No Politics for You, Canada

When Paul Martin's minority government was elected, all parties thought a lot would get be accomplished.

The hope was that in order for big bills (read: budgets) to be passed, major compromises and increased spending would appease the majority of parliamentarians to the benefit of Canadians.

That optimism has gone out the window as the government hangs on the brink of collapse and policy-making has ground to a halt.

Canada's minority Liberal government, under heavy pressure over a corruption scandal, looks set to lose a confidence vote next week, government and opposition officials said on Friday.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has proposed Parliament vote on his budget next Thursday and says he will call an election if he loses.

The main opposition Conservative Party wants the vote immediately but indications are that whenever it is held, the Liberals have a poor chance of surviving, even though the vote will be close.
Conservatives have refused to attend committee meetings until the vote is held. Furthermore, Harper has called Martin's timing exploitative of a Conservative MPs illness. It is, after all, about numbers. The Conservative MP in question suffers from cancer and is due for an operation on Wednesday - and would miss the vote on Thursday.

Despite policy-making having been stalled, politics is in full force. From references to the Klu Klux Klan to the Holocaust, both Liberals and Conservatives alike have been slinging the mud.

Minority governments have such potential - it is from minority governments that universal heath care for Canadians was forged. Instead the Bloc Québequois and Conservative Parties alike seek to utilize the situation to gain seats instead of utilizing the Government minority numbers to press for policies that benefit Canadians.

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