Beyond The Commons

 Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Will they stay away?

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, September 3, 2010 9:20am - 0 Comments

The Star suggests at least some of the NDP dozen may avoid a vote on Bill C-391 this fall.

The about-face is driven in part by tactics the Conservative government is employing as it tries to build support for killing the registry. One Conservative MP has accused Canada’s police chiefs of plotting to use the registry to seize Canadians’ rifles and shotguns.

“You’ve got the Conservatives turning off our rural guys,” said Brad Lavigne, national director of the NDP. He added that two “very real options” are available to rural members — stay away or reverse their earlier support for the Conservative bill.

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  • PolJunkie

    I think the NDP is realizing the damage that being responsible for the demise of the registry will do to their electoral fortunes.

    If they stay away and end up saving the registry, they would in effect knock the wind out of the Liberals' sails.

    The Chessmaster is an idiot for not being able to foresee this happening. He was after Ignatieff but he just may end up reinforcing his target's position with this gun registry debate.

    • Style

      Ignatieff is forcing his MPs to vote against their constituents' wishes, and against their own long-standing positions. I don't know why you think that will be costless for the Liberals.

      • PolJunkie

        "I don't know why you think that will be costless for the Liberals."

        If Harper can get away with gagging an entire caucus, I don't see why whipping a vote on a matter of such importance would cost Ignatieff anything. The message I see is clear:

        "Liberals stand behind the registry that we instated. We are more than willing to compromise and make some changes given the concerns raised by some gun owners. If, on the other hand, Harper isn't willing to do the same by listening to the concerns of Canadians who want to keep the registry and discuss how best to improve the registry, so be it. This side of the House will stand united against yet another example of this government's extreme tendencies and unwillingness to listen.

        Over to you, Layton."

        • Style

          How many pro-registry Conservative MPs are being forced to vote against their previous positions? The anti-registry Liberals have been voting against the registry throughout their careers. How is it they will have no explaining to do when they get back to their ridings? Happy to hear that you think Mr. Ignatieff will support the New Democrats' upcoming bill to reform the gun registry. I hope he can get his caucus to show up and vote with him on that.

          • sea_n_mountains

            your retort assumes that conservative MPs actually allowed to have previous positions. i have seen no evidence this is accurate.

          • Style

            Obviously they have previous positions – didn't they all vote on the last reading of this bill? I think you mean they don't have positions independent of the party, but that's my point. They are voting consistently, the anti-registry Liberals are being forced to reverse their past commitments and votes.

          • sea_n_mountains

            so you thin it is worse to have to reverse your position from time to time than not being allowed to have an independent position? well congratulations on your position as another brick in the wall.

          • Style

            No, I think the Liberals will pay a price for forcing these MPs to reverse their positions.

          • sea_n_mountains

            perhaps. though 1) i think we all attach to much significance to the supposed electoral costs of reversing one position, when it is a) not an often occurence and b) can be explained coherently; and, 2) i suspect that those most likely to be most adversely affected will encounter a bout of the 24hr flu at the time of the vote.

            but i am also curious. since you agree it is worse to not be permitted to have an independent position in the first place, dpo you think the Tories have/will pay a price for this?

          • Style

            If the anti-registry Liberals skip the vote, that will lower the votes in favour of keeping it and demonstrate that Ignatieff doesn't control his caucus. That will also be costly. Why would the Conservatives pay an additional price for maintaining their long-standing position?

          • sea_n_mountains

            you are overdoing it again. people miss votes all the time and it is expected that those that want to maintain the registry are going to lose. iggy won;t suffer much on this whether he deserves to or not.

            i note that you don;t answer my question, though you continue to ask your own.

          • Style

            If Mr. Ignatieff doesn't deliver his caucus (or, at a minimum, more of his anti-registry MPs than Mr. Layton manages), and the registry is eliminated, that would seem to have a substantial political cost for the Liberals, and possibly for Mr. Ignatieff's continued leadership. Coupled with losing the Liberal motion on abortion funding, that will raise serious questions about whether the Liberal party actually supports him

  • John D

    I'm not surprised, considering what jerks the Cons have been on this issue. It's a pretty dumb way to try and bring Members from other parties on board. Of course they don't actually want to get rid of the registry. They want to keep it around so they can keep milking registry opponents for donations.

    • Reverend_Blair

      They also want to keep the whisper campaign about "The Liberals" wanting to take away everybody's guns away going.

  • TJCook

    "One Conservative MP has accused Canada’s police chiefs of plotting to use the registry to seize Canadians’ rifles and shotguns."

    See, once Fox News North is up and running, MP's won't have spend as much time on blatant fearmongering. This will give them more time to shoot videos while sitting on their woodys. I mean, horses.

    • PolJunkie

      " This will give them more time to shoot videos while sitting on their woodys. I mean, horses."

      LMAO!! That video made my day…

  • Style

    Larry Bagnell, one of the anti-registry Liberal MPs, seemed genuinely surprised when the CBC interviewer suggested he could just not show up for the vote. Given his sulkiness about being told how to vote on this, it seemed like a tempting option for him. As Olaf says, the Liberals have a surprisingly hard time making it to the House for votes.

  • MostlyCivil

    "There seems to be a concensus"

    Con. Census. Snicker.

  • Lord Kitchener's Own

    It does add a conspiratorial note to the "why didn't the Tories just keep their mouths shut and win, instead of spouting off and risking a loss?" question.

    It's not the most crackpot theory ever to speculate that the reason the Tories have been rubbing the rural NDP's noses in their support for a Tory initiative is that the only thing the Tories want more than to get rid of the registry is to NOT get rid of the registry (and then they get to keep complaining about it). It's arguably the same reason they've killed their own "law and order" legislation like, a GAZILLION times. Once you pass legislation it's passed, and you can no longer complain every other day about how the communists and traitors from the Coalition of Satan are keeping you from passing it.

    • Stewart_Smith

      In reality, I don't think Harper really cares about the registry. For those in the party that do care, it is a "gut" issue i.e. they grew up with guns around and the fear of the Coalition taking those guns away is real. I would also throw out that I don't think Harper is intentionally sabataging the vote either. (Otherwise, Woody would have never left us)

      What Harper has the most to gain from this is the fighting between the Liberals and NDP. In his ideal election sceranio he keeps painting the NDP & Liberals as dangerous partners, while the Liberals and NDP respond by attacking each other. A few voters on the left jump back and forth while centre right voters see the Conservatives as the more stable of two unpleasant options.

  • John D

    Well, the Western Conservatives never need to leave Ottawa to get votes (unless they are Rahim) so it's easier to attend. Funny how the Alberta and BQ MPs are the ones who love being in Ottawa the most…

  • Style

    Most recently Maloway has been talking about the Liberal-Conservative coalition. If you click on the MP's name, you see a list of quotes in chronological order.

  • Katherine

    That's a very handy site. Also, the NDP MPs bring forward far more bills than anyone else.

  • Geiseric

    The Very Silly Party wants to tank its own bill. All it has to do is take the muzzle off a handful of backbenchers cry Mayhem and let slip the hounds of war.

  • PolJunkie

    "In Quebec these days, a weaker NDP almost automatically translates into a more competitive Liberal party."
    http://www.thestar.com/article/856298–hebert-bel…

    What she said…

  • Luke

    Let see if I have this right; the people in the rural NDP ridings who are totally against the Long Gun Registry are now threatening their NDP MPs that in the next election their going to vote Conservatives. . .Really, now why would anybody believe they voted NDP in the last election; when the NDP’s policy is to keep the LGR. Don’t make sense. I call BS

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