Canada opposition parties sign deal to oust gov't

[December 02, 2008]  TORONTO (AP) -- Canada's opposition parties signed an unprecedented agreement Monday to topple the Conservative government in a no-confidence vote next week and form a coalition government less than two months after national elections.

The three parties in the alliance, which together control a majority in Parliament, plan to vote against Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government Dec. 8, which would remove it from power.

If Harper loses the confidence vote, Governor General Michaelle Jean would either call another election or ask the opposition to form a government.

Constitutional experts say that Jean, who is the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and whose position is mostly ceremonial, would likely allow the opposition to form a government since an election was held so recently.

If the opposition plan is successful, it would be the first time that a Canadian government was ousted and replaced by an opposition coalition without an intervening election.

The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois contend Harper has not come up with a solid plan for dealing with the global economic crisis. But the move against Harper was triggered by his since-dropped proposal to scrap public subsidies for political parties, something the opposition parties rely on much more than the Conservatives.

The Liberal Party said its leader, Stephane Dion, would be prime minister under the coalition deal.

"We are ready to form a new government that will address the best interests of the people," Liberal leader Stephane Dion said after the three opposition leaders signed a pact outlining the structure of a new government.

Dion said the coalition would announce a robust economic stimulus plan that would include money for housing, infrastructure and the auto and forestry sectors. Canada's main stock exchange slid more than 9 percent, its worst one-day percentage loss since the crash of October 1987.

Harper's party won the most seats in the Oct. 14 election and handed the once dominant Liberals one of their worst defeats ever after Dion campaigned on an unpopular environmental tax during slowing economic times.

But the Conservatives' hold on power is tenuous because the party again did not win a majority of Parliament's 308 seats and must rely on opposition support to pass budgets and legislation.

Conservatives criticized the plan.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice said his party will consider all options to prevent the opposition plan. He called the pact "undemocratic" and "unprecedented in our country's history."

"We'll see what the reaction of Canadians is," Transport Minister John Baird said. "Stephen Harper got a strengthened minority government just a month ago and they seem ready to install the one person that Canadians didn't want."

The Liberals, the biggest party in the opposition alliance, are in the midst of a leadership race after Dion said he would step down in May following his election loss. But all three leadership candidates said Monday that they would support Dion as leader of a coalition government.

Dion said Monday that he still planned to step down next May if he becomes prime minister and his successor in the Liberal leadership will become government leader.

[Associated Press; By ROB GILLIES]

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