US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA3523

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 003523 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CA, PGOV, PREL, Elections 
SUBJECT: CANADA'S MINORITY GOVERNMENT FALLS -- HOW THINGS 
WORK DURING THE INTERIM PERIOD 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: After losing a straight up confidence vote 
the evening of November 28 Prime Minister Martin went to the 
Governor General the morning of November 29 and asked her to 
dissolve Parliament.  He then announced that the election 
would be January 23, and by the afternoon all party leaders 
were on the campaign trail.  During the almost eight-week 
campaign, the longest in 25 years, the PM and Cabinet retain 
their positions and authority to govern, and the Cabinet can 
hold meetings if needed, although without the ability to 
allocate new funding.  Parliament is dissolved, and MPs 
retain administrative status for the purposes of pay only. 
There was a flurry of legislative action in the final throes 
of the 38th Parliament, including passage of bills on 
trafficking in persons and proceeds of crime, and the Cabinet 
granted approval for the purchase of 16 C-130J aircraft.  End 
Summary. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT FALLS 
-------------------- 
 
2. (U) The House of Commons voted on a non-confidence motion 
last night which ended the 38th parliament and forced the 
Prime Minister to call for an election.  The final vote was 
171 to 133 over the simple Conservative motion tabled 
November 24 that declared "The House condemns the government 
for its arrogance in refusing to compromise with the 
opposition parties over the timing of the next general 
election and for its 'culture of entitlement,' corruption, 
scandal, and gross abuse of public funds for political 
purposes and, consequently the government no longer has the 
confidence of the House." 
 
ELECTION SET FOR JANUARY 23 
--------------------------- 
 
3. (U) PM Martin went to the Governor General's residence at 
9:30 AM November 29 to inform her of the non-confidence vote 
and ask her to dissolve Parliament.  Upon leaving the 
residence, he announced that the next election would be held 
on January 23.  At 56 days, this will be one of the longest 
campaigns in recent Canadian history.  The minimum period of 
time for a campaign is 35 days but the PM wanted to account 
for the possibility of an informal break for Christmas week 
and some additional flexibility, presumably to take some of 
the time pressure off for difficult winter travel. 
 
HOW AN INTERIM CANADIAN GOVERNMENT WORKS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) Until the next election, the PM will remain as head of 
government.  His cabinet will also continue in office, but 
the majority of its members will also have campaigns to run, 
so they will be distracted.  The Cabinet will be doubly 
inactive since the campaign will be occurring over the 
holidays when Parliament would not be sitting in any event. 
Any ministers who lose the election would continue in office 
until the new cabinet is seated.  Sitting Liberal Defense 
Minister David Pratt, for example, was defeated in the June 
2004 election by Conservative Pierre Poilievre but continued 
to sit as Defense Minister until July 19. 
 
5. (U) Members of Parliament will continue to hold their 
positions for administrative purposes only (primarily to 
receive their pay), until the date of the general election. 
The Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Members of the Board of 
Internal Economy will continue in office as a kind of 
caretaker administration until they are replaced in a new 
Parliament, presumably in late February or early March. 
 
FINAL PUSH ON LEGISLATION 
------------------------- 
 
6. (U) The dissolution of Parliament has caused all pending 
bills before the House and Senate to die on the Order Paper. 
This is true of all bills that have not received Royal 
Assent.  It caused a flurry of activity Friday and Monday to 
push through as many bills as possible.  In one historic case 
a bill that cuts taxes on jewelry produced in Canada was 
introduced on Friday and received Royal Assent on Monday, the 
first time a private member's bill successfully cut taxes. 
In total eleven bills made received Royal Assent on Monday, 
among them: 
 
--    C-11: Whistleblower Protection Act 
--    C-37: Restrictions on telemarketers (don't call at all 
during dinner) 
--    C-49: Amendment to Criminal Code making trafficking in 
persons a criminal offense by prohibiting: global trafficking 
in persons, reaping the economic benefits of trafficking, and 
withholding or destroying documents to facilitate trafficking 
in persons. 
--    C-53: Reverse onus of proof in proceeds of crime 
applications (making it easier to seize property from 
criminals and drug traffickers) 
--    C-54: Act to provide First Nations with the option of 
managing and regulating oil and gas exploration and 
exploitation and receiving money otherwise held for them by 
the federal government. 
--    C-55: Protection of worker's wages and pensions in the 
event of corporate bankruptcy. 
--    C-66: Home heating cost rebate of C$250 for low-income 
families. 
--    C-71: Establishment of regulatory regimes for 
commercial and industrial activities undertaken on reserve 
lands pursuant to agreements with First Nations. 
--    C-331 Expresses "deep sorrow" for the internment of 
Ukrainian Canadians during the First World War. 
 
7. (U) If a party wins successive elections it can 
reintroduce bills with new numbers, and although the process 
technically starts over, familiarity with the bills could 
tend to fast-track them.  At the end of the fall semester in 
2004, for example, the Liberal Government highlighted the 
fact that it was promoting a busy and diverse legislative 
agenda.  Opposition parties and other critics dismissed such 
claims by pointing out that many of the bills were leftovers 
from the Chretien government. 
 
MONEY ISSUES 
------------ 
 
8. (U) With the dissolution of Parliament, spending is also 
put on hold -- the government's regular programs continue to 
function, but no new money can be authorized.  This caused a 
last minute push to secure funding for key projects.  Cabinet 
approved late last week funding for 16 C-130J aircraft for 
delivery in 2008.  This C$4.6 billion purchase was part of 
the C$12.8 billion defense plus-up as part of the budget 
surplus and came under fire when European contractors 
believed they were being shut out of the competition.  There 
wasn't time to conclude plans for 15 heavy-lift helicopters 
and 15 search-and-rescue planes.  Conservative Defense Critic 
Gordon O'Conner called the C-130 decision politically 
motivated and said it could be revisited by the new 
government, but it appears to have broad support, especially 
in the wake of basic transportation challenges in recent 
operations. 
 
9. (U) Another money issue of interest to the U.S. is the 
C$1.5 billion in softwood loan insurance and other assistance 
to the forestry industry that the government announced last 
week.  Since the funding is largely covered under existing 
programs and does not require a new government appropriation, 
it could conceivably go forward despite the dissolution of 
Parliament, although given the timelines for such funding, a 
new government would presumably be in place prior to its 
implementation. (Details will be sent septel) 
 
10. (SBU) Comment: After the NDP pulled out its support for 
the Liberal government last month it was only a matter of 
time before the 38th Parliament ended.  It appears that 
Canadians are now resigned to a winter election, and with the 
built-in Christmas break and long campaign, there is no 
longer talk of punishing the party that brought it on. 
Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna, in a November 29 phone 
call to Ambassador Wilkins, predicted that the campaign will 
be "nasty."  He also expected anti-American themes to surface 
in the campaign rhetoric.  During the interim period the 
bureaucracy continues to function so much SPP related 
business will move forward.  But there will be no new 
initiatives and no one to engage at the senior levels on 
anything but emergencies.  It is also clear that the new 
government will again be a minority, so we can expect some of 
the same caution and drift that we have experienced over the 
past 18 months. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS