Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 04:18, 5 December 2008

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The five major players in the dispute:

Governor General Michaëlle Jean

Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister of Canada.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

If the current government is defeated, Stéphane Dion could become Prime Minister.Jack Layton, leader of the NDP

Leaders of the opposition parties: Stéphane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe.

The 2008 Canadian parliamentary dispute is an ongoing political dispute in the 40th Canadian Parliament. At stake is the possible defeat of the Conservative minority government (comprising the 28th Canadian Ministry) elected on October 14, 2008, and its replacement by a Liberal Party-New Democratic Party coalition government, with support from the Bloc Québécois on confidence issues. On December 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle Jean granted the request of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to prorogue (suspend without dissolving) Parliament until January 26, 2009, thereby staving off the prospect of an imminent change in government.

Background

The 39th Canadian Parliament was led by a Conservative minority government under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and lasted for two years with the support or abstention of opposition parties. On September 7, 2008 the Prime Minister requested a dissolution of Parliament and a snap election, claiming that Parliament had become dysfunctional and needed a renewed mandate. The 2008 federal election, held on October 14, increased the Conservative seat count from 127 to 143, a plurality but not a majority. The Liberals, led by Stéphane Dion, returned as the Official Opposition, with 77 seats. Two other parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 37 seats and the sovereignist Bloc Québécois party with 49 seats, together with two independent Members of Parliament, rounded out the Commons.

During the election campaign, there was an unprecedented amount of publicity for strategic voting for the four main parties opposing the Conservatives, epitomized by the Anything But Conservative (ABC) campaign, and foreshadowing the political divide that would become official weeks later.

Catalyst: November 2008 fiscal update

On November 27, 2008, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty provided the House of Commons with his fiscal update. In a plan to cut government spending, the Conservatives planned to suspend the right of public employees to strike until 2011, sell off crown assets to raise capital, and eliminate political party subsidies, in which parties receive $1.95 for each vote they win. The document was fiercely rejected by the opposition on economic grounds for not fiscally stimulating the economy during the economic crisis of 2008, for suspending the right of federal civil servants to strike, and for suspending the right of recourse of women to the courts for pay equity issues. Another suspected reason for rejection was the elimination of public subsidies, as this would have disproportionately worsened the financial situations of the opposition parties compared to the Conservatives. The Conservatives received 37% of their funds from public funding in 2007, the NDP 57%, the Liberals 63%, the Green Party 65% and the Bloc Québécois 86%.

Formation of a coalition

Just after the Conservative government announced its plans, NDP leader Jack Layton called former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and asked him to contact former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to discuss the idea of a coalition to oust the Conservatives from power. Negotiations began about "what would be a good situation here for the people of Canada, for Parliament." Almost immediately, the plan became public. Labelling the absence of any economic stimulus plan as irresponsible and the removal of public funding to parties as an attack against democracy, the Opposition threatened to topple the weeks-old government. After a vote of non-confidence, they would form a coalition government, instead of going through an election less than two months after the previous one.

On December 1, 2008, the three opposition parties agreed to defeat the Conservatives in a vote of non-confidence. Under the agreement signed by Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, the coalition government would have a ministry with 24 members, including a Liberal prime minister (with Stéphane Dion as the initial prime minister), 18 Liberal ministers, including the minister of finance, and six New Democratic ministers. The coalition agreement is in force until June 30, 2011.

The Bloc Québécois, which holds the balance of power in the 40th Parliament, has agreed, in writing, to support the proposed coalition government on confidence matters until at least June 30, 2010. However, the Bloc Québécois would not be a direct participant in the coalition itself.

The three parties involved indicated they would not support the fiscal update in a vote on December 1. Since the fiscal update was a vote of confidence on the newly formed Conservative minority government, it had the possibility of bringing down the government, forcing Governor General Michaëlle Jean to choose between calling an election and asking an opposition party to form a government.

Government response

In response to the negative reaction on the elimination of the political party direct subsidy, Transport Minister John Baird announced on November 29, 2008, that the plan would be dropped. The government then cancelled its initial opposition day, which was originally to be held on December 1, to avert the vote of non-confidence. The earliest the coalition could then take office would be following a vote on a Liberal motion of non-confidence or a supply motion put forth by the 28th Ministry, both scheduled for December 8, 2008.

