A Few Suggestions

Heading towards Harper’s Tuesday evening speech from the Throne, here are a few things Dion should keep in mind.

-Harper is nearing majority territory. One poll put him at the mythical 40% mark, enough to form a majority government. He will no doubt try to engineer his own defeat.

-He will most probably announce Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol. Dion’s best counter move is to admit tomorrow that Canada won’t meet its obligations and to follow-up the same day with Michael Ignatieff’s environment platform, which would meet Kyoto a year late but make up for lost time in the years following.

-He may pledge to limit the Federal spending power. This is bad for Canada and Dion should oppose it. Alberta and Quebec will be outraged, the few losses that the Liberals would sustain in their Francophone Quebec seats would be made up by gains in Ontario and in the Maritimes.

-When Harper was in opposition, he once had his backbenchers abstain from a confidence vote to keep the government alive while still voting against it. Unless Harper vows to limit the federal spending power in which case Dion could win an election, Dion ask his backbenchers to skip the vote.