Election would doom Atlantic Accord: NDP
Last Updated: Thursday, April 28, 2005 | 9:30 PM ET
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Visiting Halifax, the NDP leader said Nova Scotia is losing $1 million in revenue each week because the deal to let the province keep more of its offshore oil and gas has not been approved in Parliament.
The deal will also provide billions in revenue to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Layton said Conservative Leader Stephen Harper would be responsible for killing the Atlantic Accord if he carries out a threat he made Wednesday to "put this government out of its misery at the earliest possible opportunity."
NDP Leader Jack Layton fields questions in Halifax, Thursday. (CP Photo)
- FROM APRIL 27, 2005: Harper denounces 'deals with the devil'
"The Atlantic Accord could be at risk if Mr. Harper calls an election, because Mr. Harper will be getting into bed with the separatists, who didn't support the Atlantic Accord, after any election happens," Layton said Thursday.
He also accused the Conservatives of not caring about students and low-income Canadians he says will be helped by the NDP's pledge to support the Liberal government's budget in return for $4.6 billion in new social program spending over the next two years.
"If this budget goes down because Stephen Harper wants to call people names ... then he'll have to answer for that."
Harper denounced the Liberal-NDP agreement as "death-bed conversions and deals with the devil."
Harper has written to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams with a pledge that a Conservative-led government would uphold the terms of the accord.
The new accord – which follows the original Atlantic Accord negotiated in 1985 with then-prime minister Brian Mulroney – is retroactive to 2004, meaning that the provincial governments will receive their revenue from that period when the accord becomes law.
On another issue, Layton was guarded about Prime Minister Paul Martin's pledge Wednesday to bring in separate legislation to introduce a new round of corporate tax cuts as soon as the Conservatives agree to support such a bill.
Martin had agreed to drop planned tax cuts for big companies from the budget package as part of his deal with Layton earlier this week. Tax cuts for small- and medium-sized businesses would stay intact.
"If the PM wants to play political games, we'll look at them with a great deal of interest," Layton said.
- FROM APRIL 26, 2005: PM shells out $4.6B for NDP's support
The NDP has pledged to support the government in all non-confidence votes until the revised budget receives royal assent.
The first of those motions could come as early as next week, when the House of Commons resumes sitting after a week-long break.
If all Conservative and Bloc members of Parliament were to vote against the government, they would have 153 votes in the 308-seat House.
The Liberals and NDP together have a total of 150 MPs. The Liberals have another MP, Speaker Peter Milliken. However, he only votes in the case of a tie.
One seat is vacant and there are three Independent MPs whose votes will be crucial.
Adding to the complexity of predicting what might happen, three MPs are receiving cancer treatments: Independent Chuck Cadman and Conservatives Darrel Stinson and David Chatters.
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