Updated: Wed Mar. 04 2009 9:31:20 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday of using a $3-billion stimulus fund to hide the extent of the government's deficit, escalating a disagreement that has led to election speculation in Ottawa.

Ignatieff said during question period Wednesday the Conservatives had $3 billion left over in last year's budget for infrastructure that could be used to stimulate the economy instead of the new fund.

The clash between the Liberals and the Tories over the stimulus fund for Canada's sagging economy is fuelling election speculation.

Harper has accused the Liberals of playing politics at the expense of the economy. He says the $3-billion fund, if passed right away, can be put to work before July.

"The country, other levels of leadership, are waiting for this. I encourage the Liberal party to stop playing games and let the money flow," he said during question period.

The Liberals have criticized the $3-billion fund as unaccountable and will propose a motion next week requiring the government to precisely spell out what the money will be spent on.

Harper's spokesperson, Kory Teneycke, said it won't be a problem to itemize the spending after the fact, but the government is not planning on producing a precise spending document in advance.

Ignatieff has said he won't approve the stimulus fund without specific details.

Harper has said that the fund is a confidence matter for his minority government and has raised the possibility of an election if the opposition doesn't approve the stimulus plan.

With files from The Canadian Press

Comments are now closed for this story

James
Canada is reeling in the worse economic crisis in our lifetime and politicians fiddle while Canada burns. Either the politicians are blind to the severity of this crisis or they really do not care about the average Canadian. Shame on the politicians for not working together

Popo
Another standoff?

This has to stop, either form a coalition and drop Harper (call an election if the Bloc gets all high-and-mighty) or call an election. Harper won't even win a minority this time around, not proactive enough and behaving in a manner that most Canadians dissaprove of.

LA
So, the Liberals want to know how the money is to be spent before rather than after. What's the problem, Harpo?

bren
I dont really know what to think about this, but do know that Iggy will do anything it takes to restore his Liberals to power. From his childish giddy love of Obama during his time with him, to his day to day grinny press conferences, I cannot picture him at the helm during such a tough time, making tough moral military and financial decisions. Lets keep this creepy grinch lookalike on the sidelines.

John Befinda
Once again the liberals are putting their shot at gaining power over the good of the country by delaying money getting into the economy. People in this country need to stop voting for a party because they see one party or another favouring their region over the good of the country. I also believ that allowing a party that has treason as it basis like the Bloc is insane and choosing parties (for the good of the country) is impossible with this waste of votes going to a region specific party.

Jaid in Toronto
I will not be surprised if this exact same move will happen if Liberals were in power should this pass.

Ryan
Wow sure took Liberal Prince Ignatieff along time to adjust to politics as usual....Let's just have an election and get on with dealing with the economic challenges facing ou country.

Denise
I second that, James! I am so sick and tired of this constant tug-of-war for power. It seems like every single party is putting its own political agenda ahead of the good of Canada these days. Put your petty damn differences aside and get on with governing the country already!!

Scott O'neal, Phd.
The threat of an election at this time? Excuse me!!! If Stephen Harper does not want to be Prime Minister, he should just GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! People are losing their jobs and savings and this man is trying to play hardball? There was a reason he was not given a majority government - so that there would be checks and balances. If he dares call another election again, he will regret it forever!

Phil
Harper is up to his old tricks again using the same brinksmanship;readying attack ads for Ignatieff. His viscious partisanship overlooks the wonderful opportuinities he and Jim Flaherty have given the Liberals for their own attack ads on their handling of the economy.Hopefully Canadians will see Harper et al for the ugly opportunistic fools they truly are. Ignatieff is NOT Dion and more than capable of making mincemeat of Harper in a debate.

Smarter than the Leaders
How much stupider can our poltical leaders get. While the country burns, the leaders play their fiddles.

Michael (I am American) Ignatieff and our PM have not come to the realization that holding a general election over anything right now will not give either party a majority to govern with. Instead Michael Ignatieff should back down, pass the bill, let the government spending and report, and let Canadians decide in a couple of years whether or not the government get it right.

Please grow up gentlemen.

Marc-Windsor
I can't believe the Liberal would let Canadian suffer like this to make a political point. The money need to flow now not in May. People need help now. I can't believe the Liberals would stop this much need aid.

john from the west
It would be really nice if they would get the money out to the people that need it, instead of the Liberals stroking each others privates. Ignatieff & McCallum unless you have something useful to say why don't you try to help for a while instead of listening to Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe. The reason is neither one you has a clue of what to do. Maybe they should call you the tweedle dumb and Tweedle Dee boys. Canadians are getting sick of your posturing. GROW UP or leave the country

CC
The Conservatives have given in far too much to the Liberals and NDP, as far as this budget goes. Enough of this crap. Let the Liberals bring down the government and see what happens. What the Lieberals don't seem to get is that THEY ARE NOT the government. They make every demand that they would put in the budget themselves..as opposition. That doesn't mean they get everything they want!!! I hope this goes to a vote of confidence and we will see the Libs bend like they did with Dion.

DRH
Here come the Liberals. They are not used to a government be upfront and open. They like hiding the money for themselves and just say there going to inject it into the economy. I hope they call an election and we can send these liberals packing for good.

Dave in Surrey
Harper wants a 3 Billion Dollar blank cheque with NO Accountability when just 3 months ago everything was fine, in fact it was a great time to buy stocks...

If he Conservatives are unable to put together a precise spending document together in advance, then they have not earned OUR tax dollars...

They have time to put together attack ads but not proper accounting documents for 3 Billion Dollars, maybe it is time to send this one trick pony to the glue factory...

Murray
Quit the garbage and put the country first! Enough is enough! Unelected Liberal Senators threating to block passage of a bill. He said she said in the House. All sides ENOUGH ALREADY! GG needs to step in a say no election for 24 months get to work and do it NOW!

Bob
Prpare yourself for below; the onslaught of conservative spammers and liberal defendors on a ctv comment page. Here is an idea; If you guys dont like what your hearing, stop wasting time here, write your MP, if that doesnt satisfy you, run yourself for office, or simply vote the way you were going to vote anyway before you read the article.

