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Adam Radwanski, globeandmail.com: Thanks for taking a bit of time on such a busy day, Mr. Brison. We've now heard that the opposition plans to bring forward a non-confidence motion on Monday. What makes that so necessary and urgent?

Scott Brison, Liberal finance critic: Last week, Mr. Harper promised a new spirit of co-operation and constructiveness in the House of Commons in order to deal with the economic crisis. This week, he has poisoned the atmosphere of House of Commons and demonstrated that his words were hollow. More importantly, his economic statement provided no plan for the Canadian economy at a time when Canadians are justifiably worried about their savings and their jobs.

The non-confidence motion (1) denounces the Conservatives' handling of the economy, (2) expresses that the House has lost confidence in the Conservative government, and (3) expresses that in the opinion of the House, an alternative government can be formed from existing Members of the Parliament.

Adam Radwanski: There's a widespread sense that much of the opposition anger arises from the plan to cut public funding to political parties. If the government were to abandon that plan entirely, would that affect the Liberals' thinking on the confidence motion?

Scott Brison: Earlier today, the government actually presented its Ways and Means motion without the political finance measures. As such, the government has already backed down on that.

Now the government expects opposition parties to support its Ways and Means motion. Once again, Stephen Harper has proven that he's out of touch, because for the opposition parties, our focus is on people, not politics. Mr. Harper miscalculated this week by trying to change the channel from the economy to politics. We're changing the channel back to the economy and we're deeply concerned that Mr. Harper either lacks the will or the ability to provide a real economic plan to Canadians during these difficult times.

Adam Radwanski: What would the stimulus plan of a Liberal-led coalition government look like?

Scott Brison: First, obviously, we would work cooperatively with all Members of Parliament from all parties to seek their input as we move forward. I expect there would be considerable support for the following.

We would work with finance department officials to thoroughly evaluate the financial position of Canada. We would continue to work with the top economic thinkers and business and labour leaders in Canada and bring them together formally for an immediate summit to determine how far we can go. The focus would be on stimulus measures that make sense now during a downturn, but would also contribute to long-term productivity and prosperity for Canadians.

We understand that now is not the time for timidity. We must be bold. Measures to be considered would include: an increase and an acceleration of infrastructure measures, with a particular focus on green infrastructure; an increase in support for Research and Development measures that can take place in the short-term; working with provinces to improve programs for Canadian workers to train and retrain as part of life-long learning to help them cope with current and future economic realities; and working with manufacturing, forestry and auto sector leaders to develop measures that help strengthen their position during this crisis.

With regards to the auto sector, we would not continue to be a bystander in these important ongoing negotiations in the U.S. We would seek to be a more active stakeholder given that we represent 14 per cent of the auto industry in North America.

We would also convene an immediate First Ministers conference to partner with provinces to ensure the stimulus comes into effect quickly and makes an impact now in the downturn, but also contributes to greater productivity and prosperity in the future as the global economy recovers.

Adam Radwanski: There's been all sorts of speculation about who would lead your party into this situation - whether it would be Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, or perhaps an interim leader. Can you definitively say who it would be?

Scott Brison: The leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is Stephane Dion.

Adam Radwanski: And that's not going to change this weekend?

Scott Brison:: Not that I've heard. If it did, that would be news to me.

Adam, thank you for this interview. I look forward to more dialogue in the future.