PM'S PLEDGES ENDANGERED IF VOTE CALLED

Many Still In Parliamentary Pipeline

Marijuana Laws, Cash For Cities At Risk

OTTAWA--"Promises made, promises kept."

It was Prime Minister Paul Martin's mantra during the Liberal convention
last month.

But if he hopes to use it as a slogan in a spring election campaign, he's
going to need Parliament's help in turning some Liberal pledges into
reality -- and fast.

The promise of legalizing same-sex marriage, financial help for cities,
stiff laws to protect children, a national daycare program, relaxed
marijuana legislation and tougher rules to help catch pot-smoking drivers
could all die on the order paper if the government is defeated over the
coming weeks.

High on Martin's list of endangered pledges is his vow to let Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland and Labrador keep billions of dollars in offshore energy
revenues -- a pledge he first made in the heat of last year's election.

The agreement, known as the Atlantic accord, is wrapped up in the budget
implementation bill now before the House and is at risk if a snap election
is called. However, it's almost certain the political parties would reach
some agreement to pass the accord before they went door-knocking in
Atlantic Canada, looking for votes.

It's less certain what happens to the Liberals' new deal for cities and the
promise to share gas tax revenues with Canada's cash-strapped cities.

The Feb. 23 budget laid out Ottawa's intention to act on the long-demanded
plan to give towns and cities a slice of federal gas tax revenues, starting
with $600 million this year.

But this cash, which would provide a shot in the arm for Toronto's transit
system, is contingent on the budget bill getting passed. Given the
Conservatives' past reluctance to share gas tax revenues directly with the
cities, it's not certain they would agree to get this passed with an
election in the offing.

Another imperilled pledge is Martin's defence of the Charter of Rights and
his vow to bring in a law that would permit same-sex marriages while
guaranteeing no church would be forced to conduct such ceremonies. With the
Conservatives, Canadians would find a party dead set against same-sex marriage.

Martin has promised a greater role for Canada in the world but documents
that spell out just what the role might be -- defence and international
policy reviews -- have been delayed for months amidst reports of backroom
quibbling over what they should say. There's still no public date set for
their release.

A promised overhaul of access to information legislation meant to open up
Crown corporations and officers of Parliament to greater scrutiny has
already stalled. Last week, the government said there's too much
legislation already in the pipeline and instead proposed more consultation.