Let me start the wild speculation. Someone is switching parties. Someone from the Liberal left, fed up with the abandonment of Kyoto by Stephane Dion, has moved to the NDP.

Posted by: Steve Janke at October 22, 2007 10:53 PM

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The merger of...the NDP and Liberal parties? No wait, it would be a joint announcement with whats his name.

I say Jack'll be making a request to be the official opposition since Dion won't do it.

Posted by: Paul M at October 22, 2007 11:03 PM

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My fellow NDPers:

I have brought you here together today to inform you that I have joined with Stephane Dion and agreed to merge the NDP and Liberal parties to Stop Harper and his scary Conservative agenda.

Yesterday I met with top Liberal executives and supporters like Paul Desmarais, who I think you all know,and they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I have concluded that the only way to remove Harper from government is to unite the centre-left and then vote non-confidence asap so the Harper government will resign and try to have another election Canadians do not want.

With the Liberal 96 seats and our 30 seats, totalling 126 seats, we will tell the GG that we are prepared to form a government, and thus avoid an election Canadians do not want.

I know you will all greet this news with great enthusiasm and expectation, because most everybody in our NDP caucus will get cabinet positions in a Dion government, and I will be Minister of Finance.

So let's get out there and whip Stephen Harper's butt outa government and let's look forward to running this country as it should be run. BTW .. Canadian troops will be staying in Afghanistan until February 2009 as a matter of commitments made to the UN.

In order to maintain a united party solidarity, please do not say anything confusing to the MSM, because the less said the better it is. All communication with the MSM should be made through our new leader Dion and myself as Minister of Finance.

This is a great great day for Canada, and I know you will all be pleased as punch that we will soon be the government of Canada .. and then watch out ..!!!!

Posted by: Observer at October 22, 2007 11:06 PM

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Nicely done Observer.

Posted by: Paul M at October 22, 2007 11:08 PM

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I think Jack may want to grandstand on the United nations report on "homelessness" which just came out.

Posted by: Lorraine at October 22, 2007 11:15 PM

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Svend stole the ring for Dumbeldor.

Posted by: Larry at October 23, 2007 12:31 AM

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Larry = hehe

Two annoucements, Jack will annouce that he is the official opposition and that he will seek that recognition from the GG with the blessings of all non-Liberal members of the house.

Secondly, he will explain his freakishly small hands...

Posted by: northbaytrapper at October 23, 2007 12:39 AM

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btw, Steve, in regards to your idea, if a Lib was to jump ship for the Dippers, it would be catastrophic to the Liberal Party. Throw in a brand name MP and you can close the book on Dion.

Maybe it's Belinda? No, that would mean that she was sleeping with Michael Ignatief and that's just disgusting.

Posted by: northbaytrapper at October 23, 2007 12:42 AM

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Well, my first thought was that a prominent Quebecer would announce their bid to run for the NDP in the next election. However, Jack wouldn't make that announcement in Ottawa, I don't think.

Then something occurred to me. What if a BLOC member, or even two or three, decided to jump ship to the NDP?

Liberals and NDPers generally don't like one another. The same isn't true of the Bloc and the NDP, especially for soft Quebec nationalists.

I still doubt the announcement will be any kind of big deal like this, in part because there's usually more buzz leading up to it than there is now, but since we are speculating ;)....

Posted by: Dennis (Second Thots) at October 23, 2007 01:07 AM

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Does the NDP accept floor crossers? I thought they tried to introduce legislation to ban it.

Posted by: Brendan Kane at October 23, 2007 02:23 AM

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Here's what I just found in an article from the Winnipeg Sun:

In a bid to exploit what he characterizes as a leadership vacuum in the Liberal party, NDP Leader Jack Layton is trying to portray his party as the real opposition to the Harper government.

Layton will host an "opposition school" today, flying in NDP staff from across the country to advise MPs on procedural rules and tactics to keep the government on its toes.

http://winnipegsun.com/News/Canada/2007/10/23/4597713-sun.html

Posted by: Brendan Kane at October 23, 2007 03:09 AM

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I'm going with something along the lines of a declaration of being the official opposition, however I'd cast some doubt on that as it would end up being too Turner-esqe in its over the top hyperbole.

My other guess would be that he's going to annouce some high-profile grit has joined the New Liberal-Democratic party.

Posted by: gimbol at October 23, 2007 06:08 AM

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He probably just wants to reaffirm that he is the "moral" official opposition to the Conservatives.A floor crossing would be huge but I don't think that this is what this is about. A Liberal crossing the floor would most likely come from the west.It is too early in the day (9 am eastern)to exploit this for the live news locally.

Posted by: David at October 23, 2007 07:32 AM

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Olivia is pregnant according to Kyoto's vet.....OK, OK...That was a low one...

Jack has struck a deal with the Taliban and he will grow a beard before heading for the Ghan.
The deal: Buy poppies for Vancouver's shooting galleries.

Posted by: Grind a Grit at October 23, 2007 07:45 AM

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Duceppe and the Blocheads are moving to Toronto to train the NDP on how to separate Toronto from the rest of Canada...

...I'm all for it!

Posted by: Grind a Grit at October 23, 2007 07:50 AM

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I think its our floor crossing friend Garth...it makes sense. He doesnt like that the Libs have abandoned Kyoto (the plan not the dog) and his last media attention cycle has ended. Theres nothing left for him to do after being smacked down in QP yesterday by CPC House Leader Peter Van Loan.

