Again we see why the Liberals were wrong

[punked]

The Liberals wanted to rush through the EI bill so they could vote down Harper. The NDP wanted to rush it to committee and win more concessions in Committee. Well today the NDP is getting us a stronger bill something the Liberals wouldn't or couldn't do in the summer when they picked up their ball and walked away from the table.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced yesterday the government will amend its proposed employment insurance legislation to ensure some longstanding workers do not miss out on the extended benefits.

Finley told a parliamentary committee that the legislation will be amended to ensure any long-tenured worker applying for EI benefits on Jan.4 of this year or later will qualify for the program.

The legislation, as drafted, had said the legislation would have had to be enacted into law by mid-October or the Jan. 4 date would be pushed back to Jan. 11 or later.

Opposition MPs had pressed the government to fix the Jan. 4 date.

The NDP have said they will not support Liberal-led attempts to bring down the government at least until the EI provisions are made law.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/bill+c...4715/story.html

[ToadBrother]

The Liberals wanted to rush through the EI bill so they could vote down Harper. The NDP wanted to rush it to committee and win more concessions in Committee. Well today the NDP is getting us a stronger bill something the Liberals wouldn't or couldn't do in the summer when they picked up their ball and walked away from the table.

If Iggy does ultimately get the boot, I think we'll be able to pin EI reform as the reason. He had everything going for him this spring. His party was relatively united after some pretty severe storms over the failed alliance with the NDP and the Bloc. He had Harper by the drawers and was basically leading him where he wanted. He forced through stimulus spending programs that the Tories were clearly not all that enthusiastic about (not that you would know it with Harper's beatific Chairman Mao face staring at us).

And then Iggy hit EI reform, something that he definitely could get the NDP to align with him on with little effort, and he blew the whole thing out of the water. For whatever reason, he let Harper get the upper hand, allowed the guy to outmaneuver him with what was clearly nonsensical summer committee work. Then, rather than keep his face in the news harping at Harper and Co., the guy disappears! I mean, this is a guy that just a month or two before had Harper by the balls, and seemed to be doing everything right (and being rewarded with decent polling and increased donations to the Liberals), and it's like someone removed his brain. The Conservatives probably spent the summer doing what Iggy should have been doing, and finding ways to appease Layton. In the dying days of summer, Iggy hits on the "We're gonna topple the government!" line, apparently without discussing this little fact with his fellow Opposition leaders, so that when Parliament comes back, Harper and Layton are seen holding hands and having romantic luncheons for two, and he's lost momentum and traction.

And then, as if this obscenely moronic fumble isn't enough, Iggy is simultaneously forced to vote for EI reform and keep shouting "I'm bringing the government down!!!" while the other three parties have now entered a titillating if somewhat disturbing ménage à trois. The Conservatives are suddenly approaching the magic 40% in the polls, Layton has shown himself to either be the most skilled or luckiest NDP leader in a generation or more, and the Bloc is eagerly watching Liberal numbers fall in Quebec like hungry wolves watching a crippled deer stumbling towards them.

And then, if all of that wasn't bad enough, the Quebec wing of the Liberal party picks this very moment to fall apart. Iggy is faced with a serious revolt, collapsing polling numbers, now being shut out of the governing process that he had so skillfully inserted himself into eight months ago.

I've never seen a more graphic example of grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Mr.Canada]

I have no problem with the proposed changes so far, they seem reasonable but once more details come out it'll be easier to make a more informed decision.

[Shady]

As long as these changes are rolled back when the economic environment is better.

[madmax]

Thank you ToadBrother for that analyses. Your commentary on EI is exactly how I saw it.