Battle Lines Drawn for Vital Week in Parliament

The government will have to survive several confidence votes in order to avoid a spring election.

Gas up the bus and get ready to kiss some babies. Unless the Conservatives have an ace up their sleeves the federal leaders will soon be hitting the campaign trail. This week should see several major developments in Parliament, with the budget being tabled on Tuesday and opposition parties expected to find the government in contempt of Parliament on Wednesday. The Liberals and Bloc Québécois have all but ruled out supporting the budget with only the NDP still leaving the door to compromise open a crack. But there appears to be unanimity on the contempt of Parliament vote, which was triggered by House Speaker Peter Milliken’s ruling that the government appeared to have improperly withheld information about its crime legislation.