Grits’ Ignatieff regrets not following through with coalition, she says
Published December 16 , 2009
By Martin C. Barry • TLN
Looking back on political events over the past year in Ottawa, Bloc Québécois MP for Laval Nicole Demers concludes that not only was there almost no progress made advancing the Bloc’s agenda, but the party may also have lost some territory. While the Conservative minority government is still in power, there’s probably little to look forward to in the twelve months ahead, she says.
Year of regression
“There hasn’t been any gain this year,” Demers said in an interview with the Laval News. From the Conservatives’ attempts to do away with the gun registry, to petitions from Conservative constituents calling for the full reinstatement of anti-abortion legislation, “we are going backwards more and more with this government. People have become so jaded, they no longer have the courage to get up and fight back.”
Give Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper credit for one thing — the kind of tenacity in a minority situation that can gradually end up wearing out his opponents. Demers maintains the Bloc is the only opposition party in Ottawa that continues struggling despite this. Demers claims there could be a new concerted attempt to bring down the Conservatives in the new year, although she won’t reveal what form it will take. However, asked whether she believes there’ll be an election in 2010, she replied negatively.
Ignatieff losing: Demers
“I don’t think so,” she said. “The Liberal Party has completely bottomed out. Mr. Ignatieff has reached lower than ever in the polls. He’s even lower than Stéphane Dion was. The NDP isn’t doing much better. The only party that is consistently voting as an official opposition is the Bloc Québécois, because we are never looking at whether we will win or not win.
“We are always thinking that if we vote a certain way are people going to benefit from it? We are always ready to go into an election, that’s one thing that’s certain. It’s two years that we’ve been waiting to go into an election, but I don’t think it will be this year. At least not before the fall of 2010, maybe even the winter of 2011.”
A renewed coalition?
Does she think Stephen Harper could eventually score a breakthrough and obtain a majority? “I don’t think so, he scares people too much that I doubt he’ll get a majority,” said Demers. “But there are rumours going around lately that Mr. Ignatieff has serious regrets about not having followed through with the coalition. That was one of the big errors from when he first arrived … But that is something that is also changing.
“It is possible that we could again see a coalition between the NDP and the Liberal Party,” she added. “It could happen again. And at that time it’s possible we would support it, too, in order to assure better conditions for workers. That will depend on Mr. Ignatieff and whether he stays. Presently, there are no signs that he’s going to be staying very much longer. Rather, there are signs he could be ousted before we return to Parliament for the winter session. But these are rumours. They can’t be denied or confirmed.”