Fix It First, Oppose It If Necessary

As we await the first budget deficit in a decade, the country is forced to watch the awkward Liberal dance on how to oppose the government while still passing the stimulus the country so desperately needs. Kady O'Malley had the answer for Mr. Ignatieff on CBC's At Issue panel last week. She argued quite reasonably that given the opposition's majority in the house and therefore on the relevant committees, they have the power to ammend the budget when it goes to comittee between second and third readings. Parliamentary committtees are rarely used for anything other than grandstanding and publishing reports no one reads, but this is a golden opportunity. The Liberals can make changes to the budget so that it will meet Mr. Ignatieff's criteria and avoid the election that nobody wants. Yes, coalition nuts it would be an election. I don't think there's any evidence Mme. Jean would ask the opposition to form a government. If Mr. Harper tries to block the efforts of the committee (my knowledge of parliamentary rules is on the rough side I concede), then Mr. Ignatieff still has the ability to defeat the budget at third reading or introduce a vote of no-confidence to bring down the government. In other words, it would be really nice with thousands of Canadians desperate for work it would be really nice for parliamentarians to do their jobs. Enough partisan grandstanding. Let's get a budget that will help Canadians.