canadians for the increased costs for staging and security and the violent protests and clashes that took place during the G20 weekend.

Non confidence vote

On March 25, 2011 a non confidence vote of 156 to 145, which found the Conservative Government in contempt of Parliament, based upon the two rulings from Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House.

The first ruling found Cabinet Minister Bev Oda in contempt for her handling of a document that was altered after it had been signed. This memo, from the Canadian International Development Agency, recommended funding for the humanitarian group KAIROS. It was discovered that the word “not” had been hand-written on the memo to deny funding. For months, Oda maitained that this change was made by CIDA staff but in February 2011, Oda admitted that she had directed her staff to insert the “not” into the document, althought she had long maitained that she did not know who had written it. This motionwould mark the first time in Canadian history that a sitting cabinet minister would be found in contempt.

Election called

The second ruling found the Government in contempt for its refusal to meet the opposition’s requests for detailed information and cost estimates for proposed bills. In response to this ruling, the Liberal Party brought forth a vote of non-confidence on March 25, 2011, which passed 156 to 145, marking the first time a Canadian Government fell on a contempt of Parliament charge.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Governor General David Johnston to dissolve Parliament and issue a writ of election declaring May 2, 2011 as Election Day.

Tags: minority government