Bloc to Harper: Send $5 billion to Quebec

[57Chevy]

Bloc to Harper: Send $5 billion to Quebec

QUEBEC — The Bloc Quebecois, with 47 seats in the House of Commons, has announced its price for supporting the Conservative minority government's new budget: The BQ wants $5 billion for Quebec, including $2.2 billion to compensate the province for harmonizing its provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax.

With 143 elected members in the 308-seat House of Commons, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government needs the support of at least one of the three opposition parties to remain in power.

Without that backing, the budget would be defeated, triggering a spring election.

The Liberals hold 77 seats, the New Democratic Party 36. There are two independents and three vacancies.

The Bloc is also seeking $1.5 billion more in equalization payments for Quebec, $800 million more for post-secondary education and social programs, $421 million as the federal government's share for dealing with the 1998 ice storm, and $137 million in income stabilization.

Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe insisted at the end of a two-day party caucus meeting in Quebec City, the region where the Harper government holds eight of its 11 Quebec seats, that in asking for $5 billion, the Bloc is "acting in the interests of Quebec."

He noted the Harper government's budget last year sent $10 billion to Ontario; Duceppe said there appears to be a double standard and the Conservative government does not take Quebec's demands seriously.


                              (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

 

[Brasidas]

Bloc to Harper: Send $5 billion to Quebec
Without that backing, the budget would be defeated, triggering a spring election.

Fine by me. An election's cheaper than $5 billion.

Let the government fall, have an election, get the status quo, start over. Done.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Good for Duceppe!

Maybe, finally, enough Canadians will appreciate that we need political parties that can win majority governments without Québec. One of the reasons I support Harper is that I understand that his long term political goal is to move Canada towards a de facto two party system: a right of centre and centre-right party, based on most of the existing Conservatives with a large ex-Liberal contingent, and a centre-left and left of centre party based on large slices of the Liberal and New Democratic Parties. Of course there will be right wing and left wing rumps, formed mainly by disaffected Conservatives and Dippers and there will, for a while, at east, sill be a BQ – until Québec finally realizes that it is “une province comme les autres,” neither more nor less.

Thus I think Harper wants:

Hard Right Rump – Right of Centre/Centre-Right Party – Centre-Left/Left of Centre Party – Greens - Bloc Québecois – Hard Left Rump

Either of the two “middle of the road” parties should be able to win a majority by getting (in a 308 seat parliament) by getting something like:

50± seats in BC and AB
15± seats in SK and MB
75± seats in ON
  5± seats in QC
10± seats in Atlantic Canada

That's 155 seats which equals a slim majority. The majority depends on winning “new Canada” - everything West of the Ottawa River, and leaving most of “old Canada” - everything East of the Ottawa River to the Bloc and the rumps.

It also depends on Harper succeeding in his aim of destroying the Liberal Party of Canada Toronto – the thing that still exists in Pierre Trudeau's fading shadow. But the Liberal Party must be reborn with much of its old strength, after absorbing bits of the Red Tories and some of the NDP. The Conservatives, too, need to be reborn, too, after shedding their hard right wing and some of their Red Tories. So, essentially, I expect that the NDP, in name, anyway, will disappear and we will see “new” Conservative and Liberal Parties.
 

 

[PuckChaser]

This is really gonna backfire against Duceppe. Ontario and BC harmonized and aren't crying for money. You made your bed by harmonizing your sales tax, now you get to lie in it. If your province is out of money, try to find a way to attract businesses to invest there, instead of playing the schoolyard bully and stealing the other province's money.

 

[Edward Campbell]

This is really gonna backfire against Duceppe. Ontario and BC harmonized and aren't crying for money. You made your bed by harmonizing your sales tax, now you get to lie in it. If your province is out of money, try to find a way to attract businesses to invest there, instead of playing the schoolyard bully and stealing the other province's money.

Actually both BC and ON did get some financial support from Ottawa for the transition. So did QC, but not as "out in the open" - thus the BQ sees a vote getting issue in short memories.

 

[57Chevy]

Although the Country is in need of a majority government, I don't forsee it happening any time soon.
IMO an election is probably on the agenda with or without the $$$$ aspect anyway.

 

[ModlrMike]

My guess is that Political Party funding, Quebec $5bn, and some measure to appease the NDP will be in the budget. The Libs and the Bloc rely on the funding, and the NDP doesn't. Mr Harper has already stated his willingness to include some form of NDP suggestions.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

So, if I am reading this
http://www.fin.gc.ca/fedprov/eqp-eng.asp
correctly; this fiscal year, 14.7 billion will be transferred from the federal government in equalization payments.  Of this, Quebec, that province with so much natural wealth, will receive 7.639 billion.  Over 50%.  And he wants another 5 billion?

The PM has to say no.  And if that forces an election, so be it.

 

[Jed]

Thank you, Mr. Duceppe ! The guantlet has been thrown down. I can't see anyone from the rest of Canada going along with this blatant, spoiled child, demand.

 

[Kat Stevens]

We've been held at gun point for 143 years, what makes you think that this latest display will be the one to break the camel's back?

 

[ballz]

The PM has to say no.  And if that forces an election, so be it.