In response to the opposition's demands for an economic stimulus package, the Conservatives changed their plan to now have Flaherty present a federal budget on January 27, 2009, instead of late February or early March. In response, the Liberals indicated that they still intended to present their motion of non-confidence on December 8. On November 30, the Conservatives released a secretly-recorded private NDP conference call. In the call, Jack Layton indicated that the groundwork for assuring the Bloc's participation "was done a long time ago". Following the release of the recording, the NDP said that they would consider pressing criminal charges. The NDP alleged that Conservative MP John Duncan received the invitation to participate by mistake, in place of NDP MP Linda Duncan who had "a similar email address".

The possible change of government was debated during Question Period. Radio commercials decrying the situation have been broadcast by the Conservatives.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a 5-minute pre-recorded statement in English and French at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 3, on national television to talk about the political crisis and attempt to rally opposition to the Liberal–NDP coalition. The networks agreed to air a response from Dion which aired around 7:30 ET. The Bloc and NDP leaders made public statements to the media following both televised statements.

The role of the Governor General

Michaëlle Jean faced a difficult choice in interpreting her duty in the unwritten role as Governor General of Canada, as there were four possibilities the Prime Minister could have pursued during his meeting with her on December 4:

1. He could have asked Jean to dissolve Parliament and call an election, only two months after the previous election,
2. He could have asked Jean to prorogue Parliament until January, delaying any possible no-confidence motion by the coalition,
3. He could have asked Jean to prorogue Parliament for a longer time, up to a year, or
4. He might have resigned as prime minister, which would have prompted Jean to request that Parliament form a new government, permitting the formation of the coalition headed by Dion

Peter H. Russell, a Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, has suggested that if Harper were to seek a dissolution, the Governor General would have to consider carefully whether his request is reasonable. Her primary concern must be to protect parliamentary democracy, and repeated short term elections, in Russell's view, would not be healthy for parliamentary democracy. In that case, with the coalition available with a reasonable prospect of holding the confidence of the House for a period of time, she might refuse his request for dissolution, requiring Harper to resign under constitutional precedent, and commissioning Dion to form a government.

Constitutional scholar Ned Franks has suggested that the Governor General could agree to prorogue the House, with the condition that the government could only manage day-to-day affairs until Parliament was reconvened. The Governor General would not approve orders-in-council requiring cabinet decisions, meaning that the government could not undertake major policy initiatives until Parliament was re-summoned, much like the way governments govern during an election campaign. However, this would be unprecedented in Canadian history as no governor general has ever refused a prime minister's request for prorogation or put conditions on it. It would also be unprecedented for a prime minister to ask for prorogation when facing an imminent confidence vote.

Former governor general Edward Schreyer stated that the Governor General had no choice but to offer the opportunity to the coalition to govern should the Conservative government fail a vote of confidence in the House. He also thought the idea of prorogation would be a difficult judgement call and suspected a short prorogue might be reasonable as long as it wasn't "used in the longer term as a means of evading, avoiding and thwarting the expression of the parliamentary will" by avoiding a confidence vote.

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson wrote in her memoirs, Heart Matters, that she would have allowed prime minister Paul Martin a dissolution after at least six months in office following the 2004 election of his minority government. "To put the Canadian people through an election before six months would have been irresponsible", she wrote especially having received a letter co-signed by then opposition leader Stephen Harper, NDP leader Jack Layton, and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe asking her to consider letting them attempt to form a government without an election if the Liberal government should fall.

Constitutional scholar and former advisor to governors general Ted McWhinney has said that the Governor General would have no choice but to follow the prime minister's advice if asked for a prorogue, though he would have to explain to the electorate why he was doing so to avoid facing a confidence vote.

On December 3, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion wrote to the Governor General with his opinion that the governor general must refuse to grant a prorogation as, in his opinion, it would be an abuse of power denying the right of the legislature to give or withhold its confidence in the government. He also suggested that the government had already, in effect, lost the confidence of the House and that she could therefore no longer accept Harper's advice as prime minister.

Request to prorogue and Governor General's reaction

On December 2, it was reported that Mr. Harper planned to ask the Governor General to prorogue parliament, thereby delaying the possible defeat of his government until the New Year. Legally, the Prime Minister is allowed to wait a year after prorogation before he would be forced to ask the House of Commons to reconvene.

