Text 16360, 121 rader
Skriven 2005-11-28 20:53:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
Ärende: Canada
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More liberals get tossed...

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176952,00.html

Canada's Government Toppled  
Monday, November 28, 2005
  
TORONTO — A corruption scandal forced a vote of no-confidence Monday 
that toppled Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, 
triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays. 

Canada's three opposition parties, which control a majority in 
Parliament, voted against Martin's government, claiming his Liberal 
Party no longer has the moral authority to lead the nation.

The loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of 
Commons, likely on Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet would continue to 
govern until then.

Opposition leaders last week called for the no-confidence vote after 
Martin rejected their demands to dissolve Parliament in January and hold 
early elections in February. Monday's vote follows a flurry of spending 
announcements in Ottawa last week, with the government trying to advance 
its agenda ahead of its demise.

Martin is expected to dissolve the House of Commons on Tuesday and set a 
firm date for the elections. Under Canadian law, elections must be held 
on a Monday unless it falls on a holiday and the campaign period is 
sharply restricted.

The Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper joined with the New 
Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties to bring down the government — 
prompting the first Christmas and winter campaign in mostly Christian 
Canada in 26 years. Recent polls have given the Liberals a slight lead 
over the Conservatives, with the New Democrats in third place.

The same surveys suggest the Bloc Quebecois would sweep the French-
speaking province of Quebec, making a majority government unlikely no 
matter which party wins the most seats.

Harper would become prime minister if the Conservatives receive the most 
seats in Parliament. He favors tax cuts and opposed Martin's successful 
bill to legalize same-sex marriage throughout Canada.

Martin has had frosty relations with the White House, standing by the 
Liberal Party decision not to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He also 
declined to join in Washington's continental ballistic missile shield, 
infuriating the Bush administration, has been called weak on terrorism, 
and was vocal in his opposition of high U.S. tariffs on Canadian lumber.

His push to legalize gay marriage throughout Canada also raised the 
hackles of Republicans south of the 49th parallel, but Martin is widely 
respected worldwide for Canada's neutrality and open arms toward 
immigrants and minorities.

Canada's Conservatives, by contrast, are seen as much more receptive to 
improving relations with Washington, though a majority of Canadians 
opposed the war in Iraq and the policies of President Bush.

The opposition is banking on the public's disgust with a corruption 
scandal involving the misuse of funds targeted for a national unity 
program in Quebec.

An initial investigation absolved Martin of wrongdoing, but accused 
senior Liberal members of taking kickbacks and misspending tens of 
millions of dollars in public funds.

The government ran into peril this month when it lost the support of the 
New Democratic Party, whose backing earlier this year helped Martin 
escape a previous no-confidence motion by a single vote. New Democrat 
leader Jack Layton said he had not received enough assurances the 
Liberal Party would fight the increased use of private health care in 
Canada.

Martin appears prepared to take his chances with a holiday campaign and 
blamed his opponents for any inconvenience to the predominantly 
Christian electorate.

The prime minister had promised to call an election within 30 days of 
the release of a follow-up report on the corruption scandal. The 
document is expected Feb. 1, which would have meant elections in the 
first week of April, a time that suits Canadians better than the 
bitterly cold and busy holiday season.

Although no formal agreement is in place, all the parties are likely to 
agree to a pause in the campaign around the Christmas and New Year 
holidays. The campaign is expected to start Tuesday, after Parliament is 
dissolved.

Grace Skogstad, a political science professor at the University of 
Toronto, said she believes Canadians will pay little attention to the 
election until after the New Year, so Martin's opponents are unlikely to 
face a backlash for forcing a holiday campaign.

"It's going to be those last three weeks after Jan. 1 that are going to 
matter," said Skogstad, who believes the Liberals will win another 
minority government. "For the Liberals, they are going to try to put all 
the focus on the economy, which is doing phenomenally well."

Unemployment in Canada is at a 30-year low and Canada runs a budget 
surplus.

Andrew Stark, a political science professor at the University of 
Toronto, also maintained that the campaign would not be decided until 
the final days. Stark, however, believed the Conservatives will win a 
minority government if Canadians view another Liberal and New Democrat 
coalition as being unaccountable with tax money.

The last time a Canadian political campaign coincided with the holiday 
season was in 1979, when Joe Clark's minority Conservative government 
was toppled just weeks before Christmas. That vote was delayed until 
February, however, when Pierre Trudeau and the Liberals took back 
Parliament.

The latest collapse comes 17 months after an election that turned a 
Liberal majority into a fragile minority on June 28, 2004.

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