Liberals deny report confidence 
bill yanked 
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 12:45 p.m. April 19, 2005]

OTTAWA  — The Government House Leader's office is denying a report that the Liberal minority government has removed its budget implementation bill from the parliamentary agenda.   

Word that the Liberal government made what could be considered a controversial move spread across Ottawa Tuesday morning less than 24 hours after Government House Leader Tony Valeri cancelled a Conservative opposition day.

Opposition days, which usually occur once a week, are allotted days set aside to allow opposition parties to table motions. 

With election speculation filling the atmosphere in Ottawa since damaging testimony at the Gomery inquiry sent Liberal polling numbers to the mid 20s, opposition parties have been hinting that they plan to use one of their opposition days to bring down the minority government in a vote of non-confidence. 

With Valeri's decision to suspend the Tory opposition day motion, speculation in the media on Monday night suggested a scenario that would see the Liberals hold back the six remaining opposition day motions to the final weeks of sitting in June. 

Under that scenario it was seen that the only opportunity the opposition parties would have to bring down the government was on a vote on the budget implementation bill, which is the only matter of confidence currently on the parliamentary agenda. 

On Tuesday morning, the Toronto Star reported the Liberals "have yanked the 2005 budget implementation bill off the parliamentary agenda for the next three weeks."

But Al Toulin, a spokesman for Valeri, told PoliticsWatch that no such thing has happened. 

"It's still on the government order paper. It hasn't been yanked. I don't know where the Toronto Star is getting that, but it's still on the order paper and nothing has actually changed from the schedule we made out last week," Toulin said. 

On Monday, Valeri cancelled the opposition day after the Tories tabled a motion designed to give the opposition parties the power to set the opposition days and, thus, when a vote of confidence on the Liberal government would be held. 

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper later accused the government trying to quell dissent in an effort to cling to power.

"When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid assent is frankly when it's rapidly losing its moral authority to govern," he said. 

In a television interview, Valeri was asked about the scenario of the Liberals bunching the opposition day motions at the end of the session and did not give a categorical denial of such a plan. 

"What I am committed to is providing those opposition days within the cycle," Valeri said.

But on Tuesday, his spokesman provided greater clarity on the issue and said suggestions of all opposition days being pushed back to the end of the month is a case of people in Ottawa "playing strategist."

"It's not accurate," he said.

"The opposition will have their opposition days and they can use them as they see fit. If that's to introduce a motion of non-confidence, then I guess that's what they'll do." 

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