Meet EI, stimulus conditions or face defeat, Ignatieff tells PM

I�m slowly developing a whole new respect for this guy. Maybe not enough for my vote �yet, but he obviously thinks before he speaks.

If Iggy was the man with balls that he thinks he is, I dare him to vote down the government, lets see how far he gets with pissed off Canadians on the campaign trail...to be honest I think another minority government led by Iggy would be hammered so much more than Harper and would be worth the hours of entertainment it would bring!!!!

I'd be curious to see how well the NDP and Bloc would work with an Iggy government.

It has nothing to do with balls.

This is an opposition leader doing EXACTLY what he's supposed to do. Oppose the governing party on behalf of the public.

It's been years since that role was properly filled from either party.

The partisans will find fault with whatever decision he makes. It seems that it�s either no guts or no glory. Maybe living up to the responsibility of the position is more important.

It does take balls to spend a week slamming the Government for incompetance due to the budget and deficit, then turn around and demand more spending through EI.

I applaud him sticking to his guns, but the hypocrisy is outstanding.

I think they will work together much better than they work with the Conservatives and therefor be a more stable government. They are closer politically, A liberal government with a strong NDP presence in opposition has brought forth many positive things in Canada. Tommy Douglas medicare, The health care package in Paul Martins minority government come to mind.

There would of course be partisan games from all sides, but it would be less than it has been. I don't see how it could be worse.

Huh? I don't think the government can come up with a detailed and sustainable plan by friday, unless they already have soemthign in the works.




As I said in another thread, even just having project status listed in addition to what projects are recieving money would help in this area alot. Would give people an idea of whether a project has started or not, or how far along the construction process it is if it's already under construction. More specific details about the total budget of a project, rather than the scale currently used; < 100 000, 100 000 - 1 000 000, 1 000 000 - 5 000 000, > 5 000 000, in addition to the amount of money out of that budget already paid out towards the construction of a project.

None of what I suggested above should be hard to implement at all, and would provide an incredible amount of transparency.



Government should already have a more detailed plan that they can provide upon request.



If there is a plan, they should be able to provide it by Friday. If there isn't a plan that can be provided by friday, then it shows the government's irresponsibility
with regards to the issue.


So 3 demands I agree with, one I don't (and frankly I don't know much about the issue anyways). Not a bad rep so far. I hope that if these issues are resolved that Iggy continues to act as a responsible opposition leader.

I'll give iggy some credit for actually doing his job. Unlike the useless NDP and Bloc. He's not giving them a free ride, but he's also not making it impossible for them to work together. However I don't agree that EI needs to be changed. Investment and training would be far more valuable.

To trigger a vote will put a dagger into our economy.

Iggy is so concerned with getting the money out for "construction season" that an election call will delay spending until the end of 2009, missing this year entirely.

Hey mt, I'll get this one for yeah.

Here's what's going to happen.

The Liberals will lay down their demands and stick to it. The Conservatives knowing the Canadian electorate do not want another election, will call their bluff.

Come friday for the vote suddenly around 20 MP's will be absent for the vote. The Conservative stimulus report will pass.

Otherwise going to an election = Conservative Majority.

That's the nature of a minority Conservative government pending major gaffs. None yet.

CTV nailed it:



Sounds like Harper blew off the professor's questions and the balls back in the Liberal court again. That would make this some 44 or 45 abstentions? The record keeps getting better and better but no reporter will even touch it.

Yeah, it's been pretty brutal for the past five or six years that's for sure. Supporting your party is fine, but this over-the-top partisanship (by both sides) has to end so some real work can get done.

Go for it Iggy. I double dare ya! A minority Lib government would be fun!