What Happened in Canada
A lawyer friend in Canada explains the historic events in Canada last night. I found it useful:
It's all ancient parliamentary tradition. A minority government is one that has less than 50% of the seats in the House of Commons. (With four major parties, the situation is easily created.) Every major bill and every money bill is a test as to whether the government enjoys "the confidence" of the House. If the bill fails, the Prime Minister must by tradition request that the Crown dissolve parliament. He visits the Governor-General, who then (usually) calls the writ. Aside: the G-G is not required to do so, however. . . .
Last night's vote was historic in that the defeat was not over a major and/or money bill but on a straight motion of no-confidence based on the scandal . . .
That scandal is the greatest in Canadian history: taxpayers money laundered by the government through to the Liberal Party. In its essence, it makes Marconi look pretty small potatoes.
The government would have fallen six months ago, without need of the Socialist vote (NDP Party) except that the government offered an air-head blonde a Cabinet post, enticing her to cross the floor on the eve of the vote. The motion was defeated by one vote. Since then the Socialists have propped up the Liberal minority, I guess until the smell got too bad.
How 30%of the country still supports such open corruption many of us can't figure. The urban Ontario immigrant vote has a lot to do with it of course, though no one can say that publicly. It hasn't stopped the Liberals however from doling out billions in immigrant reform this past week.
Our red-blue . . . map goes like this: the west to the Ontario border is solid red, except British Columbia, which is our California, a swing state full of nuts. Quebec is solidly pink, almost universally BQ (the Bloc Quebecois, a separatist party sending men to Ottawa to make sure Parliament doesn't work, or that if it does it works in Quebec's favour). The Maritimes are solidly blue, most residents being on the dole in one way or another. Urban Ontario lost it for the Tories last year, who were portrayed much the way Bush is portrayed by the your owns leftists. That is the battle ground this time.