UNREAL Why not Vote LIBERAL????
Unreal Tell Iggy to go back to the US if he doesn't like what Harper is doing!!
The Liberals are reaching so bad to be back in power it is making me sick.
People are loosing their jobs and this man is holding the paracute back from saving these peoples finacial futures. Iggy Shame Shame Shame!! I think we should start calling him MR. America!! (lets protect my intrest to be Prime Minister and my fellow Liberals and Lobyists and Screw the little people)
YAAAAAAA I am totaly voting Liberal!
Please tax me more in this time of need
Please take away more of my money so you can go on trips and send it to your friends.
Wow why wouldn't I vote Liberal.
UNREAL

Doug
It sounds like the Liberals are only expecting what the Tories always claimed they stood for. Is this another principle Harper is selling?

Hankers
Typical Liberal bull-crap. They don't care about Canadians and only try and gain political points by spreading lies. They will find out in the next election what their childish games have done to them.

Wally from Alberta
Let's face it - Ignatieff is only looking for political opportunity to try to grab power. He cares much more about that than the economy.
Ignatieff makes extreme effort to sound analytical and reasonable but unfortunately he's just another in a long list of slimy Liberal lawyers.

Stanlee
I thank god the coalition of Liberal, Bloc and NDP are not running the country. What we need now is more cooperation by the opposition parties, not the ususal complaining to attract media time just for the sake of media exposure. If Parliament is to work well it needs an intelligent oppostion not the current media hogs.

Chris in Ontariariari-Oh!
The purpose to the $3 billion is to get the money out faster toward's project's that have time restraint's like the weather.We have a very short window for most road's project's because of our climate.You need to get the shovel's into the ground soon as the frost is out as there is little time left to do many of these job's.If the money doesn't start to flow until mid summer many municipality's will not have enough time to get their project's completed and this will be too late to have the effect the government is hoping for a stimulus.Many construction project's local municipality's have are limited to the few short summer month's and there need's to be the funding available in very short order.As these are extrenuous time's I would think our member's of the liberal party would be aware of this and would not want to see this money held up as it is in everyone's best interest.Accountability is great but let's not use it as an excuse to play petty politic's the people of Canada deserve better.The stimulus package as a whole will take several more month's to crawl through the senate before final approval so we need to get moving now on the monies needed for these time constricted project's.As it stand's now that may be longer with some of the threat's from liberal senator's such as George Baker.We need to get moving and leave the game's for when people aren't so concerned about their job's.

Albert Hannon
There has to be accountability, there must be oversight, Who is going to get this money, where is the money being spent? Not hard questions. Imagine if at the end of the month a family just tossed blank cheques out of their accounts, how long are the crediters going to allow that. Well Canadian citizens are the creditors and we want to know how our money is being spent.

Just Aguy in ON
Everytime I see and hear Liberal Finance Critic, John McCallum I think he has already had a little liquid stimulus himself. Was it not the Liberals that were berating the Conservatives last fall for not providing a panic financial response, now their holding things up while they play politics ?
The Liberals may not be financially rich, but their hypocracy sure is rich.

W.E. Demers
Let's have another election and fast. The Tories promised to reduce government spending, lower taxes, invest in the military and implement tougher standards for violent and inhumane crimes.

They've done what exactly? Lowered the GST, added slightly more severe penalties for criminals... mediocre spending for the military... and three consecutive budgets that would make Pierre Trudeau proud.

Harper is not a conservative. He needs to go.

Colleen
Let's just pass the d%X$# thing and get on with the work at hand. If, after the fact, the Conservatives don't spend the money appropriately and wisely, they'll find themselves out of a job. This is NO time to play politics!

Gary Findlay
The Prime Minister should stay with his position. The Liberal leader thinks he is the Prime Minister and he is arrogant and needs to learn that there is the "we" word in our vocabulary. Calling for updates and then stalling the passage of the budgets; he has no credibilty. Let us see if he wants to fight an election. He only got his position through the back door. While no fan of Bob Rae; he would be a far better leader than this egotistical professor.

Mark -Vegreville, AB
So Mr.Ignatieff wants a specific list of projects to fund? No problem! Let's take a couple of months to itemize a list and then spend a few more months debating which region gets how much, take the summer off, and look at putting it to vote come fall, so long as the opposition doesn't pull the plug on the government because for some reason more people are out of work.

Brilliant idea Mr.Ignatieff! Perhaps a senior bureaucratic post is your calling.

Leadership at its finest folks.

Rob
Iggy is playing games, again. The Liberals have to realize, threating elections are making money matters worse in Canada. If they cared at all, they would take a break from their scare tactics, rebuild their party, and act like they actually represent some Canadians (the ones who votes for them), not just their party.

Gareth Hitchings
I understand that the Tories want to get the money out as quickly as possible (or at least want to be seen as trying to get the money out).

However I also agree with the Liberals that if you're about to spend three thousands million dollars of tax-payer's money then you should be able to provide a list of the things you intend to spend it on. A list MUST exist somewhere or else why would the tories have even proposed this fund in the first place? How did they determine that it should be $3billion and not $4billion or $2billion - they must have some idea of how they intend to spend it, so their refusal to provide the list is troubling. Either they have a list but they refuse to disclose it, or else they have no list and this fund of theirs is strictly for appearances sake, to make it look like they're taking quick action when in fact they don't have a clue yet how to spend it.

tim
Good for the liberals. They should make the gov't account for every penny before its released. We all know, the money will get lost in a heart beat if there's no accountability. Stand strong so our tax dollars don't go to the powerful and greedy.

Mario
I think with what happened in the USA in terms of allocating funds without a proper vision and control, should teach us a lesson.

If Harper wants the cash he knows exactly how it will be spent. Iggy is completely in the right to ask what it's for.

Any investor that would give their money to someone to invest would ask the same questions.

Why does the PM think he is any different.

Warren
People are losing there jobs and waiting for EI,the country is in trouble,so Ignatieuf get your head out of your --- and pass this stimulus plan so at least some people can get to work before the whole summer season passes us by. Quit playing games with the people of Canada if you have time to get your nose out of the air thinking you are some sort of god.

