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| Pundits Guide Liberal Fortunes Vaughan |
Maurizio Bevilacqua won his last election, in 2008, with 49.18% of the vote.Browse his statements in the House of Commons.
If you look at the chart the Liberal margin of victory has been declining steadily since 2000 when the Liberals secured the last majority compliments of Ontario voters.
Some Liberals and Democrats are worried about his attendance on killing the Gun Registry this Fall.
Sabotage or hi-jinks within Liberal ranks may have sped up his decision to abandon the Federal Liberals.
Could it be the realization that the Federal Liberals have little chance of forming the next Federal Government and another four years in opposition was to hard to sustain?Was Mario one of the Liberals who was loyal to Ignatieff and not interested in the coalition in November 2008?
Mr. Bevilacqua suggested a number of amendments to the bill to address Liberal concerns, particularly over the designation of “safe” countries that would have a truncated appeals process, on the basis that those claims would likely be less legitimate. The Liberal MP suggested a system that would remove ministerial discretion over safe country designation, in favour of one where an advisory panel of experts had the final say. Mr. Kenney accepted this and other amendments, saying he didn’t mind if the opposition claimed victory, as long as the bill was passed.
The Liberals now seem to be having second thoughts and are considering fresh amendments that would likely be unacceptable to the Conservatives.Senior Liberals say Mr. Kenney blew things apart by claiming there was a deal when there was no deal, only discussions. But the real reason is there was a backlash in Liberal caucus, led by committee members Denis Coderre and Jim Karygiannis, against amendments that had Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s blessing.
Bill C-11, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Federal Courts Act (short title: Balanced Refugee Reform Act), was introduced in the House of Commons on 30 March 2010 by the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, the Honourable Jason Kenney. The bill makes a number of changes to Canada’s in-land refugee determination system. Some of the more significant changes include: the provision that the first-level refugee determination decision-maker is a public servant and is no longer appointed by the Governor in Council; the implementation of a refugee appeal division for some claimants; changes to humanitarian and compassionate provisions; and limited access to Pre-Removal Risk Assessments and Temporary Resident Permits. The bill also increases the number of Federal Court judges.
The Liberals are now taking credit for a deal that is, in many ways, more generous to claimants than the one their caucus walked away from last week. A Liberal press release implies that their eleventh hour pivot resulted in more government concessions, but that would be disingenuous. It was the intervention of other parties, not Liberal action, that brought about a deal.
Bill C 11 has Royal Assent on June 29, 2010.The Liberals are now taking credit for a deal that is, in many ways, more generous to claimants than the one their caucus walked away from last week. A Liberal press release implies that their eleventh hour pivot resulted in more government concessions, but that would be disingenuous. It was the intervention of other parties, not Liberal action, that brought about a deal.
Is it possible more Liberals are getting tired of the in-fighting, bad day at the office excuses?