The coalition leadership sent a letter to Governor-General Michaëlle Jean, who at the time was abroad on a goodwill trip in Europe, informing her of the events. Upon receiving the letter from the coalition leadership, Governor General Jean announced that she would be cutting her trip short and heading back to Ottawa "in light of the current political situation in Canada." This was expected to be her only public comment until she had actually ruled.

Stephen Harper visited the Governor General at Rideau Hall at about 9:30 am Eastern Standard Time on December 4 for more than two hours to ask that she prorogue parliament until January. This request was granted, and Parliament was prorogued until January 26, 2009.

Leaders' addresses to the nation on December 3

Both Harper and Dion addressed the nation on December 3, 2008 with televised statements broadcast on Canada's major television networks. Harper's speech outlined the steps his government has taken to address the economic crisis while attacking the Liberals for forming a coalition with the separatist Bloc Québécois. In his speech, Harper said "at a time of global economic instability, Canada's Government must stand unequivocally for keeping the country together. At a time like this, a coalition with the separatists cannot help Canada. And the Opposition does not have the democratic right to impose a coalition with the separatists they promised voters would never happen."

Dion's counter-statement, aired following Harper's, attacked the Conservatives, stating they did not have a plan to weather the economic crisis. Dion also stated that Canadians did not want another election, instead preferring that Parliament work together during this time. "Within one week, a new direction will be established, a tone and focus will be set. We will gather with leaders of industry and labour to work, unlike the Conservatives, in a collaborative, but urgent manner to protect jobs."

Following the statements, both the Bloc Québécois and New Democrats responded, attacking the Conservatives. Said Layton, "Tonight, only one party stands in the way of a government that actually works for Canadians." "Instead of acting on these ideas ... Mr. Harper delivered a partisan attack." Duceppe echoed Layton's comments, "Stephen Harper showed a serious and worrisome lack of judgment by making putting his party's ideology before the economy."

Dion's statement, intended to air immediately following Harper's, was late in arriving to the networks and of low video quality, prompting the party to apologize. CTV, which had already signed off of its special broadcast before Dion's statement arrived, was met with complaints both that the network had ignored the Liberals, and that Dion had snubbed the network. CTV commentator Robert Fife stated that the New Democrats and Bloc Québécois were "angry" with the quality of Dion's address, stating that it had undermined the credibility of the coalition.

Harper's statement was immediately criticized in Quebec, as Premier Jean Charest condemned the "anti-sovereigntist rhetoric" of the prime minister.

Charest also accused Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois of using the coalition to try and build sovereigntist momentum.

Other reaction

Liberal party elders Frank McKenna, Paul Martin, John Manley and former NDP premier Roy Romanow were reported to have been asked to form an economic advisory body to the coalition if needed. However, both McKenna and Manley declined to take part. Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, who originally started the Anything But Conservative (ABC) campaign stated that he would remain neutral on this issue and that he would work with whoever is prime minister. British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell spoke out against the coalition, stating that if their gamble fails, Canada's economic worries will become significantly worse as a result.

Former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau told Le Journal de Montreal that the deal was an "impressive victory", showing how powerful the Bloc Québécois is in federal politics.

Polling

An Angus Reid Strategies poll on this subject conducted on December 1–2 2008 showed that "40% of respondents believe the Conservatives do not deserve to continue in office, while 35% believe they do", with 25% "not sure". According to the poll, if the government is defeated in a non-confidence vote, 37% of respondents support a coalition of opposition parties taking power, 32% favour holding a new election, 7% favour an accord rather than a coalition among opposition parties and 24% are not sure. This poll consisted of online interviews with 1,012 Canadian adults and has a reported margin of error of 3.1 per cent.

A Léger Marketing poll of 2,226 people, conducted on behalf of Sun Media and released on December 4, showed a regional split on what should happen if the Harper government falls. Nationally, 43% of Canadians prefer a new election be held, compared to 40% who favour allowing the coalition to govern. In Western Canada, however, respondents were sharply opposed to the coalition, led by Albertans, who responded 71% in favour of new elections. Quebec showed the highest level of support for the coalition, with 58% preferring it to a new election. Ontario was split, with 43% preferring an election compared to 39% supporting the coalition.

The Léger poll also showed that 60% of Canadians were concerned that the separatist Bloc Québécois would hold the balance of power in a coalition, compared to 35% that were not concerned, with the majority of respondants in every region excluding Quebec expressing concern. 34% of respondents argued that the Conservatives are best able to handle the economic crisis, compared to 18% for the coalition. 14% felt the Liberals individually were best prepared, 7% felt the NDP individually were the best choice, and 2% felt the Bloc Québécois were best.