Conservatism is killing us
Didn't Harper get voted in for a word he often used? A-C-C-O-U-N-T-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y !!
I wish someone would give me a 3 billion dollar blank check - I might actually invest in something the Conservatives never will - Green Technology!

Greg in the Hammer
Lets have the vote, let Iggy and his buffoons defeat the government and put the Libs out of our misery forever by grinding them into the ground in an election they can't afford.

Time for a majority for Harper and end this political game of footsie.

Doug BC
I have to agree to some extent,with "James".Since the election we have had little more than the rancor and political posturing that we had before the election.
Ottawa and it's so called leaders are all about the next election.Our political system is far to partisan and adversarial for these nitwits to co-operate on anything.Sadly,I don't see any change in attitudes in the absence of politcal reform.
Let's face it people,the Liberals don't want Harper to pass anything that might work,since that would be seen as an impediment to their return to power.And,of course Harper isn't about to become a socialist any time soon.Even before he became PM his record clearly shows his distain for big taxes and a genuine belief that Canada must reduce our national debt.While I remain unconvinced that he can accomplish this,I have to respect his commitment to that principle.If it can be accomplished it would go a long ways to improving our chances of remaining a sovereign nation.The left wingers,on the other hand seem to be unconcerned about high taxes and big debt,but tend to concentrate on ideas that give more "free" money for social programs to those they feel are in need.
Personally,as a FORMER Liberal,I am more inclined to agree with Harper when it comes to policies on crime and economics.BUT,even so,I was happy to see him elected with a minority.But that was before the coalition,which now seems to say we either elect a majority,or continue to accept petty politics and spitting contests in Ottawa.
And there is plenty of blame to be shared for this unfortunate turn of events.

Barb in Kingston
The Liberals are right to demand more precise details and an accountability framework. It would be irresponsible as an opposition party to do otherwise. We will be paying this money back for decades.

Todd - Ontario
Don't you Liberals have anything better to do? The Tories have a huge deficit now because of the Liberals. Didn't Rae Day's teach anyone anything?

You can't spend your way out of a recession!

Sask Man
Liberals you aren't making any friends on this issue. Let the money flow.

Ben McK in Calgary
I thought Harper would be all for accountability. Now Harper just wants to spend our money without telling us where it's going!

Elaine
I agree, James. The leader of the liberal party is playing politics to the detriment of the people of Canada. Perhaps it is time for an election and a majority conservative government!

bella-in-ottawa
Mr.Harper cannot expect to spend 3 Billion dollars of our hard earned tax payer money and not account for it. He needs to be responsible for once. I think he needs to step up for once. It was only a few months ago that he and his buddy Jim stated that our economy is fundamentally strong....I think its quite appropriate for Mr. Ignatieff to call him out on it.

Orwin
Isn't it great, Ignatieff is so power hungry he would deprive those who need a bit of help and have the government spend this money on an election instead.

Dave T
The stimulus is stupid. The Canadian economy will come out of recession as soon as the rest of the world starts buying our products and commodities again. Not a moment before regardless of how much money we can waste in a hurry.

Why couldn't they just not bankrupt the next generation and be financially prudent instead of spending like a drunken NDPer. Wish that there was a real conservative party left somewhere in this country.

This is stupid. Horrendously stupid. Worse yet, they aren't arguing about IF they should do the stupid thing. They are arguing about HOW they should do stupid things.

No wonder the younger generation hates politics. the babyboomers are retiring the workforce by leaving a great big pile of debt for the next generation to try to repay. Watch the taxation spike as soon the boomers retire and quit paying income tax.

I for one won't feel a drop of regret in about 10-15 years when we start cutting gov't programs hand over fist to balance the budget. Hope you guys are filling your RRSP's. You're gonna need them cause you're bankrupting the gov'ts ability to pay for your medicare. Hope having some bankrupt companys churning out crappy cars in Ontario for another couple of years before they go bankrupt is worth that to you.

This is a bad decision.

Hugh
I knew it would not be long before the PMO would begin to try the "chicken" game. Talk about your "divine right to rule syndrome ". And even without being able to win a majority governement!!The country is teetering on depression and the PMO wants an election-efffectively closing down government for at least three months and at what finnancial and human costs? I say to the other parties "bring it on". Its the only language that this PMO understands. Let the chips fall where they may.

tim
P.S. How is it that the concervatives can't produce a precise spending document in advance, Did they not ask for the same thing from G.M before they approved the bail out? I have to plan my monthly budet according to my income, in advance. Yet the gov't can't. Sound fishy.

Jim Mullins
Enough is more than enough. Get rid of the Bloc which is not a national party and lets have an election. With no Bloc the result should be a majority Government.

Fred - Brandon MB
There is no way to satisfy Iggy. He is not even official leader of the opposition and he wants to act as if he is the PM. What a hypocrite! He wants the Conservatives to act quickly, then keeps throwing up road blocks. I'll be so glad when he is trounced in the next election. Maybe he will be the real leader of the Lberals by then.

Devin
Its not Harpers fault he can't help but be a bully. When will he learn that eventually you have to make some concession when you are in a minority government. He can run the country like a majority when he doesn't have one, regardless of any power trips he wants to exercise. I don't see what the problem is in keeping track or money spent, if he were the opposition he would do the exact same thing. He needs to take a step back and remember that just a couple weeks ago he was working with the liberals on the budget.
To Bren - Last time i checked Ignatieff was not the only one giddy around Obama, both Jean and Harper looked pretty mezmorized by him aswell, not to mention the Canadian public. Hopefully this grinch can stop Harper from drinking what ever spoiled egg nog he's been on for the past couple months

R D
I wish someone would tap Iggy on the shoulder and tell him he's NOT the Prime Minister, nor is he the Minister of Finance, nor the Minister of Anything, except maybe the Minister of Obstruction.

Rob
Let's go! Time to bury that A hole Iggy for playing these games...Canadians are sick and tired of the Liberals...different leader, same games...at these harsh times. They were yelling and screaming for a package, threating a election....The PM presents a package...and they yell and scream it's happening to quick, we need an election...Give em what they ask for...they will do worse than last time, smart Canadians will give the full reign to Stevie to get us out of this world wide mess.
I would vote for the NL Bloc before I voted Liberal...At least that party would be for the people, not for the party...

An Ox In Cowtown
How many people on here are paid party hacks for the Cons? It seems like quite a few based on the comments.. I love people who just trust Harper to blindly spend billions of dollars while attacking Iggy over how it'll be spent.

It's a scary time! Recession! Great Depression 2! don't ask questions! don't hold the gov't accountable! Just smile and nod and billions flow out the door.

You people are unbelievable.. Canada does not want PM Harper, he has a very short leash and if he trys to pull on it too much then it's election time. Let's get this embarassment out of office once and for all.

Ray in AB
Liberals are probably hoping that money all goes to the east, This is the only reason for there concern. It was a month ago, the Libs demanded money be spent immidiately, Yet the house delays this money, the lib senate is delaying the budget. Ignatieff is great in front of the TV, tells all what we want to hear, then runs back and hides because he cant make a choice or a decision, he cant even control the liberal side of the senate. At least the other lib leaders could direct the senate.. haha.
3 Billion is nothing. Get it approved, and as projects that fit the criteria set out, the list will be generated. its impossible right now to produce an itemized list. Stupid Politics.

KJ in Kingston Ontario
The good news is the longer they delay, the less likely there will be any need to waste the money on stimulus give-aways and public spending boondoggles.... Maybe we can get another 6 week break from them and save even more… I say downsize parliament by 90% and have it meet no more than 15 days per year -- soon we would soon be rich beyond our wildest dreams… Well, I guess we would have to do something about the provinces too -- how about amalgamate them into EAST WEST and CENTRAL -- that would save a fortune.

DR42
What's wrong with seeing where the money goes before it's spent? I know what I'm buying and for how much before I go to the cash register...

katie
We have auditors to tell us where the money went, thats why they're there. Ignatief voted for the budget, we were all moving ahead, now we're stuck in the mud again. Come on lets get on with it!

This is nuts...........
If money is needed, say what it is for and get on with it.

Ray in AB
to Scott O'neal, Phd.

Maybe you read a different article, But it looks as though Harper is the one trying to get the money out to help you. However the Libs are holding it up.... So in my opinion Harper has to be firm or we will be here next year and no money will have been spent.

Red X
The $3 Billion was not part of the original budget. What is true is that Billions in previous Conservative budgets were not spent...

Last month, Gerard Kennedy pointed out for 2007; 21 of 27(77.8%)infrastructure projects were in Conservative ridings.
They held 125 of 308(40.6%)

Can the Liberals be suspicious that funds and jobs would go to Conservative consultants and fundraisers?

AJA
The recession will be over before these clowns that claim to be acting in the interest of all Canadians fight over who will be King of the Hill. The people that pay their salaries are losing their jobs and the longer they play thier games, the more the people of this country pay the price. Obama and the politicians that oppose him have accomplished more in the last 2 months than our overpaid and underworked politicians will accomplish all year. How sad is that!
I can say that I will never vote Liberal again. It appalls me that the biggest crooks to ever run this country continue to question the accountability of the Conservatives. It's time to work with the government in power for the good of the people.

The other Lowell from BC.
For you people who want a blank cheque for Harper. Look at what happened in the USA when Bush handed over billions to the banks without specific details. down payments on corporate jets, junkets to resorts, the list goes on. Ignatieff is doing the right thing in forcing accountability from Harper. There is a possibility only certain ridings will be targeted for this money etc. This is alot of money and some of it is mine. I WANT DETAILS.

Rod
So you are blaming the Conservatives.
They are trying to get there budget in place for the good of the country.
The lieberals are once again playing games once again.

geeta
Harpo if you want to spend the money so fast you must have some idea of where you are going to spend it. Asking for 3B with no acountbilty? Do what is right give people the details and get on with moving the economy forward

Cassidy Kanata
What is it going to take for the Liberals or any other secondary party to let the "Elected" Conservatives do their job? Prime Minister Harper has a host of professional and very qualified staff to deal with these difficult economic issues. There will be mistakes and successes. I am sure all other countries and their leaders are going through the same difficult task of establishing corrective action. So stop being a burden and let them do their job.

Andrew from Waterloo
I can't believe people are standing behind Harper without actually knowning how or where this money is going to be spent and calling it an effective stimulus package....I know Canadians are not that stupid and congrats Iggy for doing your job and holding the government accountable to their spending.

Dorward
I find it ironic that the Conservatives originally blasted the idea of a stimulus package, and now they want to thrust it into the economy without properly dealing with specifics. Don't they usually blame the Liberals of spending money carelessly?
If the money had a true plan, it would not be that big of a deal to produce a document outlining where and how the money will be spent. Conservatives spending and Liberals disputing it... my Canadian politics has turned strange.

Camouflage Jimmy
All Harper seems to care about is waging war with liberals. For him, politics is just a sport that he enjoys playing rough. Even during a crisis, it's still all "left vs. right" for him - that's what he sees.

Watch the pawns falling on the front line - their families going down with them - all to indulge Harper's grandiose notions of world right-domination via paradox.

Go Harper go! You know, if you light that spark at *JUST* the right time - ya know? - of course it'll all work out for you no matter how many times you shake & roll those dice. Keep rolling snake eyes! - you're my ultimate political war hero. Hail! Hail!

You're so important, we're all your election slaves. We exist only for you - oh great one. Please! oh please! Please send us back to war daddy Harper hero! I want to 'stab' & 'slay' for you again, like the conservative war animal that I am.

Michael vdB
I agree with Bob's comment. Instead of complaining about what the other side is doing or not doing, write your MP or run in the next election yourself. It is so easy for each of you to complain about what Harper is not doing or Ignatieff is doing, yet you can't step up to the plate during election time.

Stop the griping on both sides of the comment section. How can our government work when the people commenting can't even say something without attacking the other party or leader?

Bruce from Calgary
Ignatieff you are one big joke.
If I had a choice between you or the Green Party, it wouldn't be you.

Danny Bellin
I don't get it. Why doesnt Harper declare what he wants to spend the 3 billion dollars on and lets move forward. Am I missing something or would this not diffuse the situation. How does he know that 3 billion dollars are needed if he doesnt disclose in advance what he wants to spend the money on. So much for accountability and transparency.

Yer Average Joe
So sick of Harpo and the gamsters. So now he wants a 'stimulus' pkg approved but will not tell us what the money is for.
Lets see.... the rich folks already got a tax break to lay sod and renovate their homes that will do a whole lot of good (not) how many more brilliant boondogles are we going to put up with?
"Accountability," remember Mr. H?
No disclosure= no stimulus =new govt in the house.
The sooner the better.

Liberals continue playing games at our expense
ARGH!!

The Liberals once again are trying to obfuscate the dealings of Parliament by dragging their feet on this budget implementation bill.

Ignatieff is no better than the turkey he replaced. I'm not overwhelmed by any leader but they have a responsibility to help needy Canadians NOW not screw around playing party politics.

531111
Rob
Iggy is playing games, again. The Liberals have to realize, threating elections are making money matters worse in Canada. If they cared at all, they would take a break from their scare tactics, rebuild their party, and act like they actually represent some Canadians (the ones who votes for them), not just their party
=============================

Get it right please. It isn't the Liberals threatening any election. It was Harper making that threat. If I was Iggy, I would stand up to Harper in a heartbeat. What is Harper hiding that he won't set up a website, the same as Obama did, to show Canadians where this money is going. Not hard to do, but they are refusing to do so. I'm a Conservative and this bothers me especially after Flaherty said a week ago there will be mistakes made for sure. I certainly hope Harper changes his mind and gives us taxpayers the accountability the opposition is asking for, but in typical Harper stle, he won't. Call his bluff Iggy, and he'll run like he always has.

Collin
Good old Dave in Surrey is all over Harper for saying it is a good time to buy stocks. I bet Dave(I'm a hyprocite) didn't even say a thing when Barack Obama said it could be a good time to buy stock. Liberals are arrogent by nature, they claim to be the natural ruling party of Canada.

No, I say lets have an election, get it over with and who ever doesn't get the most seats the other leader resigns, and please take Jack Layton with the loser.

Red X
To the Conservative voters; How fiscally conservative is the Harper Gov't?
After 2 balanced budgets, Flaherty projects $85 Billion plus interest will be added to the Debt.

So what is wrong with asking what the $3 Billion is for?
Harper is an economist?!

Mike
Igor and the Glibs just don't get it do they??

Canadians are in trouble, help is available but they would rather delay and hold up the help with silly demands to try and flex what little power they have.

They are all useless!

Mark
I can only imgaine the face of the Canadian economy if we currently had "The Green Shift" in place, carbon taxes and Stephane Dion at the helm.

You may recall that the Liberal election platform solidly backed by Ignatieff and Rae had the carbon shift thing as their central platform. This is the same crowd who now blisters with righteous indignation at Stephen Harper's government for failing to miss the signs of a failing world economy months ago, that they should have seen it coming, they're incompetent etc, etc, etc.

Now, where exactly where the Liberals with their 'Green Shift' and the retrospectively "obvious" dire economic signs last fall??

Righteous indignation is deeply expressed within the Liberal Party of Canada DNA.

Edmonton Jim
Harper and the government should have dealt with this issue in the fall, instead of playing games. As a matter of fact HE SHOULD NOT have broken his committment to hold fixed election dates, so that the matter could have been addressed when things got ugly!
VOTE THE BUMS OUT

Ryan in AB
All the people complaining about the Liberals wanting accountability are the same people who complained about there not being accountability when the Liberals were in power. Who cares what party is supported there needs to be oversight when $3 BILLION dollars is going to be spent. I personally do not support Mr. Flaherty's statement that mistakes will be made. I expect my government to do EVERYTHING they can to ensure all dollars go where they are supposed to.

Mike Strange, Sundre Alberta
I think it is about time the politicians of this country start looking at the well being of the average Canadian. We are being suffocated economically by high gasoline prices, high grocery prices, high rents and no movement on the part of the politicians to start reparing our economy. They sit in the House of Commons and play games with the future of our counry, with little regard for our future. The monies available for the stimilus package should be accounted for prior to spending as this is money that belongs to the taxpayers of Canada and not the politicians to use as they see fit to buy partisan votes from their constituants. Wake up and smell the coffee!!!!

Jon C.
I have issues with both parties, but in this one I agree with the Liberals. If their is no accountability, all the people attacking the Liberals will attack them for that. 3 Billion dollars is a lot of money, and I want to know where it is being spent. Alot of the people attacking the Liberals in the comments are attacking them cause they don't like them anyways, and would not say anything positive about them if their lives depended on it. Sit back and think for a sec, would you just hand money to anyone else you were giving money to and not ask what they were going to do with it? Anyone that bad mouths the Liberals for asking where the money is going to be spent, has no right to complain if something goes wrong and the money does not help. But they will...and they will blame the Liberals, cause they do not know what else to do...they couldn't actually blame the Tories, that would be wrong :)

Smokingjoe
This is all short and sweet...if your child asks for a thousand dollars, wouldn't you ask for some accountability in what it is used for? Harper suck it up, you are not in a majority, no wonder there are rumblings out West of a change in leadership.

Mary (Ottawa)
For all you uneducated Liberals out there just a little note. It is NOT a blank check, the treasury board controls the money and accepts or denys any shovel ready projects which is submitted to them. They then review it and decide if that Municipality or Province gets it. The back end accountability is the Auditor General will then review what has been done. The Conservatives do not have control here. The public servants at the Treasury Board will.

Tim
Liberals (adscam) holding Conservatives accountable hmmmm kind of sounds like foxes guarding the hen house

Bruce
Just more smoke blowing and bluster from Iggy, the three billion is subject to audit and quarterly reports to parliament.

