Liberals Accept Budget

The Globe and Mail
January 28, 2009

Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal party, agreed to pass the Conservative budget with minor conditions on Wednesday. The Tories, led by Stephen Harper, were thankful that the budget was passed although with some reservations. Jack Leyton, the leader of the NDP party, as well as Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe were unhappy to admit that the planned coalition government was officially dead. Although Ignatieff approved the budget, he called it "flawed" and said that it did not present a clear plan to dig the country out of the recession it is currently in. However, he was happy to say that their united opposition managed to extract concessions including spending on things such as social housing, skills training, as well as universities. In his amendment, Ignatieff also insisted that the government provide fiscal reports on the budget measures, maybe even monthly, possibly set confidence votes that could see the Tory government defeated. Ignatieff says that he is essentially "putting the government on probation". Although the last thing he or the country wants at this time is an election, he will bring down the government if he must. By 4 P.M. Wednesday, the government accepted this amendment, relieved that he did not demand any more substantive concessions. Iganatieff's actions, however, caused anger in many other parties and their leaders. The Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe did not support the budget and was disappointed with the Liberals' acceptance of a less than ideal budget . He accused the Liberal party leader of "abandoning Quebec" by supporting the budget. Even the NDP, who had agreed to form a coalition government with the Liberal party, were very disappointed with the Liberals, and believed that they were caving in to the Conservative pressure. Many MPs of the Liberal party also felt that the party was selling out on their oroginal goals by supporting the budget. However, some Liberals argue that they have forced Harper to spend to boost the economy. If he fails in keeping the promises of his budget, they feel that they will be able exert political pressure on the Tories, especially if the recession worsens.

Overall, the reactions to the budget given by Prime Minister Stephen Harper were mixed. While the Liberals reluctantly agreed to the Tory budget, they demanded many different concessions from the government. In this situation, I support the Liberal Party's decision, and I believe that Ignatieff's decision was the right one. If he did not approve the budget, a non-confidence vote would have taken place followed by another election. This country's economy is not in a position to hold another election, especially during this recession. Ignatieff realised this and chose the most logical plan: support the budget, but demand concessions at the same time. Although Ignatieff was criticized for weakness in his actions, I truly support what he has done in this situation. The political parties must all rise to the economic cause at hand. This is no time for partisan politics, but rather a time to unite as a nation towards the common goal of a successful economic future.