Angry in the Great White North

Recently I discussed how the Toronto Star's editorial board took the position that Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion needed to take down Stephen Harper's Conservative government over Jim Flaherty's mini-budget.

Stephane Dion instead condemned the budget then ordered the entire caucus to abstain in order to avoid an election.

Stephane Dion's order to abstain from the budget vote has not gone over well with some of those MPs:

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion faced fresh turmoil with a break in discipline yesterday as he once again ordered his troops to abstain on a vote, allowing the Harper mini-budget to pass and the Tory minority government to survive.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dion presided over a difficult caucus meeting yesterday morning as cracks in unity are beginning to be revealed. Several Liberals MPs voiced opposition to abstaining for the second time in as many weeks from a vote on a major initiative.

According to one MP, Quebec MP Denis Coderre put forward a plan of having some MPs - but not enough to topple the government - vote against the mini-budget to register Liberal opposition. Mr. Dion ignored that suggestion.

And Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger, said another MP, was "hot under the collar" about the mini-budget, which he called "simply about garnering short-term votes." Mr. Belanger argued strongly during the closed-door meeting against supporting the mini-budget, telling Mr. Dion that he would vote against it.

Mr. Belanger did not show up in the House yesterday afternoon for the vote, although he was at the daily Question Period minutes earlier. He would not comment.

Meanwhile, back at the Toronto Star, Stephane Dion earned a stinging rebuke, with the editorial board stating in no uncertain terms that Stephane Dion's credibility is in tatters, and that he risks losing what little credibility he has left with Canadian voters.

I understood that to mean that Stephane Dion risked losing what little credibility he has left with the Toronto Star.

Now put those two stories together. Who is the Toronto Star talking to? To Stephane Dion? Or to MPs like Mauril Belanger who is publicly acting in defiance of Stephane Dion.

A small act of defiane by not showing up for the vote, but defiance nonetheless.

How many more MPs who complained bitterly about being told by Stephane Dion that they had to swallow the budget are reading the Toronto Star editorial? Indeed, Toronto is one of the Liberal Party's last bulwarks. And there is the Toronto Star all but saying it will abstain from endorsing Stephane Dion as prime minister.

Is the Toronto Star sending them a message? Get rid of this guy. You're the only ones who can.

I wonder who Mauril Belanger is having lunch with today. Some Toronto area Liberal MPs perhaps?