Is that not what Iggy asked for in the first place?

REAL! WHY VOTE CONSERVATIVE??? VOTE LIBERAL!!!
If the Liberals are reaching to get back in power, then the Conservatives will do anything to keep power.

Harpo didn't win a majority. He won a minority, yet again. He's been at bat for the Conservatives three times and the best he can hit is a double. This guy and his party don't have what it takes to win a majority and that's because the MAJORITY of Canadians keep voting AGAINST him.

Good on Iggy for demanding on behalf of ALL Canadians to keep Harpo and his goons in check.

Harpo is the WORST Prime Minister of my generation.

Wayne from Halifax
Another confidence motion from the ever arrogant Cons. They think this is a tested approach with no pitfalls. We the people are the ones who pay for this amateurish political game that the Cons have been stuck on for years. When their bluff is called, for other parties have shown a more reasonable conciliatory approach to the problems we now face, the Cons will be blown out of office. With the decline of the Conservative ideology and their apparent unwillingness to act pragmatically, they are painting themselves into a corner and will be the architects of their own Doom.
The waning of the Conservative ideology can only bode well for the future prosperity of Canada

John in Calgary
To Iggy,

Who cares what the money will be spent on? The Tories will have to account for every dollar when all is said and done so just let it go through.

It's not like they are going to invest in some secret sponsorship scandal, that's your job.

Drew in NS
Mr. Ignatieff continues to play his political games, playing Prime Minister when the country has voted.

The economy, jobs and Canada's financial well being is threatened because Ihnatieff doesn't want to look weak.

Mr. Ignatieff the Canadian voter is putting you on probation.
Mr.

Tyler in Montreal
There are a lot of comments on here about having an election and the only way of securing a majority government is to eliminate the bloc. I 100% agree with this statement however if the bloc is all about Quebec, and Quebec wants to be distinct and only look out for Quebec, why not eliminate the whole province all together and only collect a vote from Canadians who want to be united together, not divided.

Regarding the story, Iggy, once our hospital wait times are 15 minutes, family doctors are more than accessible, roads and infrastructure in perfect shape, and all Canadians are prospering, you need to quit holding the ax over the ELECTED Conservative Governments head and allow them to follow through on what their thoughts on bettering Canada are. If you feel that there are things that could be added from your point of view, then I suggest that you work together until the aformentioned things are happening.

Laz in Finance
Bring on the Election. At least that is a 300 million stimulas and it is nation wide.

Dennis
For all of you accusing Iggy of going for a power grab, if that was his goal he would have done grabbed power immediately after progorue had ended and formed the coalition with the NDP/bloc.

Ignatieff is an intelligent individual with a long history of preaching political responsibility and government transparency. If you can't appreciate those qualities, please go to China where you can live in blissful ignorance to what your government is doing with your tax dollars.

Murray
I find it sickening to read all these sheep on here blindly following Harper. You are complaining how people are loosing jobs left right and center, yet we merely just came out of an necessary Parliamentary break that Harper used to hold onto power. You are criticizing the opposition parties for questioning where $3,000,000,000.00 (yes, that is $3 billion dollars) is going?

moyz
It's like 3 steps forward 2 steps back! All parties involved need to cut this stuff out and start working together!

Mary in Calgary
Harper is playing a game with our hard earned Tax dollars! I work hard everyday and contribute my taxes and therefore expect accountability with what gets spent on what and where.

Does he really think we will let him get away with this?

Pat_from_Mississauga
Question - if the CON's can't tell us how they are going to spend the 3 Billion before they have the money, then how do they know they need it and what to spend it on? Answer - because they intend to spend it on pork barrel politics!

White North
If I was IGGY I would do the same. I will make them account for every penny they spend.

Paul Martin left Canada on sound footing with surpluses and stash fund for these times it took 10 years of Canadian Scarifying in order to pay the debt and be sound economically.

These people took 4 years to totally mess up the economy and the country. What did they do with all the money?

If it was not for Martin that fixed the banking industry we will be in worse shape than we are now in this RECESSION/DEPRESSION.

What we need is a new government that know what is doing, these people were telling us four months ago that we were fine not worry, don’t be alarmist you were am going right.

IT Manager from Edmonton
I'm a member of the Conservative party here just to set the record straight. So let me say I am with the PM on this one but only becuase if the government detailed the spending like the Liberals want it would be very much like insider trading IMO and that's not good for anyone.

Greg
Typical Mr. Lib trying to gain power again!The 3Billion is needed into the economy.I little sick of the Lib's and NDP trying to pull the rug out from under Canadaian's.Lets have an election and in a majority....enough of this BS!!!

Phil
Election number 4 in 5 years. Can we please get a majority of some kind to stop this nonsense.

Pip
So the Liberals want it both ways.

They screamed and screamed for immediate stimulus money to be pumped into the economy, and objected when the Government did not do so. Now the Government wants to put $3 billlion into the economy immediately, rather thasn waiting six months for the opposition to debate and implement the budget implementation bill, they are stalling.

Please explain to me why I should believe anything the Liberals say. Please explain to me how their actions are "for the good of the nation".

Sandie
Why don't the Liberals get on with the business of HELPING to run this country instead of throwing mud continuously? Time to grow up boy!!!!

Ryan
An 83 Billion dollar deficit over 5 years and the Liberals are fighting over 3. This is nothing more than a political game.

Hamilton Steel plant is closing leaving workers without jobs. More job cuts in Windsor.

The opposition needs to put politics for the side and pass this budget and get the money to Canadians. They told Harper they would pass the budget if he agreed to fiscal updates. He agreed. Now the opposition is playing games.

We as Canadians need to be calling our Liberal MP's and telling them, to stop the games and vote for the budget like they promised Canadians they would.

RRO
The Liberal's want accountability with the governments spending.....

How about the Liberals tell us what happen to all the money during the sponsorship scandal. Where did that money got Mr. Ignattief......

Sam
Wow, imagine the arrogance. The Liberals asking the Prime Minister what he's going to spend those 3 billion dollars on before he supports it. If the PM actually has a plan for what this cash is getting spent on, then all he has to do is be open, accountable, and table it. If he can't tell us what he wants to spend the money on, then why should anybody cut him a blank cheque?

