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2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute

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The five major participants in the dispute:
Michaëlle Jean, Governor General
Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean
Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper
If the current government is defeated, Stéphane Dion could become Prime Minister.Jack Layton, leader of the NDPGilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québécois
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. It was triggered by the intention of opposition parties in the House of Commons to defeat, by a motion of no confidence, the minority government formed by the Conservative Party only six weeks after the 40th general election.

This was a result of the government's fiscal update presented to the Commons on November 27, 2008, which included several provisions none of the opposition parties would accept. Though the government withdrew several contentious issues, the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party signed an agreement to form a coalition government, and the Bloc Québécois agreed to support that coalition on confidence issues. The parliamentary session was delayed one week by the Conservative government, so a motion of non-confidence could not be registered.

On December 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle Jean (the vice-regal representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the country's head of state) granted the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the head of government) to prorogue parliament until January 26, 2009, ending the first session of the 40th Parliament and thereby delaying a possible change in government.

Background

The 39th Canadian parliament was led by a Conservative minority government headed by Stephen Harper, and lasted for two years with the support or abstention of opposition parties, until, 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, while the Liberals, led by Stéphane Dion, returned as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, with 77 seats. Two other parties, the New Democratic Party (NDP), with 37 seats, and the Bloc Québécois, 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 three main parties opposing the Conservatives, epitomized by the Anything But Conservative (ABC) campaign, and foreshadowing the political divide that would become official weeks later.

The dispute

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 civil servants to strike until 2011, sell off some Crown assets to raise capital, and to eliminate political party subsidies, in which parties receive 1.95 CAD for each vote they win. The document was fiercely rejected by the opposition for not fiscally stimulating the economy during the economic crisis, for suspending the right of federal civil servants to strike, and for suspending the right for women to seek recourse from the courts for pay equity issues, though it was suggested that the main reason for the opposition parties' anger was the elimination of the federal subsidies, as this would have disproportionately worsened the financial situations of the opposition parties compared to the Conservatives; the Conservative Party received 37% of their funds from Crown funding in 2007, the NDP 57%, the Liberals 63%, the Green Party 65% and the Bloc Québécois 86%. Recent polling by Ipsos-Reid found that 61% of Canadians wanted the political subsidies eliminated.

Formation of a coalition

Just after the Conservative government announced its plans, NDP leader Jack Layton asked former NDP leader Ed Broadbent 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," and, 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: they would vote against the fiscal update, the defeat of which would be considered a vote of non-confidence in the newly formed Conservative minority government and would likely bring down the government. Governor General Michaëlle Jean would then choose between asking the opposition parties to form the government, instead of going through an election less than two months after the previous one. Under the accord, signed by both Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and Layton, and in force until June 30, 2011, the coalition government would have a cabinet with 24 ministers, including a Liberal prime minister (with Dion as the initial appointee to this post), 17 other Liberal ministers, including the minister of finance, and six New Democratic ministers. Given the makeup of the house, a Liberal-NDP coalition would have been unable to govern without the support of members of other parties. The Bloc Québécois, which holds the balance of power in the 40th parliament, signed a policy accord with the other opposition parties and agreed to support the proposed coalition government on confidence matters until at least June 30, 2010, in return for a consultation mechanism for the duration of the agreement. The Bloc Québécois would not, however, be a direct participant in the coalition, would not hold cabinet positions, and would be free to vote as it wished on other matters.

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.

Government response

While, on November 28, 2008, Stephen Harper referred to the coalition agreement between the Liberals and NDP as "undemocratic," and that "Stéphane Dion does not have the right to take power without an election," Transport Minister John Baird announced on November 29, 2008, that the plan to eliminate the political party direct subsidy would be dropped. The government then cancelled its initial opposition day, which was originally to be held on December 1, to avert the threatened vote of non-confidence, meaning the earliest the coalition could then possibly take office would be following a vote on a Liberal motion of non-confidence or on 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 one in which a federal budget would be presented on January 27, 2009, instead of late February or early March, though the Liberals still indicated that they intended to present their motion of non-confidence on December 8. On November 30, the Conservatives then released a secretly-recorded private NDP conference call, in which 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, and 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, and radio commercials, produced by the Conservatives, and decrying the situation, were broadcast to the public.

The role of the governor general

Governor General Michaëlle Jean stated that "what is happening right now is part of the possibilities in our democratic system and I think that people can be reassured that, as I turn to what is happening, I am myself looking at my constitutional duties." Jean had three possible actions to pursue during her meeting with the prime minister on December 4, 2008: dissolve parliament, prorogue parliament, or ask him to resign his commission.

Dissolution of parliament

The Centre Block on Parliament Hill, containing the houses of the Canadian parliament.

A dissolution of parliament would have necessitated an election, only two months after the 40th general election.

Peter H. Russell, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, suggested that if Harper were to seek a dissolution, the governor general would have to consider carefully whether his request was reasonable; her primary concern must be to protect parliamentary democracy, and repeated short term elections, in Russell's view, would not be healthy for that system. In that case, with the coalition available with a reasonable prospect of holding the confidence of the house for a period of time, Jean might refuse Harper's request for dissolution, requiring Harper to resign under constitutional precedent, and commission Dion to form a government.

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson wrote in her memoirs, Heart Matters, that she would have allowed the then prime minister, Paul Martin, a dissolution only after at least six months following the 2004 election. "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.

Prorogation of parliament

To "prorogue" parliament means to discontinue a session of parliament without dissolving it. Various prorogation scenarios were possible: One was a long-term prorogation, lasting up to a year, while another was a short prorogation period lasting a few weeks to a few months. Each would delay any parliamentary activity regarding bills, hence a motion of non-confidence could not be registered, and the Conservative government would continue.

Constitutional scholar C.E.S. (Ned) Franks of Queen's University suggested that the Governor General could agree to prorogue parliament with the condition that the government 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. "There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth", he stated.

Constitutional scholar and former advisor to governors general Ted McWhinney said that the governor general would have no choice but to follow the prime minister's advice if asked for a prorogation, though the prime minister 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 she 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.

Former Governor General and NDP politician Edward Schreyer stated that if the Conservative government were to fail a vote of confidence, the governor general would have no choice but to offer the coalition the opportunity to govern. He also said that 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.

Resignation of the prime minister

Asking the existing prime minister to resign would have prompted Jean to request that parliament form a new government, permitting the formation of the coalition headed by Dion. If no new government were to form, parliament would be dissolved, resulting in a dropping of the writ for a general election. On December 4, 2008, however, asking Harper to resign as prime minister was not considered a likely option by the media or scholars.

Had the government lost a non-confidence vote, which was scheduled for December 8, 2008, then the Governor General could have turned down Prime Minister Harper's request to call an election. She would ask the prime minister to resign and she would invite the opposition to form a government.

Leadup to the governor general's decision

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 five minute pre-recorded statement, televised nationally in English and French at 7 p.m. ET, outlined the steps the government had taken to address the economic crisis, while also attacking the Liberals for forming a coalition with the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois. 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." The press noted that while he used the word sovereigntist in the French version of his speech, Harper used separatist in English.

The networks also agreed to air a response from Dion, which aired around 7:30 ET, and attacked the Conservatives, stating they did not have a plan to weather the economic crisis, and stating 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." This statement, intended to air immediately following Harper's, was late in arriving to the networks, and was of low video quality, prompting the party to apologize. (The Globe and Mail reported on December 5 that Dion's chief of staff had bypassed the normal in-house Liberal shop, and instead had retained an outside consultant to produce the video on short notice.) CBC Television stayed on the air past 7:30 p.m., and showed Dion's statement, cutting into its regularly-scheduled programming. Network anchorman Peter Mansbridge, speaking later that night on the newscast The National, compared the Dion video quality to YouTube. 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, elaborating that it had undermined the credibility of the coalition. Public statements also came from the Bloc and NDP leaders: Layton, who unsuccessfully requested his own airtime and had to share with Dion, said "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 said "Stephen Harper showed a serious and worrisome lack of judgment by putting his party's ideology before the economy."

Unity crisis

Further information: Quebec sovereignty movement and national unity of Quebec

The Conservative Party has suggested that the proposed coalition could spark a national unity crisis. While the Bloc Québécois had committed to support the coalition in matters of confidence, many suggested that the Bloc would have considerable influence in creating policy since they would hold the balance of power. In his address to the nation, Harper said that "Canada's government cannot enter into a power-sharing coalition with separatists" Dion defended the agreement, saying that "fellow Quebecers who believe in separation are more likely to be reconciled with Canada if we work with them than if we marginalize them".

The proposed coalition has polarized opinion across the country. In the nine primarily English-speaking provinces, the Conservatives have enjoyed increased support. The strongest opposition to the coalition was in Alberta, with some saying that they feared being political marginalized by Dion, Layton, and Duceppe, all of whom were from Eastern Canada. The party may have lost support in Quebec, since Quebecers "tend to view the sovereignist parties as legitimate political formations". Antonia Maioni, head of the Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University, stated that " is portraying not only the Bloc Québécois but Quebecers in general as being a threat to national unity in Canada". Premier Jean Charest, who criticized the "anti-sovereigntist rhetoric" of the prime minister,, also accusing Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois of using the coalition to build sovereigntist momentum.

