Gov.-Gen. opts to cut short European trip

OTTAWA—Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean is cutting short a European trip and returning to Canada tomorrow in the face of a political crisis that could bring down the government next week.
Jean’s secretary, Sheila-Marie Cook, has confirmed the Governor-General decided to return to Ottawa after the three opposition parties yesterday announced a deal to form a coalition government should the Conservative minority fall to a confidence vote next Monday.

Jean has been on a state visit to central Europe since Nov. 24. A spokeswoman said she is returning of her own accord and not at the request of the prime minister.
She has been working closely with her own advisers and constitutional experts, said the official.
“The prime minister and myself need to have a conversation,” Jean told CBC in Prague. “My door is open. I have to see what the prime minister has to say to me and what he is actually thinking of doing.
“I don’t know exactly anything of his intentions yet.”
Flanked by his NDP and Bloc Quebecois counterparts, Liberal leader Stephane Dion announced yesterday that he had informed Jean of a formal entente between the opposition, and called on her to let him govern.
“I have respectfully recommended to Her Excellency that she should, at her first opportunity, exercise her constitutional authority and invite the leader of the Official Opposition to form a new government with the support of the two other opposition parties,” said Dion.
The minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to fall Monday when the House of Commons votes on last Thursday’s economic update—unless Harper manages a last-minute tactical manoeuvre.
The opposition say the mini-budget presented by Finance minister Jim Flaherty was driven by Conservative ideology and contained no stimulus package for the ailing economy.
The document would have slashed government spending, banned public-service strikes, and cut off nearly $30 million in funding to federal political parties.
Flaherty has promised to present a full budget Jan. 27, but the opposition leaders say that’s too late.
The Conservatives hinted yesterday that something might be in the works, such as asking Jean to prorogue (or end) the current Commons session and call a new session for the end of January.
That would delay the non-confidence vote and give Harper two months’ breathing space.
“We will use all legal means to resist this undemocratic seizure of power,” Harper told Tories gathered behind closed doors for their annual Christmas party at an Ottawa hotel.
Under the opposition pact, Dion—a leader his own party was ready to jettison after losing the federal election Oct. 14—would serve as prime minister until spring, when he is to be replaced as Liberal leader.
The coalition pact includes a multi-billion-dollar stimulus package for the troubled economy, including support for the auto and forestry sectors.
“I think he’s about to play the biggest political game in Canadian history,” an embattled Harper said of Dion during the daily Commons question period.
The 77 Liberal MPs and 37 New Democrats—backed by 49 members of the Bloc Quebecois—reached a deal yesterday to form a coalition for at least 18 months.
“Canadians elected 308 members of Parliament in October, not just Stephen Harper,” Dion said after signing the deal with NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc chief Gilles Duceppe.
“We are ready to form a new government that will address the best interests of the people instead of plunging Canadians into another election,” he noted.