On Monday, Valeri said he would cancel a Conservative opposition day motion because setting opposition days is the responsibility of the government, not the opposition parties.
That provoked outrage from Conservative Leader Stephen Harper who met with reporters Monday evening on Parliament Hill to denounce Valeri and the Liberal government.
“I think they are just signing their own death warrant,” Harper said. “This is the kind of behaviour a government does when it is scared to death of the electorate.
“It is not up to the government in our system to decide whether an opposition motion is order or not. It’s up to the Clerk and the Speaker. Our motion was in order. We don’t have to get the approval of the government to express dissent.“When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid assent is frankly when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern.”
About an hour ago:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has delayed for a week a confidence motion vote that could bring down his government.