What's far more likely is that Mr. Harper knows he's behind in the polls, and wants to use this money to buy as many votes as he can before the next election.

mcgil
Here we go again! Déjà vu? No?

C'mon Stephen, stop those idle threats and get a life, da-- it!

If your government really wants to help Canadians and the economy, it is your party playing politics and not the opposition...

A Koster - BC
Harper has been threatening election with his attack ads on the opposition for how long, a month or so? Now he holds this $3 billion dollars up like a carrot, knowing full well that Canadians are getting desperate for a solution and some help with this recession. Personally I think this tactic is going to backfire on him. I'm sick of the lies, sick of him threatening elections every couple of months, sick of his incompetence. He may be able to bamboozle and bully Jean Michelle but his days of manipulating Canadians are drawing to a rapid end.
It's about time for him to start acting like an honest politician and one that actually cares about the people that he is supposed to be serving. I want accountability and openess.. not after the fact when it gots lost in other news.. now, while everybody is paying attention.
I want Obama :O/

Jerry out west
This is friggin stupid , first the Liberals ,NDP and Bloc want a budget with lots of spending and they want it now , now the Conservatives want to spend but the Liberals want to put constraints on the stimulus money. I say if the Liberals want an election bring it on , and lets have one party govern this country , Harper's only mistake has been letting others tell him what to do.

Ed in Ontario
It would be nice to believe that Mr.Ignatieff was sincere in his request for accountability but the Liberals have certainly had a stellar record for sliding money away to friends and pet projects. May I ask that you, Mr. Ignatieff, prove to the Canadian people that you would lead the Liberals differently by allowing the stimulus fund to proceed, and assisting by acting as a watchdog to ensure that it is spent on those who need it the most. The last time I checked that is what the official opposition, which is what your job description currently says, is supposed to do.
Canada is not a classroom where you can play the stern teacher role and punish those for not behaving as you deem necessary “comrade” Ignatieff, and this country needs a coalition government about as much as it needs another steel plant closing.

Dmac
I believe this current scene has to play out to the point where we go to the polls. Canada needs a Majority government and I don’t really give a rat’s ass if it is the Conservatives or Liberals who have the Majority although I believe the Conservatives would do a better job.
On the item of Mr. Ignatieff’s time spent in the U.S. and Britain: Did he have Canadian non-resident status at anytime during his residence abroad? This is the simple question that should be asked when judging his moral authority to lead a government in the Canada. I have lived and worked away from Canada for almost twenty years however, I have always maintained my Canadian residency and paid Canadian income taxes because I believe in and support the Canadian social system. I also pay income taxes in the country(s) where I work and get a Canadian tax credit for this however, I have still paid about six hundred thousand dollars in Canadian income tax when I could have simply declared non-resident status and banked the money. What did Mr. Ignatieff do?

Katie K
While reading the comments on this board, I can't help but notice how the Liberal people tend to attack anyone who supports PM Harper, and how many of these types of comments there are. Most of the Conservative comments are clean, and state their case and why they don't agree with a certain politician in an intelligent manner, but the Liberals just rant and say things like "How many people on here are paid party hacks for the Cons?" The answer is no one. People can support whichever party they want, and they have as much right to voice their opinions as you do. Are all Liberals really this immature and unprofessional, or just the ones who frequent this site? In any case, there doesn't seem to be any moderators on this thread, and a lot of the Liberal comments are out right offensive because they're not only attacking the politicians, but also whoever doesn't agree with them. The ones here who constantly attack the Conservative supporters are really giving all Liberals a bad reputation.

Where's the transparency, Harper.
Where's the accountability?

Too bad Harper wasted the $ 3 billion contingency
Paul Martin left the country in good financial shape.

Now look.

Will
The Conservative Posters here don't get it at all. Ignatieff passed the budget. They had the vote already. This is about Harper wanting an additional 3 BILLION and he's not saying why! The Liberals know that he's use a lot of it to get re-elected, not for the benefit of the people, so he wants accountability, something Harper promised to give us! Wake up people. Just because Harper is PM does not give him a full mandate in a MINORITY government. If he wants to rule without opposition, he needs more support from Canadians, something he doesn't have right now.

Mike
Maybe we as tax payers should demand salary rollbacks and maybe some layoffs, for the babies in parliment. What a joke, there are struggling Canadians all threw out this country and all the politicians do is squabble and cry back and fourth. How embarassing. They are so out of touch with reality!!!

HOW ABOUT WE ALL WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF CANADA.

Will
RRO
The Liberal's want accountability with the governments spending.....

How about the Liberals tell us what happen to all the money during the sponsorship scandal. Where did that money got Mr. Ignattief.....
============================

Yeah, and Harper should explain the Airbus scandal to us from when the Tories were last in power. Get with the times and move on...

Don in Fredericton
Maybe some old time liberals should cough up some spare change so the the party can speed up there website a bit.Even there pictures take 30 seconds to load or are hosted on a freebee website.
If this is they have, I'd hate to see their election campaign, Sad

Bards
I remember when Harper ran on a platform of government accountability. It was a simpler time.

Fed up with Iggy
I just wish the Liberals wanted this type of accountability when they were siphoning off millions of taxpayers money and putting it into their pockets.

GL
Come on Harper. Let's be honest, you advocated being accountable and transparency on all issues and matters. As soon as you get to be the PM, all this is out of the window. Stop making excuse about getting the money to work before July. Without one word of explanation of where it is going? You know better than that.

Good work Iggy!

