Jay Currie

Here’s Ezra’s point 17 – the other 16 are well worth reading if you want to understand the nuts and bolts of the “Coalition”.

17. My point is this: This isn’t a Liberal-NDP deal. A Liberal-NDP deal doesn’t get them to a majority. A Liberal-NDP deal would be ignored by the Governor General. Only a Liberal-NDP-Bloc deal – where Dion can point to Duceppe’s signature in his letter to the Governor-General – will do.

That’s shocking, or it should be. And I think it will be. Not to Stephane Dion, whose wildest dream will now come true; not to Jack Layton, who parlayed 37 seats into 6 cabinet positions; not to Gilles Duceppe who holds a permanent veto over this coalition like a Guillotine. But it will be shocking to millions of Canadians who voted for the Liberals and NDP in good faith, never thinking that they would sell their souls – scratch that; sell Canada’s soul – for a few months of power. And all of it mere weeks after an election. I’m surprised the Liberals and NDP agreed to a photo-op with Duceppe—it rather undid their attempts to pretend this is a two-party deal, not a three-party deal with a Bloc veto. ezra levant

Ezra treats the dual agreements as, in effect, a contract. Which it might be. And it is pretty clear what the NDP is getting out of the contract – the consideration as it were. But what is the Bloc getting?

We don’t know and neither will the GG. Nor will we find out if the Coalition comes to power.

The NDP will get seats in Cabinet meaning, day to day, that their Cabinet members will have to answer questions in the House. The Bloc will not be in Cabinet and will not be subject to the scrutiny of the House. Whatever deals they do, whatever policy vetos they cast, will be in private.

Here’s what the Bloc promises:

The Bloc Quebecois will not move nor will it support any motions of confidence in the Government during the term of its support for this agreement and will vote in favour of the Government’s position with respect to all matters referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph. ezra

The GG has to answer one question: is this an enforceable promise? Imagine that, for the good of the nation, the Coalition’s overt partners believe that the Government must reduce transfer payments including those to Quebec? The Bloc says, “Jamais, jamais, jamais!” And the Coalition proceeds nonetheless? What is the sanction? What is the effect of breach of this contract? For the Liberals or the NDP the sanction is obvious – loss of Office. For the Bloc…?

The GG needs to recognize this agreement, this “contract” is, in fact, nothing more than a vague statement of intent on the part of the Bloc. Basically a day to day arrangement.

Which brings us back to the essential quandary the Coalition agreement(s) places the GG in. The actual Coalition consists of two parties with a seat total of 114. Without its silent partner the Coalition has no right to Office. However, the Coalition’s silent partner is unwilling to accept the responsibilities of Office and the Coalition’s managing partners are unwilling to have Separatists in their government.

The NDP is the junior partner here – the Bloc with 49 seats is far more important. The Liberals alliance with the Bloc to defeat the CPC will not be forgotten.

More importantly, for a Canadian Governor General, an alliance with a party which proposes to break up Canada cannot be ignored.

There must be another election. Too bad it will have to be in February. But that is as good a month as any for the not so very Strange Death of a Liberal Party which has lost its way.