The Coalition: Tory Manna from Heaven

So it's on. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has historically been found in contempt of Parliament, and the House of Commons voted no confidence in his government by a margin of 156 to 145. This outcome will plunge the country into a campaign to elect the 41st Parliament in a vote most likely to take place on May 2. Harper will formally meet with Governor-General David Johnston in the morning to request the dissolution of Parliament, the election writ will be dropped, and away we will go.

“We are the people’s representatives. When the government spends money, the people have a right to know what it is to be spent on. Parliament does not issue blank cheques.”
- Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff

“We find ourselves here today faced with the most partisan of attacks from an opposition coalition bent on defeating this government at all costs.”
- Government House Leader John Baird

The contempt finding comes from the Harper government not thinking it necessary to bother to inform MPs how much they intend to spend on their jet fighters and jail plans. Not unreasonably, the House of Commons requested the full and accurate accounting of those expenses be tabled. The government did not comply. Hence, the government is no more. There will be a lot of propaganda from the Tories about this election being "unnecessary" because stability in the economy is paramount in Conservative minds. Never mind that economists think that's hogwash, they will keep spitting that line in the hope it sticks.

They also hope the line about the Liberals wanting a "coalition" to stick as well. The ham-handed handling of the Coalition Crisis by all parties helped to transform the c-word into a dirty utterance, a development the Tories are enlisting with gusto in their attempt to remain in power. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff keeps dodging it, saying the clear choice is to vote either for a change of government by voting Liberal or for more of the same contemptuous crap by voting for anyone else. Nice try, Iggy.

Though today's answer was better than the "red door, blue door" Matrix reference of yesterday, it won't make the questions go away. As Andrew Coyne wrote in his article, the Grits better come up with a plausible response, and quickly. The Tories threaten to hijack the entire debate by repeating the word "coalition" ad naseum. If they are permitted to do that, then attacking the Tories on the economy and their ethics becomes a moot point.

Because make no mistake, the Tories are also vulnerable on the economic file. When they came to power in early 2006, the Martin Liberals were in surplus with adequate cash flows to deal with unexpected eventualities. The Tories immediately set about eliminating our government's fiscal cushion through a number of measures, most famously cutting the GST to 5% in a move most economists argued made no fiscal sense. When the country was heading for recession, the Tories pretended to party like it was still 1999. Then when stimulus spending became a financial necessity, Ottawa ended up deeper in deficit than we would have had they maintained the fiscal prudence of the previous Liberal government. The current Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, has presided over the most profligate period of federal spending in our history. The Tories have expanded the federal public service, eliminated contingencies for future financial shocks and doled out boutique tax breaks that further strain federal coffers. Yet they are the default "best stewards of the national economy?" Someone needs to take them to task, because their record screams otherwise.

I'm no fan of the Liberal Party of Canada, but why is it that Tories, who entered elections in 1993 and 2011 with historic deficits, are considered better financial stewards than the Liberals, who left the country's books in a surplus position? It continues to defy logic.

And since the government has fallen on issues of transparency, ethics and clean government, it will be easy for the other parties to put these questions to the public during the campaign. How can you re-elect a government that continues to so blatantly disrespect you, that believes they can do anything in your name and you'll take it, they will ask the public. How can you re-elect a government that won't tell you how much their planned military and correctional expenditures will cost, yet claim they can balance the nation's books by 2015, they will ask taxpayers. How can you re-elect a government that got elected in the first place by promising open and accountable government, while at the same time orchestrating a huge electoral fraud, they will ask voters.

How indeed?

Well, they can if they think a coalition of bumbling fools will replace the current batch of corrupt, contemptuous fools.

Mr. Ignatieff, for the love of all that's good and holy, answer the bloody question so we can get on with the real issues of the election. Please!