Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says his caucus is united on the harmonized sales tax, even though several of his MPs were not in their seats when the votes were cast.
There is a fair bit of mystery in the hallways of the House of Commons as to what exactly happened today.
The government can call a vote on a ways-and-means motion like this one at any time. It did so today around 1:20 p.m., and the official 30 minute countdown clock appeared on the Parliamentary television channel indicating the vote would take place at about 1:50 p.m.
However, the vote took place 10 minutes early, catching many MPs and staffers off guard. Liberals say the Speaker moved up the vote so that it would not interfere with the afternoon Question Period. New Democrat staffers, meanwhile, are whispering conspiracy theories of a Tory-Liberal plot to give certain MPs an excuse for abstaining on an unpopular issue.
The motion passed and will now turn into government legislation, with future votes at second reading, report stage and third reading.
When asked if some of the Liberal MPs abstained on principle, Mr. Ignatieff blamed the absences on the timing and said his caucus will be united on future HST votes.
“Today’s vote, because we were trying to get the vote in before Question Period, I came out of the lobby having voted and there were 15 of my members in the back lobby, just because the vote was accelerated,” Mr. Ignatieff told reporters. “But you’ll see on the subsequent votes that this caucus is united. This caucus supports the position to support the HST and does so because the provinces want it, because the provinces are saying this will create jobs for Canadians.”
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Update Here is the list of how MPs voted on the HST ways-and-means motion. Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who had said he believed the five members of the party's British Columbia caucus all wanted the Liberals to oppose the HST, was in the House and voted for it.
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Another update The NDP staffer conspiracy theory has been shot down from within. The Globe has learned the NDP House leadership was approached by the Tories and the Liberals to move up the timing of the vote so as not to interfere with Question Period, and the NDP confirms they agreed. The Speaker then allowed the House leaders to move up the vote’s timing.
As for the official denials of any funny business: “There’s nothing devious about it. It’s just parliamentary games between parties,” said Conservative Whip Godon O’Connor.
Liberal Whip Roger Cuzner had this to say: “There was nothing contrived on our part.”
There are only six days left in this year’s session of Parliament.
(Photo: A delegate looks on from behind an anti-HST sign during last month's British Columbia NDP convention in Vancouver. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
