Speaker Rules Against Harpercons, But…

There always seems to be a but in the Speaker’s rulings, doesn’t there?  Today appears to be no exception. I will get to that later.

Speaker Peter Milliken has spoken:

Speaker Peter Milliken has found the Conservatives in contempt of Parliament, handing powerful ammunition to opposition claims the Harper government’s autocratic behaviour represents an abuse of power.

The ruling is only “on its face,” and a Commons committee will spend next week deciding what action to take. But the Speaker’s ruling — the third finding of contempt against the Tories in one year — represents a powerful rebuke to a government that has repeatedly claimed the right to protect information on the basis of cabinet confidence.

However, the Liberals will not be seeking a no confidence motion, at least not at this time. Probably a wise move.  For openers,  here comes that dreaded ‘but’:

A Liberal source said Mr. Milliken informed the party earlier that he would not “entertain” confidence motions against the government in the opposition response to his rulings.

Yeah, I know, here we go again with those anonymous sources. Tedious. However, given Milliken’s previous ruling regarding the Afghan detainee documents, where he also gave Stevie spiteful cover.   I wouldn’t put it past him.

Either way, it looks like the Liberals will be looking at their options; studying matters. 

the party will look at whether it wants to take such action in the coming days, with the next likely opportunity for such a vote being March 21, just one day before the budget

That doesn’t look like  a motion of non-confidence is completely ruled out to me. 

And would the NDP go along with the Liberals if push came to shove?  That vote from this morning was non-binding, after all; symbolic more than anything else.

Mark Kennedy from Post Media speculates:

If the Liberals opt for a non-confidence vote before the budget, the NDP would be put in a tight spot. Layton has met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a bid to convince him to include in the budget some initiatives that the NDP has been proposing. As a result, the NDP is viewed as the one party that might prop up the government on a budget vote if it gets enough concessions from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

Libby Davies seems to be hesitant to join the Liberals on a potential non-confidence motion:

“For us, the NDP, we’re acting in a very responsible way. We’re going to look at the budget when it comes forward.”

“I mean, if there are confidence motions that come forward we’ll obviously discuss that very seriously in our caucus and make a decision on what we’ll do but we’re not into the speculation game.”

Although, in the end, it will come down to what Jack Layton will have to say.

I still don’t think the ethics and parliamentary privilege angle will work on Jane and Joe Six Pack. 

I also think Stevie Spiteful has something up his sleeve. Something tells me we ain’t seen nothing yet. Why accept the invitation to watch the royal brat and his gold digger get married just days before  a projected election? Stevie Spiteful, as controlling as he is, just wouldn’t up and leave town for such a frivolous event for something this important even if the outcome is predictable.