Canadians

[trish]

What's this about your government shutting down? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7765206.stm :confused:

[FTG]

The people who lost the election, all got together to take over the government from the people who won, arguably because the people who won weren't throwing billions in bailouts around.

So now the guys who won need a little time to make a list of billions to throw around. Which may or may not call off the putsch. Does that make sense?

[nrc]

Geesh. Next Harper will be palling around with Chaves. :D

[trish]

The people who lost the election, all got together to take over the government from the people who won, arguably because the people who won weren't throwing billions in bailouts around.

So now the guys who won need a little time to make a list of billions to throw around. Which may or may not call off the putsch. Does that make sense?

Yeah. It's a little scary though.

[FTG]

Good, cause it still doesn't make sense to me.:D

[trish]

Good, cause it still doesn't make sense to me.:D

I did have to look up "putsch". I can't even pronounce it.

[oddlycalm]

Last time I recall a Governor General shutting down a government it was when Governor General Sir John Kerr sent PM Gough Whitlam to the unemployment line in Oz back in 1975. Anyone else remember one since?

oc

[anait]

The leaders of three other parties formed a coalition (which makes me giggle...I mean, one's a separatist party, for Pete's sake...), and introduced a motion for a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons for next Monday; if the majority voted as having no confidence in the current, elected government, then down goes that government.

Yesterday, PM Harper asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament - to shut it down, basically a big ol' time-out. The Conservatives now have one month to a) come up with a budget, and b) get public opinion on their side with a massive media campaign.

The press conferences yesterday were fun to watch. The PM delivered his speech -perfectly- (I'm not making any judgements about content; but the delivery was PERFECT); the Bloc's Duceppe [Bloc Québecois= sovereigntist/separatist party] was, um, well, very angry; the New Democratic Party's Layton was self-righteously indignant to the point of petulance, although he was decently well-spoken; and the Liberals' Dion....oh, dearie me....he should have had a quick head-to-head with the other coalition leaders to get their sound bites straight.

[opinionated ow]

Last time I recall a Governor General shutting down a government it was when Governor General Sir John Kerr sent PM Gough Whitlam to the unemployment line in Oz back in 1975. Anyone else remember one since?

oc

Not that I know of...but few people I know would argue that to have been a bad thing. Plus it was constitutional, and the right still exists for a hung government situation. I really wish the NSW Governor would sack the NSW Government atm for their generic incompetence. They need it nearly as much as the Whitlam government did.