Friday, March 25 was a day for the history books of Canada.  In unprecedented fashion, the 40th Government was brought down with a non-confidence vote of 156 for and 145 against.

Following the unveiling of the federal budget on Tues. Mar. 22, the NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois came together to defeat the Conservative government and force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to dissolve the government.  Only five other non-confidence votes have happened in Canada’s history, according to information on the Library of Parliament website.  This is the first time it has occurred because a majority of MPs voted that they believed the government was in contempt of Parliament.

Last week, the procedure and House Affairs Committee tabled a report that said the government is in contempt of Parliament for refusing to supply enough information on the cost of the F-35 fighter jets, their justice system reforms and their projections for corporate profits and tax rates.

The motion in Parliament said the House agrees with the tabled Commons Committee report that found the government in contempt of Parliament, “which is unprecedented in Canadian parliamentary history, and consequently the House has lost confidence in the government.”

“There are a lot of things in the (federal) budget, a lot of tidbits for everybody, but the bottom line at the end it’s not going to make a difference in your household budget,” says Liberal candidate Roger Valley.  “I see it as too little too late from a government that’s out of touch, basically out of control.”

Greg Rickford, MP for the Kenora riding stated, “We (Conservatives) tabled a budget that we thought was a responsible budget, based on consultation that we made, not just in Kenora, not just in northern Ontario, but across the country.  Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, members of Parliament at every level in our party did extensive budget consultations and the content of the budget is driven by that.”

Rickford says the overarching features of the proposed budget was to keep taxes low, focused on jobs and growth as well as supporting families and communities, veterans and seniors, and investing in education, innovation and training while preserving Canada’s fiscal advantage.

“They (Conservatives) have never ever said they want a government for all Canadians, they want a government for the Conservatives, for the 35 to 37 per cent that might vote for them,” said Valley.  “I think it’s time that Canadians make a decision of what they want for Canada.”

Some of the aspects of the new budget proposed that are beneficial to northern Ontario are waiving the licence renewal fees for hunters and firearm owners, a hiring credit for small businesses up to $1,000 to assist with EI premiums, the Green Pulp and Paper Transformation Program which Dryden Domtar benefited from with over $22 million dollars from the federal government and the EcoEnergy Retro-Fit Program which offers up to $5,000 in grants to families to assist in making their homes more energy efficient.

“What I find most difficult about this, is that the leader of the Liberal party, by his own admission, informed the media that he had not read the budget, that he didn’t need to.  To the extent that some of the things the Liberals were saying they wanted to see in a budget, but never formally submitted to us, were not there and that was increased corporate taxes and to retreat from the military jet purchase, the F-35s,” said Rickford.

Following the non-confidence vote in the House, many attendees threw papers in the air in congratulations of the results, with Prime Minister Harper adjourning the meeting almost instantly.  Next steps were for Prime Minister Harper to approach the Governor General to request the dissolution of the 40th government and sending Canadians back to the polls for the fourth time in seven years.  The federal election is scheduled for May 2, 2011.

Kenora riding NDP candidate Tania Cameron and Green Party candidate Mike Schwindt could not be reached at press time.

By Ally Dunham