There’s been a fair bit of controversy about Bill C-10, the bill that would give the Conservatives censorship power over films that apply for a tax credit. If it offends their sense of morality, they would refuse the film’s application. So out of the blue after his testimony to the Senate yesterday, Jim Flaherty threatens that if Bill C-10 gets amended, the Cons. will consider it a matter of confidence.
This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Under the circumstances, when you have the Liberals undecided on what course of action to take on when to force an election, why not threaten votes of confidence on items of your agenda that may have trouble otherwise passing?
Is Bill C-10 what you force an election over? I don’t have an issue with forcing an election over censorship, but I anticipate Liberal advisers and the leadership are going to decide this issue isn’t what will turn an election in their favour. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only factor about whether to go or not to an election amongst the Liberal braintrust - forcing an election because it’s against Liberal principles isn’t apparently entering into the equation up there in Liberal circles of Ottawa yet. So, count me as pessimistic this will change anyone’s minds up there either, though I will continue to advocate like other Liberal bloggers we should be forcing an election.
Between this bill of imposing their standards of morality on Canadians, plus the proposed immigration changes and of course the “in and out” scandal, and a slew of other things like the environment and the interference in independent government agencies, I would argue to the Liberal advisers a powerful case can be made to the Canadian people that Harper and the Cons. are the wrong government with the wrong policies for Canada. If they are waiting for “favourable numbers” before you go to an election , I don’t believe you’re going to get that without an election campaign as the catalyst. An election campaign to make that case is what will be needed to get “favourable numbers”, not Question Period, and not waiting for the Cons. to self-destruct.
In this deadlocked environment, I think a party needs to give the Canadian electorate a reason to vote for them - and I believe they are waiting for that reason and for that case to be made. I believe the Liberals have that case. Do so in an election campaign now.. not down the road at some undetermined date when “hopefully, the numbers are more in our favour”.
Call the Conservatives and Flaherty’s bluff.
UPDATE@11:57am: Another Liberal blogger thinks we should call the bluff
Don’t worry Scott, Stephane Dion will just pull out his marker (a red sharpie) and circle this as a ‘bad policy’ the Liberal government will change.
That’ll show the Conservatives!