"We represent the majority"  
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch posted 5:00 p.m. September 9, 2004]

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton appear at a joint news conference at the National Press Theatre.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Paul Martin's job just got a bit more difficult. 

The leaders of the three opposition parties in the House of Commons served notice at a rare joint press conference in Ottawa today that they plan to have a major say on how things work in the new minority Parliament. 

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP Leader Jack Layton came out of their second meeting in a month and issued a joint news release proposing a number of major reforms to how Parliament works, including the key issue of defining a confidence vote. 

And the leaders also suggested they will use their majority of seats in the House to bring about changes that will make the prime minister and the Cabinet more responsive to the wishes of MPs.

"The government is the executive power," said Duceppe. "They will execute what the House will decide."

Harper said it is the role of Parliament to "run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party."

But despite their cooperation on reforming Parliament, the leaders denied they were now effectively a coalition.

"It doesn't mean there's a sudden agreement amongst these three parties on some issues where we've disagreed in the past," said Layton. "What it does mean is we want enthusiastic debate in the House."

And Duceppe denied the leaders were making a power play despite finishing behind the Liberals in the federal election.

"I think we're acting as a majority," he said. "We do represent the majority of the population both in Canada and Quebec - number of seats and the percentage of the vote."

In the June federal election, the opposition Conservatives, Bloc and NDP garnered a combined 57.7 per cent of the popular vote. The three parties currently hold 173 of the 309 seats in Parliament, compared to 135 for the Liberals. There is one independent MP in the House.

The three leaders' news release made the following proposals.

> Allowing MPs to have a greater capacity in the House to ask questions and make comments in response to interventions.

> Allowing MPs to vote on all opposition motions, including the ratification of international treaties and on Canadian participation in armed conflicts.

> Creating two new committees on Women's Issues and Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

> Dividing up the current Aboriginal and Natural Resources committee into two separate committees.

> Speeding up the time frame for MPs to call a meeting of Parliamentary committees.

> Changing the election of committee chairs and vice chairs by having the nominees ratified by the House. 

The biggest recommendation is the creation of a definition of a confidence vote, which could bring down a government. 

The opposition leaders suggested confidence votes be limited to the final vote on the Speech from the Throne, the final budget vote, global votes on main estimates and votes explicitly identified as questions of confidence.

The leaders have also written a letter to Governor General Adrienne Clarkson requesting that they be consulted should the prime minister request a dissolution of Parliament to call an election. 

The opposition leaders believe that they will be able to make their recommendations become a reality by changing the Standing Orders of the House of Commons as soon as Parliament resumes in October. 

Harper said the leaders did not consult the prime minister about their  reforms, but they could be put in place immediately.

"Mr. Martin (from) his first day as prime minister said he wanted to eliminate the democratic deficit," said Harper. "This is a perfect opportunity to do so.

"If the government refuses, obviously there is a majority of the opposition that will be willing to do it. We intend to seize the first opportunity, the first Opposition Day, to effect these changes."

The leaders said they will continue hold discussions to find other issues where they can jointly agree and put pressure on the government.

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