Agreed... in fact I think Harper will be smart enough to realize that this kind of atrocious demand will only gain him popularity everywhere else by blatantly saying "get f**ked."

Going to an election over this would be a wet dream for the Conservatives.

If he gives in to this demand, the Conservatives may very well be done as a government...

 

[Edward Campbell]

Given the problem being faced by the Liberals and NDP, Duceppe may be Harper's best friend. Ignatieff and Layton may find it hard to back Harper yet again when he brings in an austere budget that punishes political parties. Harper can, just barely eke out a slim majority if all the dominoes fall correctly, to the right. He needs t hold on to 5+ seats in QC - a "promise" of (a) new arena(s), IF the NHL promises to return some teams to Canada, can help secure them. The keys to a majority lie in ON, specifically in the ridings surrounding Toronto (where an arena promise might work, too), and BC, in Greater Vancouver. Harper must win a bunch of Liberal and NDP seats, while losing very, very few CON seats anywhere; he needs a net gain of 12 - e.g. if he loses 8 seats he must win 20 more.

 

[ballz]

I don't think a majority is realistic right now... It was realistic last election, and for Harper, it may never be realistic again...

I don't think Canada will see a majority again until times actually get rough. Things in Canada are pretty well, nobody is wondering if they're going to eat tomorrow, and few are wondering how they're going to pay for it. We won't see a real strong leader, or a majority, until things take a turn for the worse. I think leaders (especially political leaders) come about out of necessity, not just because they were born that way and were 'destined' to take a country by it's horns and lead it into prosperity.

Until those dire times, having a minority government may not be a negative thing.

 

[Brad Sallows]

All the opposition parties are playing chicken with the government.  Each is laying down its price for supporting the budget.  Implicitly they are also playing chicken with the voters, in the event no-one blinks.  Presumably they all think their demands won't hurt them at the subsequent polls.

 

[Rifleman62]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/02/10/tasha-kheiriddin-tories-get-creative-but-theyre-still-picking-the-same-pocket/#more-27950

Tasha Kheiriddin: New Tory plan to fund Quebec arena creative, but still pathetic

Tasha Kheiriddin  February 10, 2011 – 8:10 am

If at first you don’t succeed, turn yourself into a pretzel. At least, that seems to be the thinking in Ottawa, where no contortions are too complicated, apparently, when it comes to finding money for a new hockey arena in Quebec City.

The latest twist? Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty publicly floated the possibility of using the federal gas tax to fund the hockey arena in Quebec City. Yes, that’s right: gas taxes, part of which now flow into a $2-billion municipal infrastructure fund, might be used to build sport and entertainment complexes.

The rules for the fund currently stipulate that the money can only be used for infrastructure such as roads, sewers and water treatment systems. But now, according to CBC News,

    Sources say the Harper government is considering simply amending the federal regulations to allow municipalities to spend all or part of their annual gas-tax funds on entertainment facilities such as a new NHL arena.

    The necessary regulatory changes could be included in the next federal budget expected to be introduced in March.

This is naturally not sitting well with a number of people, including the folks at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who lobbied for years to have part of the federal gas tax dedicated to road repair and maintenance. When the current fund was created by former prime minister Paul Martin, the CTF rejoiced that progress had been made on the issue. The organization also subsequently praised the Harper government for being stricter than its predecessor, in terms of respecting the guidelines for spending the money.

To say that the CTF is disappointed now would be an understatement. According to National Director Kevin Gaudet,

    “They should do the right thing and give no public money to arenas or so-called entertainment complexes for non-existent hockey teams. That money is collected from gas taxes; if anything, it should go to roads bridges and highways.”

Gaudet also points out that the potential recipient for a large chunk of this money — Quebec — has far bigger worries than building a new arena:

    “Quebec has a substantial need for infrastructure investment and they want to divert cash away to build an arena for a non-existent team?”

Indeed, it was only four and a half years ago that the de la Concorde Overpass collapsed, killing five people and seriously injuring six others. The province is currently rebuilding the Turcot interchange, which has seen its concrete ramps patched and shored up repeatedly over the years. Meanwhile, a trip through Montreal’s Ville Marie tunnel reveals a crazy quilt of broken tiles and crumbling masonry.

And yet, Premier Jean Charest announced last year that the province was ready to pony up $175-million to help make the dream of a new Quebec City arena a reality. This morning, he and Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume are set to announce the project at a press conference.

And now, the federal Tories, in a pathetic and desperate attempt to curry favour with Quebec voters, appear prepared to come along for the ride. Worse yet, they are attempting to download the political fallout onto the municipalities, by making it their choice whether they spend this fund’s money on road — or rinks.

It is unjustifiable to spend public money on a pro sports arena. Period. Study after study have shown that these so-called “investments” don’t yield the returns they claim, and worse yet, risk turning into boondoggles like the Toronto Skydome, which cost taxpayers over $400-million before being sold to Rogers Communications for a scant $25-million. It doesn’t matter what pot you take it from: at the end of the day, there is only one taxpayer, and his or her money is better spent on preventing deadly overpass collapses than building skating rinks for pro athletes. If this measure is in the budget, it should be voted down, and this government with it.

National Post