Posted by: Halton Resident at October 23, 2007 07:51 AM

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He bought a new bike.

Posted by: Sean Cummings at October 23, 2007 08:04 AM

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Taliban Jack is going to Afghanistan with a white flag, to surrender to the Taliban by proposing Canadian forces withdraw immediately while encouraging Harper to allow Sharia law for Canadian muslims.

Posted by: Joe Molnar at October 23, 2007 08:35 AM

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It's 10am and I feel lonely.... I can't find anything, what happened?

Posted by: at October 23, 2007 08:52 AM

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I'll betcha he's managed to recruit Bill Casey into the NDP caucus. Casey is essentially a free agent, and he does share some populist leanings with the NDP.

Posted by: PhantomObserver at October 23, 2007 08:56 AM

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OMG, it's after 9am and no-ones posted what Jack said; and I didn't catch it in the news (I guess it wasn't that big a deal).

Posted by: Paul M at October 23, 2007 09:20 AM

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Kady O'Malley, girl reporter, will find out for us .. she's on the job day and night. Go girl .. GO ..!!!

Posted by: Daily Planet at October 23, 2007 09:31 AM

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It's mere posturing, that's what Jack does best. Nothing to get excited about. Maybe he's shuffling the deck. He may be giving his new member from Quebec the job of second in command of his little band of Ditsy Dippers.
Ah, the suspense!

Posted by: Libby at October 23, 2007 10:36 AM

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Just reported in the Glob & Wail, Taliban Jack wants disaffected Lie-beral supporters to consider switching to the NDP. Big announcement?

Posted by: Bruce Randall at October 23, 2007 11:23 AM

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The NDP says Stephen Harper's Conservatives now basically have a majority government - and it's all thanks to the weak Liberal opposition, look here===> http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGgETWuzNovf1vQEu4IkLLFLHKMw

Posted by: Bert at October 23, 2007 11:40 AM

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Perhaps Alexa McDonough will say she is sorry for representing her ridding with the military base that she does not support - their mission. She is an embarrassment to the NDP and hasn’t been seen since. This is similar to Mr/s Robertson found guilty of taking a ring for his boyfriend.

See Adler on the Edge post: http://www.am770chqr.com/station/blog_adler.cfm?bid=17092

She in effect said that she/NDP had their [military] support to get out of the war-zone as soon as possible. Forgt the great job they are doing in the region, we should leave in shame. I wonder if she lays flowers on Remberance Day and wears a poppy. She said that the Canadian forces wrote the speech for the Afghanistan leader Karzai, yet, as Adler asked: “When I asked McDonough to name one single fact in the Karzai speech that was untrue, she said this issue wasn't about the truth. The former boss of the New Democratic Party spoke volumes with that little chestnut. Ideologues care little about the truth. It's all about ideology.” She didn’t care about the truth – ignore the facts and listen to what she said. Perhaps the NDP will finally admit the truth that Kyoto is dead and we should fight pollution – as the present government is doing. Perhaps he will praise the Conservatives on raising the age of consent from 14 to 16.

Posted by: Clown Party of Canada at October 23, 2007 12:04 PM

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Nothing big from the NDP, but the mouth that roars (AKA Garth Turner) is on the radio on the Wet Coast telling it like it is and the news is don't discount an election before Christmas. Methinks Garth is planning a revolt of the dis-affected Liberals and is willing to take us into an election because he knows the longer Dion is in power the longer it will take the Liberals to rebuild and Garth is definitely running close to his "Best before Date"

Posted by: Antenor at October 23, 2007 12:12 PM

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Methinks in addition to Mr. Turner, you may have some secret NDP fans who read your post that the NDP should become the official opposition.

In any event, there's no microphone that Jack Layton doesn't know intimately.

Posted by: Gabby in QC at October 23, 2007 12:13 PM

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Here it is ... yawn ...!!!

Layton says Liberal weakness gives Harper majority

The Canadian Press

October 23, 2007 at 12:55 PM EDT

OTTAWA — The NDP says Stephen Harper's Conservatives now basically have a majority government — and it's all thanks to the weak Liberal opposition.

Leader Jack Layton says that by agreeing to roll over on the Tory throne speech vote, the Liberals have helped the prime minister govern without fear of being defeated in the Commons.

In a pep talk to party workers and MPs on Tuesday, Mr. Layton said Liberal voters should consider switching their allegiance to the NDP.

He said Canadians should not be impressed with Liberals for allowing the throne speech to pass — even though it rejects the Kyoto accord and suggests Canada should stay the course in Afghanistan until 2011.

More ....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071023.wlaytonlib1023/BNStory/National/home

Posted by: at October 23, 2007 12:44 PM

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Any chance that before all this is over and the govt falls, there will be a few libs forming a splinter group and leave the lib caucus.
The lib amendment failed, but I read 89 voted for it, where were the other 7 members. Where is Casey sitting during all this and how is he voting.

Posted by: Mary T at October 23, 2007 10:32 PM

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It's kind of hard to imagine giving a sh!t what Jack Layton has to say about anything.

Posted by: Darrell Goodman at October 25, 2007 09:16 AM

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Posted by: aswkin at July 17, 2008 09:09 AM

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