Other reactions

Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, who originally started the ABC campaign, stated that he would remain neutral on this issue and that he would work with whomever was prime minister, while 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 Montréal that the deal was an "impressive victory", showing how powerful the Bloc Québécois is in federal politics.

Governor General grants request to prorogue

Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with Queen Elizabeth II's representative, Michaëlle Jean, on December 4, 2008.

On December 2, Harper planned to ask the governor general to prorogue parliament, thereby delaying the possible defeat of the government until the new year. Legally, the governor general is allowed to wait one year after prorogation before asking parliament to reconvene. The coalition leadership then sent a letter to Jean– who, at the time, was abroad on a state visit to various European countries– informing her of the events, upon the receipt of which, Jean announced that she would cut her trip short and head back to Ottawa "in light of the current political situation in Canada."

Harper visited the governor general at Rideau Hall at approximately 9:30 am ET, on December 4, for more than two hours, and asked that Jean prorogue parliament until January. This request was granted, and parliament was prorogued until January 26, 2009, but without indication if the prorogation came with any limitation on Harper's prime ministerial abilities.

Most scholars indicate the privacy of the meeting between Harper and Jean follows "the tradition of regal discretion back centuries, to the era when Britain's Parliament was only a minor branch of government". Lorne Sossin, professor at the University of Toronto and a constitutional law expert, stated that "it is simply not acceptable to have a closed door at Rideau Hall at moments like this", citing that transparency is a necessity in democracy. However, other

There was some concern that Jean's decision may set a precedent, in which a prime minister may seek prorogation or dissolution when confronting a potential vote of non-confidence. Nelson Wiseman, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, stated that "has been a blow to parliamentary democracy in Canada".

Aftermath

After the governor general suspended parliament, there were questions within the Liberal Party regarding the future of Dion's leadership and the coalition. In a caucus meeting held the same day of the prorogation, Dion's role in negotiating the deal was criticized for sacrificing principles in order to grab power, and for not allowing dissent once it was presented to caucus. Former deputy prime minister John Manley suggested that Dion resign, rather than remaining leader for a potential election or coalition, while several other insiders advocated moving up the date of the party leadership vote. Jim Karygiannis said that the coalition would not survive when parliament resumed, while other MPs suggested working with the Conservatives on the economy. Leadership contender Bob Rae took over as the coalition's spokesman and planned to travel through the country to promote the coalition. By contrast, Michael Ignatieff, the frontrunner to succeed Dion, was said to be uncomfortable with the idea of a coalition government with the NDP supported by the Bloc Québécois. Dion is scheduled to step down at the party's leadership convention in May 2009, though if he resigns before a new leader is chosen, suggested interim leaders include John McCallum or Ralph Goodale. There were indications that Dion may resign as early as Christmas.

Public response

Polling

This anti-coalition rally in Calgary was one of several demonstrations held across Canada both in support of and opposition to the coalition's attempts at gaining control of parliament.
The pro-coalition rally in Toronto was held in Nathan Phillips Square, at the foot of Toronto City Hall, and featured Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton as speakers.

An Angus Reid Strategies poll on this subject conducted on December 1 and 2, 2008, consisting of online interviews with 1,012 Canadian adults, and with a reported margin of error of 3.1%, showed that 40% of respondents agreed with the statement "The Conservative party does not deserve to continue in government," while 35% agreed with "The Conservative party deserves to continue in government," and 25% were "not sure." On the question "Should the opposition parties get together and topple the Conservative minority government headed by Stephen Harper?", 41% responded No, 36% Yes, and 23% not sure. If the government was defeated in a non-confidence vote, 37% of respondents would support a coalition of opposition parties taking power, 32% favoured holding a new election, 7% favoured an accord rather than a coalition among opposition parties, and 24% were not sure.

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 fell. Nationally, 43% of respondents preferred a new election be held, compared to 40% who favoured 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. This poll also showed that 60% of Canadians were concerned that the 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 those polled argued that the Conservatives were 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.

