PASS CRIME BILL OR GO TO POLLS, TORIES SAY

Confidence Motion Calls For Senate Action

Looking more and more like it is bent on an election, the Harper
government set another potential trap for the Liberals yesterday,
introducing a motion urging the Senate to pass the government's
violent-crime bill by the start of next month, but the Liberals
promptly dismissed the move as a "juvenile trick."

The motion, expected to be put to a vote next week, calls on the
Senate to pass the Tackling Violent Crime Act by March 1. The
government has declared it a confidence motion, meaning an election
could be triggered if the measure is defeated.

It is the latest in a series of moves this week by the Conservatives
to pressure the opposition to cave to the government's agenda or hit
the hustings for the third time in four years.

There are now three potential triggers for a spring election in the
next seven weeks. Besides the crime motion, the government will face
confidence votes over the federal budget at the end of this month,
plus a motion to extend the Afghanistan mission that is expected to be
put to a vote in late March.

However, it appeared yesterday that the crime motion would pass. NDP
leader Jack Layton said his party would vote against the motion, but
Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe said he had "no problem" with
it.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion also vowed that his party would not fall
for what he called a "juvenile trick," suggesting the Liberals will
abstain from the vote. Mr. Dion accused the government of trying to
engineer its own defeat before having to table the budget.

Nevertheless, there continued to be speculation the motion could cause
an election, especially if the Liberal-dominated Senate does not pass
the bill by March 1.

The Senate is taking steps to speed passage of the bill, but Liberal
Senator Sharon Carstairs said it would be "next to impossible" to meet
the arbitrary deadline set by the government.

"The government is trying to manufacture a reason for an election
campaign because they think the economy is going to go down the
tubes," she said.

Earlier, government House Leader Peter Van Loan warned there would be
a "clear impasse" between the two chambers of Parliament if the
Commons approved the motion, but the Senate doesn't pass the bill.

If that happens, the prime minister could ask the Governor General to
dissolve Parliament, thus triggering an election, on the grounds the
Senate is preventing the government from carrying out its agenda.

Experts debated whether such a move would be constitutional,
especially since Parliament last year passed a bill setting fixed
election dates. The next election is set for October 2009, unless the
opposition defeats the government.

However, Mr. Van Loan suggested Prime Minister Stephen Harper could
still ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament. "There is
nothing in the law that takes away the Crown's traditional and usual
prerogatives on this matter."