From the Associated Press;
Canada's opposition parties said Thursday they will vote against the Conservative government's economic plan, a move that could trigger an election despite a national vote just last month.
The opposition Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois said they cannot support the government's updated fiscal plan because it offers no stimulus package to deal with the economic crisis.
That's not the half of it, though.
The Conservatives are also proposing cutting the public funding of political parties. This move would put the Cons in a much stronger position come the next election, given that they are effectively swimming in private donations while the Opposition parties struggle.
I would guess that the Cons' inability this past month to grab a majority government prompted this move, in large part because the legislation - brought in during the tenure of Liberal PM Jean Chretien - levels the playing field to their disadvantage and reduces the effect of the Conservatives' large grass-roots funding network. For reference's sake, the Conservatives have managed to consistently raise over twice as much from their supporters as the Liberals and NDP, combined.
For those not familiar with the way public funding works in Canada, every party receives $1.95 (the amount is indexed for inflation) for each vote if they receive more than a certain percentage of the ballots cast in the ridings in which they run; The last I checked, it was a 5% threshold. For parties like the Bloc Quebecois and Green Party, this is the major source of their revenue and allows them to run competitive campaigns.
The NDP and Liberals also benefit in this manner, given the disparity in fund raising networks versus the Conservatives and the Liberals' nagging debt.
But also in the proposed cuts was a reduction in government spending by about $2 billion dollars, setting limits on government employees' salaries and - perhaps most ominously - instituting a ban on strikes by public service workers, for the next four years.
For these last two reasons, the Opposition parties - particularly the New Democrats - are further emboldened to stand up to the Tories and call their bluff. Now, hopefully, the Bloc Quebecois and Liberals will do the same.