Public response

There are thousands of posts on the news websites, and thousands of posters posting on blogs and on articles. On December 1, the Globe and Mail website had over 4,500 comments posted on its articles related to the political dispute. There are also specialized websites being launched by all sides giving their spin.

Web users on all sides of the political spectrum have come out in force. Supporters of both the coalition and of the Harper government have used the internet to promote rallies and protests in the hopes of exposing their messages to government.

Precedents

Reserve powers of the Governor General

On the federal level, the reserve powers of the Governor General have been used twice in respect to declining the advice of the Prime Minister. The first took place in 1896, when Charles Tupper refused to resign as prime minister following his loss in the election of that year and Governor General Lord Aberdeen refused to sign several appointments, forcing Tupper to relinquish office. The second instance was in 1926, during the King-Byng Affair, when William Lyon Mackenzie King's government asked the Governor General at the time, Lord Byng of Vimy, to dissolve Parliament and call an election so that it could avoid a no-confidence motion. Lord Byng of Vimy refused and gave Arthur Meighen, the leader of the Official Opposition, a chance to form the government. Meighen's government was itself defeated in the first no-confidence vote it faced. King, running on a platform which sought to limit the Governor General's powers, was re-elected with a strong majority in the resulting elections.

Previous Canadian coalitions

Federal coalitions

During the First World War the Unionist Party was quickly formed after a proposed coalition, in response to the Conscription Crisis. In 2000, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives were allegedly secretly considering forming a coalition government with the Bloc Québécois if together their three parties had won a majority of the seats in the 2000 election. In 2004, Stephen Harper sent a letter to the Governor General suggesting that if the Liberal minority government fell, the Conservatives would be willing to form a government with the support of the Bloc Québécois and NDP.

Provincial coalitions

Following the 1932 Manitoba election a coalition was formed between the Manitoba Liberal Party and the Progressives. The parties subsequently merged. The new party also led a coalition government with several other parties in the 1940s, and lasted until 1950. During the 1940s, British Columbia was ruled by a Liberal-Conservative coalition formed to keep the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from power. In Ontario, the Progressive Conservative government of Frank Miller won a minority of seats in the 1985 provincial election. Following an accord between the Liberals and the New Democrats, Miller's government was defeated on a no-confidence motion on the Speech from the Throne of the newly elected legislature, and the Liberals took power, led by David Peterson. The New Democrats, led by Bob Rae, did not participate in a coalition government, but agreed to support the Liberals on confidence motions for a period of two years. In 1999, the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party formed a coalition government with two Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs.

Other Westminster Democracies

Canada is one of many nations that uses the Westminster system of government. This is a democratic parliamentary system modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United Kingdom). The most recent major constitutional crisis in a country using the Westminster system of government was in Australia in 1975. The Canadian crisis has similiarities to the constitutional crisis in Australia in 1975. when Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. It has been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australia's history.

