No Election Needed to Replace Harper
February 14th, 2007 | by MadHacktress |Today the term “no-confidence” and “election” are being thrown around in amazing volume. The Kyoto protocol implementation bill passed the House of Commons’ third reading and goes back to the Senate. It passed the House easily and will very likely pass the Senate with even greater ease. This bill, unlike virtually any other so far, gives rise to the possibility of a so-called early election.
Why? Has this whole country, our politicians and the very foundation of our democracy forgotten one very important option: the coalition government.
Our country is famous for one-bill coalitions when the minority needs to be beaten back by the opposition. Why not look at a more formal arrangement that forms a cohesive, long-term coalition government for the betterment of the country.
A coalition between the Bloc and the Liberal government, or even between all three opposition parties, could form a stable government for the future of Canada - the first of its kind in our Federal history. Coalition governments are common in other parliamentary democracies, they work well and, in some cases, better than majorities, for their nations.
A coalition government in Canada wouldn’t require yet another election. After a vote of no-confidence (or any time, really, I think) the Governor General has the right to seek a coalition rather than to call an election. It has always irked me that coalitions seem to be a dirty word in Canada.
I am personally in favour of no one party having a true majority in Parliament. I think that having a number of ideologies represented by the government helps to keep the government working for the betterment of the people. It keeps them honest, I guess.
Here’s hoping for the future that a coalition might, maybe happen for our country.
Entry Filed under: Federal
“After a vote of no-confidence (or any time, really, I think) the Governor General has the right to seek a coalition rather than to call an election.”
Could you elaborate on this please? Or post a link? I’ve been trying to learn more about this issue over the past few months but I haven’t been very successful. I’m afraid I never paid attention to politics or anything but science and mathematics back in school.
Thanks in advance.
If the house loses a non-confidence vote, the GG has the power to declare any other party as the governing party. So if she thought that the Libs could hold steady office, she could appoint them. I think it’s very unlikely, since I don’t see the Libs allying with the Bloc, which is what they would need to do that.
Couldn’t they ally with the NDP? Combined, the NDP and Liberals have more seats than the Conservatives do now. Why would they actually need to have a “majority” number?
They could ally with the NDP, but since it would still be ~10-20 seats short of a majority, I think it would be highly unlikely that the GG would accept it. Since the odds of them being able to pass anything would be low, I doubt the GG would let them even try. Possible, but you never know.
I do not see the Bloc cooperating with any political party unless it will let Quebec become its own sovereign nation- which I may say is NOT good for Canada (but I’ll always believe an independent Quebec would not last long- look at the rate they spend???) Even a Liberal-NDP coalition would require support from the Bloc or the neo-Tories on bills- again- not likely to happen. If the Tories lose a confidence vote, there will have to be an election as it would be practically impossible for any other party for try and form government due to numbers, ideology, etc.
Yeah, ideologically a marriage of the NDP and the Liberals is the most likely thing to happen, but going from a minority to a different minority is unlikely; though possible.
I know that it’s unlikely, also, that the Liberals and the Bloc could get together to form a majority but it would work. They would make a majority.
The three opposition parties have worked well together over the past thirteen months. A number of European parliaments are run by coalition governments. It doesn’t seem like a horrible option for Canada as well.
In my opinion it would be better than yet another election that is likely to give us just yet another minority.
Get out your calculator. Libs + Bloc is still a minority. The Speaker doesn’t vote, except to break a tie.
Yeah, well… that’s why I went to Librarian school, I guess. ;)
I stand corrected.