(h/t Bourque Newswatch)
Today could be the day we know for sure if there will be an election.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says he would work with the NDP to defeat the Liberals as early as next week - but says he still needs a stronger signal from Jack Layton.
Harper told a breakfast meeting of Conservatives in Peterborough, Ont., that Layton "has been making war-like noises lately."
But he says Layton must make it clear after a conference call with the NDP caucus that the party will agree to defeat the Liberals in a non-confidence vote when Parliament resumes next week.
In my mind Mr. Layton has already made things pretty clear but it won't hurt to hear it again after the caucus meeting today. Stay tuned.
Update: CHML 900 is reporting that the NDP caucus is forming a plan whereby they will introduce a non-confidence motion on November 24th.
More on this from CTV.
The New Democrats plan to announce a plan that could see Nov. 24 as the day opposition parties set a date to bring down the government, says a report from the Canadian Press.
The strategy is being discussed today in a teleconference between NDP Leader Jack Layton and his caucus, senior party sources tell CP.
Layton plans to hold a news conference in Vancouver at 10:30 a.m. PT (1:30 p.m. ET)
Update II: Let the official Pre-Election Campaign begin.
The NDP will introduce a "common sense" motion of non-confidence on November 24th calling for an election to begin on early-January and conclude mid-March. According to Mr. Layton this will allow Parliament to pass housekeeping Bills and allow the First Nations meeting to occur.
It sounds a lot like what I proposed on Monday, except Mr. Layton has shifted things a further six weeks.
I guess the question now is whether or not this is even Constitutional - the Governor-General must be having fun right about now.
Update III: Here is Norman Spector's take on this whole matter.
...Jack Layton has every right to propose any motion he wishes--including the one he outlined today. And, as has been observed, Parliament has the power to move Christmas to July.
Parliament does not, however, have the power to dissolve Parliament. And the Governor-General, who does have that power, takes advice from the Prime Minister and only from the PM.
To be sure, this dictum applies only when the PM has the confidence of the House. So far, there's no indication that the Opposition parties will get it together and propose a non-confidence motion, and there is every indication that Parliament will adopt the Estimates, which traditionally is a confidence measure.
Bottom line?
Layton's motion is primarily about politics, about face-saving and about getting him out of the corner into which he has painted himself.
