Another Blow for Canada’s Premier

Prime Minister Paul Martin faces a shaky future after a Canadian Parliament vote Tuesday in which two opposition parties teamed up to win passage of a recommendation that Martin’s ruling Liberal Party resign.

In a 153-150 vote, Parliament asked a committee to recommend that the government resign. Liberal Party leaders said that the vote was technical in nature and that a formal vote of confidence would be needed to dissolve the government.

“It was a motion worded to create the optical illusion of a confidence vote,” said Martin’s strategic advisor, John Duffy. “But a symbolic confidence vote is like a symbolic pregnancy. You either have the confidence of the House [of Commons] or you do not, and there will be an opportunity for a real confidence vote in the weeks ahead.”

Martin has been struggling to maintain popular support in the face of a growing scandal involving kickbacks to Liberal Party leaders in exchange for government contracts in the late 1990s.

Daily revelations in hearings on the corruption scandal have nearly paralyzed the government, and two weeks ago Martin took the unusual step of appealing to Canadians on television to give him the chance to prove he was worthy of their trust. He pledged to hold an election 30 days after the inquiry’s verdict is published, expected around the end of the year.

However, the vote Tuesday was seen as a bellwether of the minority Liberal Party’s ability to maintain its shaky hold on Parliament.

“I would challenge the prime minister to call for a vote of confidence if he believes he has it,” Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper said after the vote in Ottawa. “This government does not have the moral authority to govern, it has not sought the financial authority, and now this government does not have the constitutional authority to govern because it does not have the confidence of the House.

“In my mind, Mr. Martin’s behavior is going from dithering to desperate to dangerous.”

Martin has not been shown to be directly involved in the so-called sponsorship scandal, but opposition parties have seized on the Liberal Party’s weakness to try to oust the government.

“This was a shot across the bow,” said Ed Ratushny, a constitutional law professor at the University of Ottawa. “It shows the fragility of the government, and for the government to continue they’ll have to do something substantive to win the confidence of the House.”

The next pivotal moment for Martin will be a vote on the government’s budget in the next few weeks. If the budget does not pass, it will be seen as a technical vote of no confidence and the government will dissolve. To shore up support, Martin recently announced $17.8 billion in new programs above the regular $33-billion budget.

The television appearance and spending helped revive popular backing but also accelerated attacks by the opposition, which is trying to force an election as soon as possible.

Special correspondent Van Velzen reported from Toronto and staff writer Farley from New York.