An EKOS Research Associates poll of 2,536 people, conducted on behalf of CBC and released on December 4, showed that if an election were held the next day, the Conservatives would have received 44% of the vote, up from 37.6%; the Liberals 24%, down from 26%; the New Democrats 14.5%, down from 18.2%; the Bloc 9%, down from 10.5%; and the Green Party 8%, up from 4.5%. 37% of respondents (including the majority of Conservative voters) expressed support in proroguing parliament, while 28% (including a majority of Liberal and Bloc voters, and a near majority of NDP voters) supported the proposed coalition taking power within the next few weeks, with 19% supporting an election. Additionally, 47% of respondents thought that Harper's Conservative government would better manage the financial crunch, versus 34% in support of the Dion-led coalition. Furthermore, 48% of respondents (including the majority of Liberal, NDP, and Green voters, but only 41% of Conservative voters) expressed confidence in the Governor General's ability to make decisions regarding the impasse.

An Ipsos-Reid poll suggested that if an election had been held on December 5, the Conservatives would have received 46% of the vote, enough to have easily formed a majority government. The poll also showed Liberal support had dropped to 23% from the 26.2% they received in the election, and New Democrat support fell to 13% from 18.2%. Also telling was that 56% of those polled said they would rather go to another election, rather than let the coalition govern.

Rallies

Public rallies, both in favour of and against the coalition, continued to be held a number of days after the prorogation, particularly on the afternoon of December 6. Both Dion and Layton addressed a pro-coalition rally in Toronto, while Conservative MP Gerald Keddy spoke at a pro-government rally in Halifax and Conservative MP Jason Kenney spoke at a pro-government rally in Calgary. Conservative MP Peter Kent spoke at Queen's Park rally, alongside John Tory, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. The rallies attracted thousands across the country, with the largest being at Ottawa with an estimated 3000 attendance.

Online activity

Web users across the political spectrum came out in force, leaving thousands of posts on news websites, blogs, and news articles; on December 1, The Globe and Mail website had over 4,500 comments posted on its articles related to the political dispute. It was reported, however, that posters paid by both sides were responsible for a large portion of the online reaction.

Specialized websites were also launched by all sides, giving their spin, with supporters of both the coalition and of the Harper government using the Internet to promote rallies and protests in the hopes of exposing their messages to government.

Precedents

Reserve powers of the governor general

Main article: Reserve powers > Canada

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 party's loss in the election of that year, and Governor General Lord Aberdeen refused to make several appointments, forcing Tupper to relinquish office. The second instance was in 1926, during the King-Byng Affair, when Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, already in minority government and having lost two votes that suggested he was likely to lose a third vote– one on a confidence question– asked Governor General Lord Byng of Vimy to dissolve parliament. Byng refused, as constitutional convention required parliament to sit for at least six months before a new election may be called , and then only if members of parliament are demonstrably unable to work together to form a government. More importantly, however, Byng also refused King's request that he consult the British government, as Byng believed that Canadian constitutional questions should be settled in Ottawa, not London– a position that was thereafter adopted throughout the Empire, as it began to transition into the Commonwealth of Nations. Applying the constitutional conventions relied upon by Byng to the matters in 2008, Jean would have been obliged to deny a request to dissolve parliament within less than six months of the previous election, unless Harper had a valid reason consistent with Canadian constitutional history.

The 1931 Statute of Westminster clarified the independence of the Dominions (then, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State) from Britain, and also clarified the role of the governor general as one advised by the dominion government, not the British government, notwithstanding that the Dominions and Britain all had the same monarch. The historic "indivisibility of the crown" was transformed into an abstract concept, in which the crown is not a literal person or a thing, but an idea represented by a person, thus enabling the one monarch, and his/her governors, to serve each different country according to its own national traditions.

Similiar prorogation requests

In 1873, during the 2nd Canadian parliament, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald asked Governer General Lord Dufferin to prorogue parliament in order to stop the work of a committee investigating MacDonald's involvement in the Pacific Scandal. While the Governor General did reluctantly prorogue parliament, he limited it to a period of ten weeks; when parliament returned Sir John A. Macdonald was censured and had to resign.

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 of 1917. 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, after which 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 governed by a Liberal-Conservative coalition, formed to keep the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from power.

In Ontario, the Progressive Conservative party under Frank Miller won a plurality (but not a majority) of seats in the 1985 provincial election. The New Democrats, led by Bob Rae, entered into negotiations with the Conservatives and the second-place party, the Liberals. An accord was reached between the Liberals and the New Democrats, and Miller's government was defeated on a no-confidence motion on the Speech from the Throne of the newly elected legislature, and the Liberals were appointed to government by the Lieutenant Governor, led by David Peterson. The New Democrats 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 system democracies

Canada is one of many nations that use the Westminster system of government, a democratic parliamentary system modelled after 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, when Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. It had been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australia's history, and bore similarities to the Canadian situation in 2008.

See also

References

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