Confidence votes begin two days after budget

From the Ottawa Sun:

OTTAWA–Election speculation continues in Ottawa with news that the first vote on the budget will be on Feb. 28, just 48 hours after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers it.

"The next cornerstone priority that the government will focus on is Budget 2008, which will be tabled Feb. 26, 2008," Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan told the Commons.

"The first day of debate on the budget will be Wednesday, Feb. 27 – the day after the budget – and the second day of debate (and the first vote) will be Thursday, Feb. 28," Van Loan said.

The first confidence test will be a vote on a Bloc Québécois sub-amendment to the budget, followed by a confidence vote on a Liberal amendment and on the final budget vote itself.

The government hasn't said when it will schedule those votes.

Budget votes will be watched very closely because they are a matter of confidence. If the Liberals, NDP and Bloc decide they can't support the minority Conservative government's budget, Canadians could be going to the polls as early as April 7.

While it has been reported by party sources that Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is ready to pull the plug on the government, some veterans are telling him to hold his fire.

"(Dion) has always maintained that he's got to see the budget, for one thing. He's not going to say he is taking the government down on a budget he hasn't seen," said Liberal spokesperson Mark Dunn.

"That would be totally irresponsible.

"After he sees the budget, he is going to have to consult with people," Dunn said, adding the party will hold its regular caucus meeting the day after the budget.

Van Loan said beside the various budget votes, Parliament could be looking at two other confidence tests around that time.

Van Loan announced that debate on a motion to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan will begin Feb. 25. The Conservatives have made it a confidence vote so it, too, could trigger an election.

"Before the budget, we will continue to work on the common ground that has been built on the Afghanistan mission," Van Loan told MPs.

The Tories refused to say when they will vote on the Afghanistan mission – although they have set the stage for one following two days of debate on Feb. 25 and 26.

Dion is still holding his cards close to his chest regarding the timing of precipitating a possible election.

"I want to say to the Canadian people – I always say the same in public and in private – two things. ... The first thing is that we will choose our time. The second thing is that we need to be ready at any time," he told reporters.

"For the ones (in my party) that insist on the first (part) of my sentence, I insist on the second part."

NDP Leader Jack Layton urged the government to hold the vote on Afghanistan before the one on the budget.

Layton wants to see the Liberals voting alongside the Conservatives so he can wage an election campaign presenting his NDP as the only anti-war national party.