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Harper government falls in historic Commons showdown


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WestVirginiaRebel
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Globe And Mail:

The second minority government of Stephen Harper has fallen.

Early Friday afternoon, 156 opposition MPs – all of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloquistes present in the House of Commons – rose to support a motion of no-confidence.

It was also a motion that declared the government to be in contempt of Parliament for its refusal to share information that opposition members said they needed to properly assess legislation put before them.

When the cameras were trained elsewhere, several members crossed the green carpet that divides one side of the House from the other to embrace those in the parties opposite – political rivals who will spend the next six weeks of an election campaign castigating and belittling each other.

Mr. Harper took time to shake hands with Michael Ignatieff, the man who was orchestrating his ouster.

But once the vote had been counted, and the results read into the record, the gloves were off.

Mr. Harper, who moved the final motion to adjourn Parliament, said he would be visiting Governor-General David Johnston on Saturday morning to “take the only course of action that remains.”

The Conservative Leader said Canada’s economic turnaround would remain his priority and that of his candidates. There was nothing in the budget tabled earlier this week, he said, that the opposition parties should have objected to.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Ignatieff and his coalition partners in the NDP and Bloc Quebecois made abundantly clear that they had already decided they wanted an election instead, Canada’s fourth election in seven years, an election Canadians had told them clearly that they did not want,” he said. “Thus the vote today, which obviously disappoints me, and will, I suspect, disappoint most Canadians”

The Liberal Leader said Mr. Harper confirmed his disrespect for democracy by speaking after the vote but making no mention of the fact that his government had just been found in contempt of Parliament and taking no questions from reporters. “This tells you all you need to know about this man,” he said.

Mr. Ignatieff, who did entertain questions, was peppered with queries about his willingness to form a coalition government with the NDP should Mr. Harper be returned with a minority.

As he has done previously, Mr. Ignatieff did not answer directly, saying only that he is running to create a “Liberal government that respects democracy instead of having contempt for democracy.”
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Seems like some people just don't know how to get along...
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