Perry White
Comments like, 'let the "Elected" Conservatives do their job'are misleading at best as their job also includes paying attention to the opposition.
I have no problems with the Cons. doing their job which is trying to govern the country. What I do have a problem with is ppl. acting like the opposition should just sit on their hands and do or say nothing. The cons got more seats than anyone else in the last election so were able to form a minority government.Hooray for you but a minority government has to govern with the co operation of other parts of parliament. A majority government, on the other hand, can do what it wants without having to satisfy any other part of parliament. Last time I checked the Cons. did not have a majority gov but they did have a minority gov which means they cant just do whatever they want and the opposition gets to criticise/complain etc. just like the cons did when they were in opposition (how soon ppl. forget their past)

edd-medhat
Oh Yeah. The Liberals always told the opposition what they were doing with the federal funds when they were in power. What the Liberals are doing is trying to screw the whole system. They don't understand that we are in a recession and the voters want action.
I'm getting really sick of this Iggy-poo crap. They wouldn't stand up to the government over the last few years, and now that we need their help, they jump into their usual partisan ways. We all know in the end they'll let it through anyways.

Bruce
"Wayne from Halifax
Another confidence motion from the ever arrogant Cons."

Ah, Wayne, all budget votes are confidence votes, the government doesn't have the option of not making them confidence votes.

Flora
We'd better let Harper to go.
He is not working for Canadian people, our country. He doesn't know how to deal with the economic crisis, but he definately knows how to play games.Let him to go as early as possible. It is good for Canada.

Bill
People sure have short memories. A very short time ago, the Liberal party was literally stuffing your tax dollars into brown envelopes and passing them to out to their "associates". They stole from you and I. Now they demand accountability for every dollar before it is spent? Someone explain how this makes any sense?

Quine West
It would be nice to see where the Cons want to spend this money before they get their hands on it. Should we as Canadians trust Harper with a blank cheque of 3 Billion, NO!

They're guarding my tax money, that's why, PIP.
If it were a Liberal government trying to pull this, you'd be screeching the other way.

You Clownservatives care for party, not for country.

But you sure love blowing my money in your Conservative Party ridings slush fund.

RTB
Whats wrong with accountability?

Walking Man
I can't believe after reading all this crap, that there are those who would still put PM Harper/I wannabe a president, in for a majority gov't.. Tell me just how many times do you all want to see Rome burn?? Jeeze!

Retired Soldier in Kingston, ON
To W. E. Demers and other challenged Liberal voters:

The reason an election was held last Autumn and the reason the current budget is held up in Parliament is simply because the Liberal Party & Senates current role is to hold up ANY Conservative legislation, including substantial "Law & Order" and "Stimulus "bills regardless of how much money thought & effort went into them!

If not for Stephen Harper, our soldiers would still be driving around minefield infested sites in Afghanistan
in Liberal era soft-skinned "Iltis" jeeps at risk of life and limb! Not to mention trying to fly troops overseas in expensive contracted Ukranian heavy-lift aircraft versus Conservative newly contracted, co-ordinated and purchased "Hercules" and "Boeing" transports! Or how about those dozen+/- closed military bases all across Canada,or 30,000 less troops, courtesy of Mr. Chretien, Mr. Martin and the Liberal government of the 1990's? Eh? No response - thought not!!

The only reason that Michael Ignatieff, MP and George Baker of NL, et al are whining about virtually anything they can think of, is because Iggy can't go back to his plush history professor job at Harvard University in Boston MA!
George Baker....well he's taking after Gilles Duceppe, MP and Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland!!!

Pro Patria

Jamie
Harper continues down the path of being untrustworthy.

He continues to be an "non-leader". I would go so far as to suggest that his recent interview on CNN was in response to the impression that Obama is leading the agenda in Canada and, perhaps, in response to the CBC Obama interview. No one mentioned the fact that Canadian reporters were not permitted to ask certain questions at the Obama/Harper press conference in Ottawa yet it was a free for all for their US counterparts.

Face it...Harper is not looking so good. He's suddenly "green" and all about stimulus. Well wake up - where were you last year? Oh yeah, you were saving your butt by poroguing Parlaiment. Come on. What's next...an unreported nuclear leak at a plant in Ottawa? Oh yeah...that happened too.

Sheesh. I don't care which Party is in office right now. JUST LEAD THE COUNTRY AND COOPERATE, NOW!

JIM/ONTARIO
The 3 billion dollars if approve tommorow would not hit the economy till next year,as REPORTED ON THE NATIONAL last night.It takes a year for it to trickle down,various committies and who's palm is going to be greased first!Any money we see this year was approved in previous budgets,so what is the problem if due dilengence is used to consider this budget?If harper and company are already admitting some of the money might not be spent the way it should be!A LIGHT BULB SHOULD COME ON IN JOE TAXPAYERS HEAD.Would you write a cheque for 3 billion if you did not know where it was going?The same finance minister left Ontario in SHAMBLES when he was a minister in Mike Harris P.C. WAVE.

Albertaboy111
I don't understand what the issue is here. All the liberals are doing is asking what they plan to do with this money before they let them spend it. Sounds pretty common sense to me. I mean if you can't say where you plan to use the money you either don't know yet (in which case figure it out. Then come back asking for it) or you plan to do something shady that people would not want you doing with their money. I mean come on. Would the bank give you a loan if you said "It's to get me on my feet. I know it's alot of money. Can't say exactly where it will be spent, but trust me it will be good."

Don NB
Accountability, yes show them where is going. The CPC is is power....the majority of the cash should go to conservative ridings...that's how it works. If the Liberals were in power the majority would go to liberal riding. Thats the way it works. If some ridings voted stategegily to force a minority. they lose. That's Politics.

Canadian Immigrant
I wonder what is the Span of Memory for all. Must be Day to Day?
The Government already has approval on the past 2 budgets to SPEND OVER 5B in whatever direction they want - so the question is - Why make an issue of the passage of this spending bill?????

Gary
I would like someone politician, economists to explain why this stimulus package will work. Why not give every canadian $20000, we pay off our debt, ie car loan,bank debt etc. Banks, car companies get their money by debt re-payment, or we go out and buy a NEW car so than car companies get their needed money and sell a car, buy a house, stimulate the economy etc. The way it is now it will not work. The auto sector will be back in 6 months for more or they will go under because no one is buying new cars. This is ultamately what they need. Interest rates can go down and down but banks wont lend if we cant pay it back.Atleast this way if the money which happens to belong to the people anyways is misused it will still go back into the economy anyways.