References

1. "GG agrees to suspend Parliament: Harper". CBC. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
2. "Harper 'very pleased' with stronger minority". CBC News. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
3. "The ABCs of strategic voting. But will it work?". CBC News. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
4. "Environmental website encourages strategic voting to stop Tories". CBC News. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
5. "Strategic voting could play significant role in some GTA ridings". CBC News. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
6. Flaherty to slash public funding for federal parties. CTV. Nov. 26, 2008.
7. "Opposition parties won't support Tory economic update". CBC News. 27 November 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
8. Whittington, Les (2008-12-02). "Leaders vow fast economic stimulus". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Flaherty to slash public funding for federal parties. CTV. Nov. 26, 2008.
10. Diebel, Linda (2008-12-02). "Liberals turn discord into 'marvel' of unity". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
11. Little, Matthew (2008-12-03). "Canada Faces Prospect of an Unelected Government". The Epoch Times. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
12. "Harper moves to avoid political showdown". CBC News. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
13. Text of the accord
14. "Conservatives scrap plan to cut party subsidies". CBC News. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
15. "Harper averts immediate political crisis". Yahoo!. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
16. "Opposition agrees to coalition with Dion as PM". CTV. 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
17. "Conservatives to deliver early budget". CBC News. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
18. Transcript. Macleans. November 30, 2008.
19. Tories toss policy, release secret tapes to dodge defeat. The Canadian Press. November 30, 2008.
20. Duncan accused by NDP. BCLocalNews. December 2, 2008.
21. "Question Period ignites over 'betrayal' and 'no-confidence' charges" (HTML). Retrieved 02 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
22. ^ Chase, Steven; Curry, Bill and Campbell, Clark (2008-12-02). "Tories take to airwaves; Greens back coalition". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
23. "PM to address the country about political crisis". CBC News. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
24. ^ Sheppard, Robert (2008-12-02). "The delicate role of the Governor General". CBC News. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
25. Russell, Peter H. (2008-12-03). "Constitution and precedent are on coalition's side". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
26. Beal, Bob (2008-12-02). "The Governor-General's options". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
27. "Former GG says he would support coalition". CBC News. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
28. Taber, Jane (2004-09-10). "Tories, NDP and Bloc unite to demand more clout". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
29. Smith, Joanna (2008-12-02). "Experts weigh PM's options". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
30. December 3 Letter from Stéphane Dion to Governor General Michaëlle Jean
31. Harris, Kathleen. PM plans to shut down Parliament. CNews. December 2, 2008.
32. Austen, Ian. Head of State Tackles Crisis in Canada. New York Times. December 2, 2008.
33. "Harper asks Governor General to suspend Parliament". Canadian Press. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
34. "Live blog: Mr. Harper goes to Rideau Hall". National Post. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
35. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081204.wparliamentday1204/BNStory/politics/home
36. "Stephen Harper's Dec. 3, 2008 statement". National Post. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
37. "Text of the Opposition Leader's televised address". Globe and Mail. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
38. ^ "PM attacks coalition as harmful; preps GG meeting". CTV. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
39. Visser, Josh (2008-12-03). "Liberals apologize for late delivery of Dion video". Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
40. ^ "Quebec politicians unimpressed by Harper speech to Canadians". Canadian Press. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
41. Daniel Leblanc (2008-12-01). "'Four wise men' would show coalition the way". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
42. "Opposition agrees to coalition with Dion as PM". CTV News. 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-12-03. CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported earlier Monday that a high-profile, four-person economic panel would guide a Liberal-NDP coalition government on finance matters.
43. Carmichael, Kevin (2008-12-03). "Former MPs weren't wise to Liberal plan for economic panel". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
44. "'Not a time to gloat,' says Williams of federal political tussle". CBC. 02 December 2008. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Text "http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2008/12/02/williams-reax.html" ignored (help)
45. "Ottawa's instability bad for Canada: Campbell". CTV. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
46. Angus Reid Strategies (2008). "Political Crisis Splits Views in Canada". Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
47. Harris, Kathleen (2008-12-04). "Support split by region". Sun Media. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
48. "What Canadians think". Calgary Sun. December 4, 2008. p. 4.
49. "Tories, Liberals take coalition feud online". Canoe Money. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
50. "Online Debate". The Globe and Mail. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
51. "Canadians making their voices heard". St. Catharines Standard. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
52. "Coalition feud sparks flurry of online reaction". CTV News. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
53. "Canadians pick sides online in face of possible coalition". CP24. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
54. "Pro and anti-coalition rallies planned across Canada". CTV. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
55. Leblanc, Daniel (2008-12-03). "Bloc part of secret coalition plot in 2000 with Canadian Alliance". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
56. "Another trip down minority government memory lane — this time, with Jack Layton". Maclean's. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
57. ^ The Canadian Press (2008-12-02). "Coalition governments in Canada and other countries". CTV. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
58. Steele, Andrew (2008-12-02). "Harper's Options". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
59. "Canada's PM asks G-G to save him". The Australian. Sydney. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
60. "ozpolitics.info". The Dismissal. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
61. Dismissal still angers Gough, AM, ABC radio, 7 November 2005

External links

• The signed Coalition Accord
• Policy Accord signed by Dion, Layton, and Duceppe
• Letter to the Governor General from Stéphane Dion
• Letter to the Governor General from Jack Layton
• Transcript of Harper's address to the nation on December 3
• Transcript of Dion's address to the nation on December 3

• Current events from December 2008
• Politics of Canada
• Constitution of Canada
• Monarchy in Canada
• 2008 in Canada
• Political history of Canada