Opposition: Harper trying to stifle throne speech criticism

Politics reduced to message control. The Throne speech will hit the prime time news but the poor opposition will not have time to respond until the next day by which time the public will have forgotten all about the Throne speech except for remembering that Harper will do some nice things such as reduce crime and give some more money to the military for hardware.

Opposition says Harper trying to stifle throne speech criticism
Tim Naumetz and Juliet O'Neill , CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007
OTTAWA - The political rhetoric in Ottawa went up another decibel Tuesday as the opposition accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of manipulating the timing of the throne speech and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion rejoined that if there is an election in the next few months, it'll be by Harper's hand.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean will deliver the speech on Oct. 16 at 6:35 p.m. ET, several hours later than the traditional mid-afternoon time slot.

Dion may have the most to lose because the late start means his Commons reply to the outline of government intentions for the new session will be pushed into the night in eastern time zones. More importantly, his divided party may have difficulty hammering out a clear and prompt response in time for nightly television and newspaper publication cycle.


It's all about spin," said Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale. "It's all about trying to enhance the government's message by focusing on prime time and then minimizing the opportunity for response."

NDP Deputy House Leader Joe Comartin said his party researchers found no precedent for a throne speech being delivered so late in the day.

The Bloc and NDP have promised to vote against the speech through amendments, which means the Liberals could force an election if enough Liberal MPs also support amendments.

Dion told a news conference Tuesday his party does not want a fall election. But if there is one, it will be because an intransigent Harper "will have set up his own defeat."

Dion readily admitted the Liberals have been damaged by three weeks of infighting. But he maintained the official opposition will be ready to campaign and the minority Conservatives would regret triggering a vote "Canadians do not want."

A new national poll showing a decline in Liberal support was no surprise, given internal difficulties, he said, referring to one of those difficulties - attacks by some Liberals on Liberal Party national director Jamie Carroll - as "a sad affair" that now is in the hands of lawyers.

A Canadian Press-Decima Harris poll said Liberal support had dropped to 28 per cent from 32 per cent in June, while the Conservatives had risen to 35 per cent from 29 per cent. The Conservatives won a minority government in January 2006, with 36 per cent of the vote. The margin of error in the poll is plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Also on Tuesday, Dion shuffled his shadow cabinet.

The most significant change was the appointment of Bob Rae as foreign affairs critic. A seasoned politician and lawyer, Rae is one of Dion's former rivals for the leadership who is waiting for a Toronto byelection to run for a seat in Parliament.

Since Rae is not elected, the MP who will handle foreign affairs questions in the Commons is Dion confidant Bryon Wilfert, a Toronto-area MP who has headed a committee on the party's policy on Canada's role in Afghanistan.

Ottawa Citizen