Canadian parliament suspended

Canada’s embattled prime minister has engineered the suspension of parliament so he can avoid a no-confidence vote next week which he would almost certainly have lost.

Stephen Harper persuaded Canada’s acting head-of-state to shut down parliament to let him present a new budget.

Harper’s Conservatives won October’s elections, but Canada’s economic downturn has left them hanging on by a thread.

“At my advice, the Governor General has agreed to prorogue Parliament. Last Friday, I asked Canadians to give us their opinions on the parliamentary situation. That feedback has been overwhelming and very clear. They want the Canadian government to continue to work for the agenda that Canadians voted for: our plan to strengthen the economy”

The crisis exploded when Harper tried to cut public financing for political parties, which would have hit the opposition. The Liberals and New Democrats, backed by the separatist Bloc Quebecois, still hope to defeat him.

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tags: Canada, Quebec