Memo to the Governor General

Norman Spector says dissolve Parliament and call an election, if the opposition do not back down:

[...]

An election, while costly, would present Canadians with a clear choice between Mr. Harper's Conservatives and the coalition being proposed by the three opposition parties. The alternative is the very real possibility of a constitutional crisis.

If Ms. Jean were to decide to hand power over to a Liberal-led coalition, Conservative voters would be furious. Western Canadians, in particular, would feel that the government had been stolen from them. Outside Québec, there would be strong resentment against a party dedicated to breaking up Canada having a role in governing the country.

Ms. Jean was appointed by former Prime Minister Paul Martin. At the time of her appointment, she also held French citizenship [as M. Dion still does - MC], which she wisely renounced in the ensuing controversy. There was also considerable controversy over whether she and her spouse, Jean-Daniel Lafond, harboured separatist sympathies; in his case, few of those who know him believed the denials.

In the circumstances, if the government is defeated next week, an election would be the less costly option for Canada.

It would seem the attempt at a palace revolution was not unplanned:

Jack And Gilles

Blow up the Hill...

The New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois had a secret plan to form a coalition party well before the opposition's uproar over the government's fiscal update, CTV News has learned...

But maybe there is a tactical way out of the current mess:

Prorogue?

Mark C.

Posted by markc at November 30, 2008 08:46 PM