The minority Conservative government of Stephen Harper will stay in power, at least for a while, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Jan. 28.
Ignatieff emerged from a Liberal caucus meeting to announce that the Liberal opposition will allow the Conservative deficit budget to pass in the House of Commons, but only if the government agrees to report back to MPs regularly on whether promised spending is flowing and what impact it is having.
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“We are putting this government on probation,” said Ignatieff after denouncing most aspects of the budget.
He will move an amendment requiring a parliamentary update from finance minister Jim Flaherty in March, June and December.
The Liberal leader said he would consider each of those updates an occasion to decide whether to continue supporting the government.
“We will be watching like hawks to make sure investments promised to Canadians reach them.”
Ignatieff said it would be irresponsible to risk plunging Canada into an election now until results of the stimulation budget are known.
His decision to step back from defeating the government was denounced by New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton as a betrayal of a coalition deal signed between the Liberals and NDP with Bloc Québécois support in December.
The coalition group had vowed to defeat the Conservatives at the first chance and to ask governor general Michaelle Jean to allow a coalition government led by the Liberals with some NDP cabinet ministers.
“Today we learned we cannot place our trust in Mr. Ignatieff in terms of defeating Mr. Harper,” Layton told reporters. “We have a new coalition on Parliament Hill, a coalition of Mr. Harper and Mr. Ignatieff.”
Layton said it was a betrayal of Canadians who voted Liberal because they wanted to get rid of Harper.
He also said Ignatieff has fumbled his first significant test since taking over the leadership of the party in December. Liberal support for the budget would mark the 45th consecutive vote in which the Liberals propped up the Conservatives, he said.
Ignatieff began his news conference by denouncing many aspects of the budget and slamming Harper and Flaherty for helping drive Canada into deficit and not being ready to deal with the recession.
But he said there were enough programs in the budget that could help and that it should be given a chance. He called them concessions from the Conservatives forced by pressure from a united opposition in December.
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