Ignatieff's Stance on Coalition is Still Uclear

Despite what the other media say,John Ivison points out that the statement that Ignatieff made this morning on a coalition is still not clear.  
 A Liberal press release that was sent this morning states that there would be no coalition if the Libs won  the most seats.  It did not say what they would do if  Conservatives won more seats and they came in second.

Mr. Ignatieff said in his press conference on the steps of Parliament Hill that he made the decision to speak out because he didn’t want “to spend 36 days with any ambiguity”.
Yet ambiguity remains. The release is very specific that the no-coalition commitment applies in the event the party that wins the most seats is called on to form the government. It is clear that, if the Liberals are first past the post and can’t gain the confidence of the House, then Mr. Harper would be called on to form the government.

This legitimizes the concept of a coalition, which no-one seriously disputes under the Constitution. But what the statement does not make clear is whether the commitment is unequivocal in the event of a Conservative minority. Could Mr. Harper win on election day and be defeated over his Throne Speech by the opposition, leading to a Liberal-NDP coalition, backed by the Bloc?

So do believe the Liberal leader?  I certainly do NOT!  Don't forget the last time the coalition reared it's ugly head, it was the Conservatives who won the most seats not the Liberals.  Oh by the way Ignatieff signed that agreement and it's still in affect.

The Race is On

Well it seems we're in our fourth election in seven years.  The coalition of the losers decided they wanted to take the current government down some trumped up charges in which the coalition on the committee had the majority.

So here we are.  The polls look pretty good at the on set for the Conservatives,not so good for the Libs.

We already have our first big gaffe even before the writ is dropped.  Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, he won't answer the darn question on whether or not he would enter a coalition with NDP and the Bloc if the Conservatives fail to get a majority.  See here for yourself.



PM Harper has a good record to run on. Amazingly with a minority he was able to get some good things accomplished for Canadians.  Here is just a small sample  of them,

(1) African Development Fund Replenished — Instituted in 1972, the Conservative government replenished the fund as promised at the G20 conference in Toronto in 2010 (Link)
(2) Age of Consent Legislation — Raised from 14 to 16 effective May 1, 2008 (Link)
(3) Agent Orange Compensation Package of $96 Million –$20,000 to all veterans and civilians who lived within 5 kilometers of CFB Gagetown in N.B.when Agent Orange was sprayed over a seven day period in 1966 and 1967 (Link)
(4) Air India Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry — PM Harper apologies to the friends and relatives of all those who died in that disaster (Link)
(5) Apology to Native People — By the Government of Canada on June 11, 2008 for residential school abuses (Link)
(6) Arctic Research Station Announced – The feasibility study started in 2007 was completed in August 2010 with the announcement that it will be built over the next five years in Cambridge Bay, Nanavut (Link)
(7) Auto Theft and Property Crime Bill — Legislation passed that would crack down on auto theft and trafficking in property that is obtained by crime (Link)
(8) Canada Employment Credit — Of $1000.00 (Link)
(9) Child Tax Credit — $2000 for every child under eighteen (Link to all the family tax credits)
(10) China Signs New Initiatives– PM Harper and President Hu Jintao signed a new initiative that built on December 09 Joint Statement — such as re-opening the Chinese market to Canadian beef products (Link)

You can find the rest of them at Sandy's who's done a masterful job at compiling all of them.  

Let's give PM Harper a Conservative Majority at the end of all this!